The AI Mirror • Shannon Vallor
Thursday, September 25
Technology, and AI in particular, sparks hope for a future beyond human limits, yet today’s systems act as powerful mirrors that reflect our past errors and biases rather than open new possibilities. Shannon Vallor argues that to meet the challenges facing our species and planet, we must demand more than mirrors that show only where we’ve been. She calls for AI that helps us see beyond our past, expanding our sense of the possible and strengthening our will to repair a broken world.

Klara and the Sun • Kazuo Ishiguro with Rev. Chris Palmer
Thursday, October 16
Klara is an Artificial Friend with an exceptional gift for observation, spending her days in the store studying the people who browse inside and those passing by on the street. She holds onto the hope that someone will eventually take her home. Klara and the Sun is a captivating novel that views a shifting world through the perspective of a remarkable narrator, while probing the timeless question: what does it truly mean to love?

A Prayer for Owen Meany • John Irving
Thursday, November 20
One summer afternoon in 1953, a Little League game in the quiet town of Gravesend, New Hampshire, takes a tragic turn. An 11-year-old boy’s foul ball claims the life of his best friend’s mother—a moment Owen Meany insists was destined, not accidental. From that day on, Owen’s unwavering belief that he is carrying out God’s plan propels him toward a future as remarkable as it is haunting.

A Stubborn Sweetness • Katherine Paterson
Thursday, December 18
In this collection of modern short stories we meet a mall night watchman, a grieving mother, a teenage runaway, a political prisoner, and others whose lives have been clouded by loss, hardship, or disillusionment. Through surprising and heartening turns, each one is drawn back to the hope and peace at the heart of the first Christmas, discovering that even in the deepest darkness, the light and music of the season still shine.