In Laila Lalami’s chilling novel The Dream Hotel, Sara Hussein is detained by representatives from the Risk Assessment Administration, an organization that uses data from dreams to scrutinize the habits of private individuals. The agents—convinced that Sara is going to carry out a deadly crime—take her to an internment facility for women. Innocent of any wrongdoing and fearful of what lies ahead, Sara attempts to muster opposition among her fellow detainees. In this skillfully conceived novel, Lalami paints a disturbing portrait of an authoritarian world. The book offers many rewarding discussion topics, including autonomy, privacy and surveillance.
Exhalation, Ted Chiang’s extraordinary collection of short stories, offers a glimpse of how technology could shape the future. With remarkable perceptiveness, Chiang writes about the attribution of human traits to AI. The story “Dacey’s Patent Automatic Nanny” explores the bonds that arise between robotic governesses and their charges, while “The Lifecycle of Software Objects” looks at the development of digital beings that are nurtured by humans and viewed as pets. Chiang demonstrates wonderful range over the course of this intelligent, eye-opening collection that’s destined to become a science fiction classic.
Set in 2038, Fernando A. Flores’ electrifying novel Brother Bronte takes place in desolate Three Rivers, Texas. Thanks to the mayor, tech titan Pablo Henry Crick, reading has been banned, and single mothers are required to work in a toxic canning factory. Two women, Proserpina and Neftali—an avid reader who secretly hoards the books of novelist Jazzmin Monelle Rivas—find solace in friendship. Hoping to wrest the city from Crick’s control, the pair plan a takeover and find that Rivas has an unexpected tie to Three Rivers. A wonderfully innovative writer, Flores infuses this futuristic adventure with spirit and humor.
Vauhini Vara examines the wide-ranging effects of technology in her compelling essay collection, Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age. Vara writes from a deeply personal perspective as she ponders the impact of AI, examines her dependence on Amazon and looks at how social media influences our ideas about reality. In a world that technology is transforming at a head-spinning rate, Vara’s essays—crafted with intelligence, balance and an eye for the absurd—offer invaluable insights and compassionate awareness. Remarking on identity, creativity and communication, this savvy collection is rich in talking points for book clubs.