Talking Books Talk - Website at State Library of Kansas

If you are unsure about using Zoom or don't have a computer or smart device, don't worry. All you need is a telephone. Let the Kansas Talking Books staff know which discussion you are interested in joining and need to do so by phone. Our staff will call you about 5-10 minutes before that book club meeting begins and will transfer you into the discussion. Contact the KTB staff at 1-800-362-0699 or KTB@ks.gov.

Occurrence

3rd Tuesday of each month

Dates and Books

September 17, 2025 (date changed from Tuesday to Wednesday because of schedule conflict)

DB 128356 Custodians of wonder: ancient customs, profound traditions, and the last people keeping them alive by Eliot Stein
"A vivid look at the ten key people who are maintaining some of the world's oldest and rarest cultural traditions. Eliot Stein has traveled the globe in search of remarkable people who are preserving some of our rarest cultural rites. In Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive, Stein introduces readers to a man saving the secret ingredient in Japan's 700-year-old original soy sauce recipe. In Italy, he learns how to make the world's rarest pasta from one of the only women alive who knows how to make it. And in India, he discovers a family rumored to make a mysterious metal mirror believed to reveal your truest self. From shadowing Scandinavia's last night watchman to meeting a 27th-generation West African griot to seeking out Cuba's last official cigar factory "readers" more than a century after they spearheaded the fight for Cuban independence, Stein uncovers an almost lost world. Climbing through Peru's southern highlands, he encounters the last Inca bridge master who rebuilds a grass-woven bridge from the fabled Inca Road System. He befriends a British beekeeper who maintains a touching custom of "telling the bees" important news of the day and crunches through a German forest to find the official mailman of the only tree in the world with its own address--to which countless people all over the world have written in hopes of finding love. These are just some of the last people on Earth still in touch with quickly vanishing rites. Let Eliot Stein introduce you to all of them."-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

October 21, 2025

DB 111034 Witch queens, voodoo spirits & hoodoo saints: a guide to magical New Orleans by Denise Alvarado
"A magical mystery tour of the extraordinary historical characters that have defined the unique spiritual landscape of New Orleans. New Orleans has long been America's most magical city, inhabited by a fascinating visible and invisible world, full of mysteries, known for its decadence and haunted by its spirits. If Salem, Massachusetts, is famous for its persecution of witches, New Orleans is celebrated for its embrace of the magical, mystical, and paranormal. New Orleans is acclaimed for its witches, ghosts, and vampires. Because of its unique history, New Orleans is the historical stronghold of traditional African religions and spirituality in the US. No other city worldwide is as associated with Vodou as New Orleans. In her new book, author and scholar Denise Alvarado takes us on a magical tour of New Orleans. There is a mysterious spiritual underbelly hiding in plain sight in New Orleans, and in this book Alvarado shows us where it is and who the characters are. She tells where they come from and how they persist and manifest today. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints shines a light on notable spirits and folk saints such as Papa Legba, Annie Christmas, Black Hawk, African-American culture hero Jean St. Malo, St. Expedite, plague saint Roch, and, of course, the mother and father of New Orleans Voudou, Marie Laveau and Doctor John Montenée. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints serves as a secret history of New Orleans, revealing details even locals may not know." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

November 18, 2025

DB 57755 Touching the void by Joe Simpson
Mountain climber recounts his harrowing 1985 survival story of plunging off an Andean ice ledge, forcing his partner, Simon Yates, to cut the rope binding them. Describes Simpson's grueling descent with a broken leg and Yates's emotional turmoil believing his friend dead. Some strong language. Bestseller. 1988.

December 16, 2025

DB 38703 The unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
Bored and depressed after her husband's death, Mrs. Pollifax decides to take her doctor's advice and do something enjoyable. Since she has always wanted to be a spy, Mrs. Pollifax heads to Washington, D.C., to apply to the CIA. She admits that she is quite prepared to offer up her life on assignment. As luck would have it, there is a pressing need for a tourist-type to smuggle a document out of Mexico. Some strong language and some violence.

