Buteo Book Club: 2026 Discussion Questions
Join the Buteo Book Club—all are welcome and you can participate from anywhere! This month, we're reading The Last Cold Place: A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica by Naira de Gracia.
Please submit your responses to the discussion questions by November 17th to be included in the conversation that is shared with book club members. (Optional bonus: if you want to share a photo, like a selfie of you with the book, your book + coffee, a penguin you've seen, there's a place to upload it at the end of the discussion questions.)
Discussion Questions:
- What does the title of the book evoke or mean to you? Is it literal or a metaphor?
- The relationships Naira de Gracia forms with her fellow field technicians are important throughout the book. How have group dynamics, camaraderie or conflict, played into your own birding experiences?
- The author expresses her gratitude for spending a season up close with the penguins, while simultaneously experiencing grief over climate change. Have you witnessed an impact of climate change firsthand—how have you reconciled gratitude with grief, and what gives you hope for the future?
- Naira de Gracia's writing is gorgeous! Did you have a favorite description of the penguins, people, landscape, or other quote to share?
- This memoir deftly weaves personal story with field report, world history, and more. Did this narrative structure remind you of any other books you've read, or do you have another memoir to recommend to fellow club members?
Please submit your responses to the discussion questions by November 17th to be included in the conversation that is shared with book club members. You can also share your thoughts in the comments section below. And make sure you've officially joined the Buteo Book Club (it's free!) to receive the conversation summary.