January 20, 2026

DB 115207 The book of Charlie: wisdom from the remarkable American life of a 109-year-old man by David Von Drehle
"When a veteran Washington journalist moved to Kansas, he met a new neighbor who was more than a century old. Little did he know that he was beginning a long friendship-and a profound lesson in the meaning of life. Charlie White was no ordinary neighbor. Born before radio, Charlie lived long enough to use a smartphone. When a shocking tragedy interrupted his idyllic boyhood, Charlie mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom. Thus armored, Charlie's sense of adventure carried him on an epic journey across the continent, and later found him swinging across bandstands of the Jazz Age, racing aboard ambulances through Depression-era gangster wars, improvising techniques for early open-heart surgery, and cruising the Amazon as a guest of Peru's president. David Von Drehle came to understand that Charlie's resilience and willingness to grow made this remarkable neighbor a master in the art of thriving through times of dramatic change. As a gift to his children, he set out to tell Charlie's secrets. The Book of Charlie is a gospel of grit-the inspiring story of one man's journey through a century of upheaval. The history that unfolds through Charlie's story reminds you that the United States has always been a divided nation, a questing nation, an inventive nation-a nation of Charlies in the rollercoaster pursuit of a good and meaningful life." -- Provided by publisher. -- Some violence. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller.

February 17, 2026

DB 123788 Love triangle: how trigonometry shapes the world by Matt Parker
"Trigonometry is perhaps the most essential concept humans have ever devised. The simple yet versatile triangle allows us to record music, map the world, launch rockets into space, and be slightly less bad at pool. Triangles underpin our day-to-day lives and civilization as we know it. Matt Parker argues we should all show a lot more love for triangles, along with all the useful trigonometry and geometry they enable. To prove his point, he uses triangles to create his own digital avatar, survive a harrowing motorcycle ride, cut a sandwich, fall in love, measure tall buildings in a few awkward bounds, and make some unusual art. Along the way, he tells extraordinary and entertaining stories of the mathematicians, engineers, and philosophers-starting with Pythagoras-who dared to take triangles seriously"-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

March 17, 2026

DB 124237 Somewhere beyond the sea by TJ Klune
"Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one. He's the headmaster of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there. Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. And there's the island's sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children. But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve. And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home -- one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from -- Arthur knows they're at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart."-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

April 21, 2026

DB 123831 Here one moment by Liane Moriarty
"A woman stands up on a plane, and predicts when everyone will die. Everyone laughs it off until it starts to come true"-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

May 18, 2026

DB 122023 Vision: a memoir of blindness and justice by David S. Tatel
"A memoir by one of America's most accomplished public servants and legal thinkers-who spent years denying and working around his blindness, before finally embracing it as an essential part of his identity. David Tatel has served nearly 30 years on America's second highest court, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where many of our most crucial cases are resolved-or teed up for the Supreme Court. He has championed equal justice for his entire adult life; decided landmark environmental and voting cases; and embodied the ideal of what a great judge should be. Yet he has been blind for the past 50 of his 80-plus years. Initially, he depended upon aides to read texts to him, and more recently, a suite of hi-tech solutions has allowed him to listen to reams of documents at high speeds. At first, he tried to hide his deteriorating vision, and for years, he denied that it had any impact on his career. Only recently, partly thanks to his first-ever guide dog, Vixen, has he come to fully accept his blindness and the role it's played in his personal and professional lives. His story of fighting for justice over many decades, with and without eyesight, is an inspiration to us all."-- Goodreads. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

June 16, 2026

DB 127313 Three days in June by Anne Tyler
"Gail Baines is long divorced from her husband, Max, and not especially close to her grown daughter, Debbie. Today is the day before Debbie's wedding. To start, Gail loses her job--or quits, depending who you ask. Then, Max arrives unannounced on Gail's doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay and without even a suit in which to walk their daughter down the aisle. But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband-to-be. It will not only throw the wedding itself into question but also send Gail back into her past and how her own relationship fell apart."-- Provided by publisher. -- Some strong language, some violence. Commercial audiobook.

July 21, 2026

DB 119947 Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray
"Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference. When she's not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell's Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with whom she falls deeply in love. But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he's a rich, arrogant dilettante who gets by on a handsome face and a famous name. He thinks she's a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House. Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR's most trusted lieutenant-even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she's willing to do-and what she's willing to sacrifice-to save a nation"-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Recent Posts

August 2025 Staff Picks

The KTB staff has been reading all kinds of books in August. Find out what they've been reading in this list of books. Get these books in just minutes using BARD, Braille and Audio Reading Download, a download service provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. Most of the collection of audio books and magazines are available to patrons 24/7 using this download service. Learn more at our BARD Resources page.Michael Lang, DirectorDB 51047 The wonderful wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum When a cyclone blows Dorothy and her dog Toto from their Kansas home to the magical Land of Oz, Dorothy meets the Munchkins and witches. With her new companions the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy travels to the Emerald City to petition the Wizard. For grades 4-7. 1899.Dylan Calhoon, Patron Services ManagerDB 66657 Armageddon in retrospect: and other new and unpublished writings on war and peace by Kurt Vonnegut Twelve fiction and nonfiction pieces representing Vonnegut's views on violence and war and his desire for world peace. Contains both a 1945 letter to his family summarizing his prisoner-of-war experience in Germany and his last speech, written in 2007. Introduction by his son Mark Vonnegut. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2008.DB 64695 The gates to the witch world: comprising Witch world; Web of the witch world; and Year of the unicorn by Andre Norton Presents the first three volumes in the Witch World series. In Witch World secret agent Simon Tregarth flees his customary reality through a portal and ends up in a medieval land of magic where the forces of evil threaten three benevolent witches. 2001. Includes Book 1: Witch World, Book 2: Web of the Witch World, and Book 1: Year of the Unicorn (from the High Halleck Cycle)Jason Brinkman, Production ManagerDB 129931 The Project: how Project 2025 is reshaping America by David A. Graham "When President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, news spread about his implementation of Project 2025, a nearly 1,000-page document published by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. The debates--and anxiety--surrounding this initiative have only increased as authors of the Project assume positions of power in the second Trump administration. So, what is Project 2025, exactly? Who wrote it, and what does it mean for everyday Americans, across the political spectrum, now and in the years to come? In The Project, award-winning journalist David A. Graham offers much-needed context and distills the essential elements of this sprawling document. Breaking down the Project's strategy for transforming--and radically empowering--the executive branch, Graham then explains what the architects behind Project 2025 are doing with that power: enforcing traditional gender norms, decimating the civil service, performing mass deportations, reducing corporate regulation and worker protections, and more. Project 2025 is the intellectual blueprint for the new administration, Graham argues, and its tenets should not be legible only to policy wonks. Authoritative yet highly accessible, The Project demystifies it for those whose lives it will affect most."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller.Nataly Renfro, Machine Clerk DB 37043 Good omens: the nice and accurate propehcies of Agnes Nutter, witch by Neil Gaiman (Also available in braille as BR 21217) Armageddon is scheduled for next Saturday! But demon Crowley and angel Aziraphale are not looking forward to it. In order to prevent this, they must kill the Antichrist, who lives on earth as a young child. However, there is a problem--three children were switched at birth, and no one knows which one is the Antichrist. Violence and some strong language.DB 118356 Activate your vagus nerve: unleash your body's natural ability to heal gut sensitivities, inflammation, brain fog, autoimmunity, anxiety, depression by Navas Habib "Repair your vagus nerve and experience amazing health and wellness benefits. Your vagus nerve is the largest and most important nerve in your body. It carries messages to and from your brain, gut, heart, and other major muscles and organs. However, common issues like inflammation, stress, or physical trauma can interfere with the nerve's ability to function. Luckily, there are tons of quick-and-easy ways to activate and exercise the nerve, strengthening its function and restoring your body to good health. Packed with easy-to-follow exercises and activities, this book will show you how to unlock the power of the vagus nerve to heal your body and get back to a state of balance." -- Provided by publisher. -- Commercial audiobook.Sarah BruemmerDB 120977 Sociopath by Patric Gagne "Patric Gagne realized she made others uncomfortable before she started kindergarten. Something about her caused people to react in a way she didn't understand. She suspected it was because she didn't feel things the way other kids did. Emotions like fear, guilt, and empathy eluded her. For the most part, she felt nothing. And she didn't like the way that "nothing" felt. She did her best to pretend she was like everyone else, but the constant pressure to conform to a society she knew rejected anyone like her was unbearable. So Patric stole. She lied. She was occasionally violent. She became an expert lock-picker and home-invader. All with the goal of replacing the nothingness with...something. In college, Patric finally confirmed what she'd long suspected. She was a sociopath. But even though it was the very first personality disorder identified--well over 200 years ago--sociopathy had been neglected by mental health professionals for decades. She was told there was no treatment, no hope for a normal life. She found herself haunted by sociopaths in pop culture, madmen and evil villains who are considered monsters. Her future looked grim. But when Patric reconnects with an old flame, she gets a glimpse of a future beyond her diagnosis. If she's capable of love, it must mean that she isn't a monster. With the help of her sweetheart (and some curious characters she meets along the way) she embarks on a mission to prove that the millions of Americans who share her diagnosis aren't all monsters either"--Dust jacket. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.Troy Arndt, Circulation ClerkDB 32537 The fall by Albert Camus A philosophical monologue told by a man who realizes he is kind to others only to satisfy his vanity. The consequent feeling of guilt convinces him to reveal his true self to others, an action that soon brings about his disgrace.DB 15217 Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre The author's first novel, originally published in 1938, is a statement about the alienation of personality and the mystery of being. Sartre presents the first full-length essay on existentialism, the philosophy for which he has since become famous. Offered Nobel Prize for literature in 1964 which he declined.DB 34599 Being and nothingness: a phenomenological essay on ontology by Jean-Paul Sartre Translator Hazel Barnes describes Sartre as "one of the very few twentieth-century philosophers to present us with a total system." The chapters in this principal text on existentialism are entitled: the pursuit of being; the problem of nothingness; being-for-itself; being-for-others; and having, doing, and being. Some discussion of sex.DB 37598 Notes from underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky First published in 1864, this psychological portrait of the nameless fictional narrator is in the form of a meditation on the injuries people inflict on one another. The narrator is obsessed with the absurdity of life and the meaninglessness of his own existence....

Kansas Talking Book News Update – Fall 2025

Catch up on all the news from Kansas Talking Books including updates on the new Digital Talking Book Machines!...

AI and the World around Us

Artificial intelligence, or AI, has been making waves around the world as AI tools, such as ChatGPT, and other AI technologies have been adopted as they've become available in the last several years, or, completely avoided as concern rises over the use. AI is changing how we function in our personal and professional daily life and how various industries do business. It's mentioned in the news quite often as discussion grows about what roles AI will have in the future, what advances are being made, and what impacts AI is having.With how much AI is influencing the world, there are important considerations to be made in therms of regulations to limit or increase AI use and the ethics of use. Global leaders and policy makers are working on various legislation regarding AI. Although AI and machine learning have been actively researched for decades through government agencies, private companies, and universities, foreign and domestic governments are pushing for even more extensive AI research and advancement as technology has improved. Universities, in particular, may receive funding from or may collaborate with government agencies through joint research projects to further AI research and development. Universities and K-12 schools and their instructors are learning about and discussing best practices for student use and how to manage AI use (or use prevention) in homework and exams. They also have to teach about AI use in source material as more content on the Internet (social media and some news - particularly fake news) is full of AI-generated content that may appear real.The important thing to note is that AI is here to stay. It continues to permeate our lives and how people everywhere do things. Learn more about artificial intelligence with books from the following selected titles available through our Kansas Talking Books collection and on BARD, Braille and Audio Reading Download, a download service provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled allowing all patrons access to almost the entire collection any time, any where. Make one of these books your next read.La inteligencia articial (IA) hace ondas a través del mundo con muchos adoptando herramientas tales como ChatGPT para mejorar eficiencia mientras otros evitan el uso de estos programas a medida que incrementan las preocupaciones sobre su uso.IA está cambiando como funcionamos en nuestras vidas personales y profesionales y también la forma en que las compañías llevan a cabo sus negocios. Con el auge de IA hay consideraciones importantes sobre la ética de uso y losa impactos ambientales. A nivel mundial políticos trabajan para proporcionar varias leyes y regulaciones para ralentizar y también para acelerar el crecimiento del IA.Instructores y administradores en universidades y escuelas de Kinder-12 aprenden y discuten las mejores practicas para manejar el uso (o la prevención de uso) del IA en tareas y exámenes. También enseñan sobre el uso del IA en investigaciones ya que más recursos en el internet están creadno contenido que parece real usando IA.Sin importar lo que uno sienta sobre estos desarrollos, IA está aquí para quedarse y continuará extendiéndose por nuestras vidas cotidianas. Aprende sobre la inteligencia artificial con los siguientes titulos disponibles en nuestra colección de Libros Parlantes de Kansas y en BARD, (Braille and Audio Reading Download) un servicio de descarga proporcionado por El Servicio Bibliotecario Nacional para Ciegos y Personas con Dificultades para Acceder al Texto Impreso, permitiéndole acceso a todos nuestros usuarios a acceder a la colleción desde donde sea a la hora que sea. Haz uno de estos titulos tu próxima lectura.DB 120757 Simply AI: facts made fast by Claire Quigley"Covering a broad range of fields within AI--from computing and mathematics to politics and philosophy--entries demystify what artificial intelligence is and how it works, how it has dramatically changed how we live, and how it might evolve in the future. Everyone is talking about AI, but this book helps to explain each individual aspect of AI more clearly than ever before." --WorldCat.DB 116405 The coming wave: technology, power, and the twenty-first century's greatest dilemma by Mustafa Suleyman and Michael Bhaskar"We are approaching a critical threshold in the history of our species. Everything is about to change. Soon you will live surrounded by AIs. They will organise your life, operate your business, and run core government services. You will live in a world of DNA printers and quantum computers, engineered pathogens and autonomous weapons, robot assistants and abundant energy. None of us are prepared. As co-founder of the pioneering AI company DeepMind, part of Google, Mustafa Suleyman has been at the centre of this revolution. The coming decade, he argues, will be defined by this wave of powerful, fast-proliferating new technologies. In The Coming Wave, Suleyman shows how these forces will create immense prosperity but also threaten the nation-state, the foundation of global order. As our fragile governments sleepwalk into disaster, we face an existential dilemma: unprecedented harms on one side, the threat of overbearing surveillance on the other. Can we forge a narrow path between catastrophe and dystopia? This groundbreaking book from the ultimate AI insider establishes "the containment problem"-the task of maintaining control over powerful technologies-as the essential challenge of our age." -- Provided by publisher. -- Commercial audiobook.DB 96490 Rebooting AI: building artificial intelligence we can trust by Gary Marcus and Ernest DavisResearchers present an overview of the state of artificial intelligence in the early twenty-first century. Topics covered include the development of the technology, milestones, programming, and ethics. Offers ideas for future development. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.DB 89149 Life 3.0: being human in the age of artificial intelligence by Max TegmarkExploration of the development of artificial intelligence, also known as AI, and its role as the purported third iteration of life after bacteria and humans. Discusses the role of AI in the workforce, adjustments needed in legal systems, the likelihood that a form of superhuman intelligence will arise, and more. Commercial audiobook. 2017.DB 126169 Genesis: artificial intelligence, hope, and the human spirit by Henry Kissinger, Craig Mundie, Eric Schmidt, Eleanor Runde, and Niall Ferguson"As it absorbs data, gains agency, and intermediates between humans and reality, AI (Artificial Intelligence) will help us to address enormous crises, from climate change to geopolitical conflicts to income inequality. It might well solve some of the greatest mysteries of our universe and elevate the human spirit to unimaginable heights. But it will also pose challenges on a scale and of an intensity that we have never seen--usurping our power of independent judgment and action, testing our relationship with the divine, and perhaps even spurring a new phase in human evolution. The last book of elder statesman Henry Kissinger, written with technologists Craig Mundie and Eric Schmidt, Genesis charts a course between blind faith and unjustified fear as it outlines an effective strategy for navigating the age of AI."-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 121008 Co-intelligence: living and working with AI by Ethan Mollick"AI has arrived. And with it, inescapable upheaval as we grapple with what it means for our jobs, lives and the future of humanity.Cutting through the noise of AI evangelists and AI doom-mongers, Wharton professor Ethan Mollick has become one of the most prominent and provocative explainers of AI, focusing on the practical aspects of how these new tools for thought can transform our world. In Co-Intelligence, he urges us to engage with AI as co-worker, co-teacher and coach. Wide ranging, hugely thought-provoking and optimistic, Co-Intelligence reveals the promise and power of this new era."-- Goodreads. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 116251 Scary smart: the future of artificial intelligence and how you can save the world by Mo Gawdat"Artificial intelligence is smarter than humans. It can process information at lightning speed and remain focused on specific tasks without distraction. AI can see into the future, predicting outcomes and even use sensors to see around physical and virtual corners. So why does AI frequently get it so wrong? The answer is us. Humans design the algorithms that define the way that AI works, and the processed information reflects an imperfect world. Does that mean we are doomed? In Scary Smart, Mo Gawdat, the internationally bestselling author of Solve for Happy, draws on his considerable expertise to answer this question and to show what we can all do now to teach ourselves and our machines how to live better. With more than thirty years' experience working at the cutting-edge of technology and his former role as chief business officer of Google [X], no one is better placed than Mo Gawdat to explain how the Artificial Intelligence of the future works. By 2049 AI will be a billion times more intelligent than humans. Scary Smart explains how to fix the current trajectory now, to make sure that the AI of the future can preserve our species. This book offers a blueprint, pointing the way to what we can do to safeguard ourselves, those we love and the planet itself." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 92919 AI superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the new world order by Kai-Fu LeeTechnology executive and investor analyzes the technological developments and business opportunities for artificial intelligence in the twenty-first century. Pays particular attention to the work being done in China and the United States. Explores the possibilities of the technology in the future. 2018.DB 128344 As if human: ethics and artificial intelligence by Nigel Shadbolt and Roger Hampson"Every day we are confronted with ethical challenges arising from machine-mediated decision-making. Is the facial recognition software used by an agency fair? When algorithms determine questions of justice, finance, health, and defense, are the decisions proportionate, equitable, transparent, and accountable? How do we harness technology to empower rather than oppress?"-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.DB 19890 Machines who think: a personal inquiry into the history and prospects of artificial intelligence by Pamela McCorduckTraces the American contribution to the development of artificial intelligence from its earliest beginnings to its sometimes frightening future. Based on personal interviews with major figures in the field.DB 22452 Inteligencia alienigena by Stuart Holroyd The author analyzes the human perception of intelligence and examines evidence that supports the existence of alien intelligences that are nonhuman, incorporeal, or extraterrestrial. Spanish language.DB 117717 Artificial : la nueva inteligencia y el contorno de lo humano by Mariono Sigman and Santiago Bilinkis "Este no es un libro de oráculos o vaticinios, sino las reflexiones de dos autores que consideran que para aproximarse al futuro será imprescindible navegar la ola de la inteligencia artificial. En una conversación tan lúcida como estimulante, el neurocientífico superventas Mariano Sigman y el emprendedor Santiago Bilinkis repasa el origen, las utilidades y los riesgos de esta tecnología. ¿Qué hará la humanidad con esta lámpara de Aladino? ¿Cuál es el mejor escenario? ¿Cobrará más valor lo fabricado por personas? ¿Qué ocurrirási supera nuestras debilidades? Si bien exponen las razones por las que debemos ser cautos y responsables, huyen del pesimismo. Muy al contrario, nos invitan pensar que de este desafío podemos sacar nuestra mejor versión." -- Proporcionada por la editorial. -- Sin calificación. Audiolibro comercial.DB 118868 La ola que viene: tecnología, poder y el gran dilema del siglo XXI by Mustafa Suleyman"En La ola que viene, Suleyman (uno de los mayores expertos del planeta en sistemas inteligentes) demuestra cómo estas fuerzas amenazan seriamente las bases del orden mundial. Mientras nuestros frágiles gobiernos caminan sonámbulos hacia el desastre, nos enfrentamos a un dilema existencial: por un lado, enfrentarnos a los daños sin precedentes derivados de una exposición incontrolada a estas nuevas tecnologías; por otro, a la amenaza de una vigilancia tiránica y abusiva. ¿Conseguiremos abrir un estrecho punto de fuga entre la catástrofe y la distopía?" -- Proporcionada por la editorial. -- Traducido de la edición en inglés de 2023.DB 124345 Nexus : una breve historia de las redes de información desde la Edad de Piedra hasta la IA by Yuval N. Harari"Durante los últimos 100.000 años, los sapiens hemos acumulado un enorme poder. Pero, a pesar de todos los descubrimientos, inventos y conquistas, ahora nos enfrentamos a una crisis existencial: el mundo está al borde del colapso ecológico, abunda la desinformación y nos precipitamos hacia la era de la I.A. Con todo el camino andando, ¿por qué somos una especie autodestructiva? A partir de una fascinante variedad de ejemplos históricos, desde la Edad de Piedra, pasando por la Biblia, la caza de brujas de principios de la Edad Moderna, el estalinismo y el nazismo, hasta el resurgimiento del populismo en nuestros días, Harari nos ofrece un marco revelador para indagar en las complejas relaciones que existen entre información y verdad, burocracia y mitología, y sabiduría y poder. Examina cómo diferentes sociedades y sistemas políticos han utilizado la información para lograr sus objetivos e imponer el orden, para bien y para mal. Y plantea las opciones urgentes a las que nos enfrentamos hoy en día, cuando la inteligencia no humana amenaza nuestra propia existencia." -- Proporcionada por la editorial. -- Traducido de la edición en inglés de 2024. Sin calificación. Audiolibro comercial....

2025-2026 VIP Book Club Selections

The VIP (Visually Impaired Persons) Book Club, also known as the Manhattan VIP Book Club, was created by a librarian at the Kansas Talking Books (KTB) subregional library in Manhattan. For many years, patrons from Manhattan and the surrounding area met in-person on the 3rd Tuesday of each month to discuss books with the help of a KTB librarian to facilitate discussion. But, when COVID happened, the book club and its members had to adapt. To keep it going, some very dedicated participants encourage the move to first a conference call and then to Zoom as the book club outgrew the capacity of the conference call. Moving to a virtual meeting platform enabled the book club to open to other KTB patrons around the state. The current members encourage other patrons to join and look forward to your participation, especially as they just finished making the final selections for the 2025-2026 book club year.If you are unsure about using Zoom or don't have a computer or smart device, don't worry. All you need is a telephone. Let the Kansas Talking Books staff know which discussion you are interested in joining and need to do so by phone. Our staff will call you about 5-10 minutes before that book club meeting begins and will transfer you into the discussion. Contact the KTB staff at 1-800-362-0699 or KTB@ks.gov.Occurrence3rd Tuesday of each monthDates and BooksSeptember 17, 2025 (date changed from Tuesday to Wednesday because of schedule conflict)DB 128356 Custodians of wonder: ancient customs, profound traditions, and the last people keeping them alive by Eliot Stein"A vivid look at the ten key people who are maintaining some of the world's oldest and rarest cultural traditions. Eliot Stein has traveled the globe in search of remarkable people who are preserving some of our rarest cultural rites. In Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive, Stein introduces readers to a man saving the secret ingredient in Japan's 700-year-old original soy sauce recipe. In Italy, he learns how to make the world's rarest pasta from one of the only women alive who knows how to make it. And in India, he discovers a family rumored to make a mysterious metal mirror believed to reveal your truest self. From shadowing Scandinavia's last night watchman to meeting a 27th-generation West African griot to seeking out Cuba's last official cigar factory "readers" more than a century after they spearheaded the fight for Cuban independence, Stein uncovers an almost lost world. Climbing through Peru's southern highlands, he encounters the last Inca bridge master who rebuilds a grass-woven bridge from the fabled Inca Road System. He befriends a British beekeeper who maintains a touching custom of "telling the bees" important news of the day and crunches through a German forest to find the official mailman of the only tree in the world with its own address--to which countless people all over the world have written in hopes of finding love. These are just some of the last people on Earth still in touch with quickly vanishing rites. Let Eliot Stein introduce you to all of them."-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.October 21, 2025DB 111034 Witch queens, voodoo spirits & hoodoo saints: a guide to magical New Orleans by Denise Alvarado"A magical mystery tour of the extraordinary historical characters that have defined the unique spiritual landscape of New Orleans. New Orleans has long been America's most magical city, inhabited by a fascinating visible and invisible world, full of mysteries, known for its decadence and haunted by its spirits. If Salem, Massachusetts, is famous for its persecution of witches, New Orleans is celebrated for its embrace of the magical, mystical, and paranormal. New Orleans is acclaimed for its witches, ghosts, and vampires. Because of its unique history, New Orleans is the historical stronghold of traditional African religions and spirituality in the US. No other city worldwide is as associated with Vodou as New Orleans. In her new book, author and scholar Denise Alvarado takes us on a magical tour of New Orleans. There is a mysterious spiritual underbelly hiding in plain sight in New Orleans, and in this book Alvarado shows us where it is and who the characters are. She tells where they come from and how they persist and manifest today. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints shines a light on notable spirits and folk saints such as Papa Legba, Annie Christmas, Black Hawk, African-American culture hero Jean St. Malo, St. Expedite, plague saint Roch, and, of course, the mother and father of New Orleans Voudou, Marie Laveau and Doctor John Montenée. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints serves as a secret history of New Orleans, revealing details even locals may not know." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.November 18, 2025DB 57755 Touching the void by Joe Simpson Mountain climber recounts his harrowing 1985 survival story of plunging off an Andean ice ledge, forcing his partner, Simon Yates, to cut the rope binding them. Describes Simpson's grueling descent with a broken leg and Yates's emotional turmoil believing his friend dead. Some strong language. Bestseller. 1988.December 16, 2025DB 38703 The unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman Bored and depressed after her husband's death, Mrs. Pollifax decides to take her doctor's advice and do something enjoyable. Since she has always wanted to be a spy, Mrs. Pollifax heads to Washington, D.C., to apply to the CIA. She admits that she is quite prepared to offer up her life on assignment. As luck would have it, there is a pressing need for a tourist-type to smuggle a document out of Mexico. Some strong language and some violence.January 20, 2026DB 115207 The book of Charlie: wisdom from the remarkable American life of a 109-year-old man by David Von Drehle"When a veteran Washington journalist moved to Kansas, he met a new neighbor who was more than a century old. Little did he know that he was beginning a long friendship-and a profound lesson in the meaning of life. Charlie White was no ordinary neighbor. Born before radio, Charlie lived long enough to use a smartphone. When a shocking tragedy interrupted his idyllic boyhood, Charlie mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom. Thus armored, Charlie's sense of adventure carried him on an epic journey across the continent, and later found him swinging across bandstands of the Jazz Age, racing aboard ambulances through Depression-era gangster wars, improvising techniques for early open-heart surgery, and cruising the Amazon as a guest of Peru's president. David Von Drehle came to understand that Charlie's resilience and willingness to grow made this remarkable neighbor a master in the art of thriving through times of dramatic change. As a gift to his children, he set out to tell Charlie's secrets. The Book of Charlie is a gospel of grit-the inspiring story of one man's journey through a century of upheaval. The history that unfolds through Charlie's story reminds you that the United States has always been a divided nation, a questing nation, an inventive nation-a nation of Charlies in the rollercoaster pursuit of a good and meaningful life." -- Provided by publisher. -- Some violence. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller.February 17, 2026DB 123788 Love triangle: how trigonometry shapes the world by Matt Parker"Trigonometry is perhaps the most essential concept humans have ever devised. The simple yet versatile triangle allows us to record music, map the world, launch rockets into space, and be slightly less bad at pool. Triangles underpin our day-to-day lives and civilization as we know it. Matt Parker argues we should all show a lot more love for triangles, along with all the useful trigonometry and geometry they enable. To prove his point, he uses triangles to create his own digital avatar, survive a harrowing motorcycle ride, cut a sandwich, fall in love, measure tall buildings in a few awkward bounds, and make some unusual art. Along the way, he tells extraordinary and entertaining stories of the mathematicians, engineers, and philosophers-starting with Pythagoras-who dared to take triangles seriously"-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.March 17, 2026DB 124237 Somewhere beyond the sea by TJ Klune"Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one. He's the headmaster of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there. Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. And there's the island's sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children. But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve. And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home -- one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from -- Arthur knows they're at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart."-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.April 21, 2026DB 123831 Here one moment by Liane Moriarty"A woman stands up on a plane, and predicts when everyone will die. Everyone laughs it off until it starts to come true"-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.May 18, 2026DB 122023 Vision: a memoir of blindness and justice by David S. Tatel"A memoir by one of America's most accomplished public servants and legal thinkers-who spent years denying and working around his blindness, before finally embracing it as an essential part of his identity. David Tatel has served nearly 30 years on America's second highest court, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where many of our most crucial cases are resolved-or teed up for the Supreme Court. He has championed equal justice for his entire adult life; decided landmark environmental and voting cases; and embodied the ideal of what a great judge should be. Yet he has been blind for the past 50 of his 80-plus years. Initially, he depended upon aides to read texts to him, and more recently, a suite of hi-tech solutions has allowed him to listen to reams of documents at high speeds. At first, he tried to hide his deteriorating vision, and for years, he denied that it had any impact on his career. Only recently, partly thanks to his first-ever guide dog, Vixen, has he come to fully accept his blindness and the role it's played in his personal and professional lives. His story of fighting for justice over many decades, with and without eyesight, is an inspiration to us all."-- Goodreads. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.June 16, 2026DB 127313 Three days in June by Anne Tyler"Gail Baines is long divorced from her husband, Max, and not especially close to her grown daughter, Debbie. Today is the day before Debbie's wedding. To start, Gail loses her job--or quits, depending who you ask. Then, Max arrives unannounced on Gail's doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay and without even a suit in which to walk their daughter down the aisle. But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband-to-be. It will not only throw the wedding itself into question but also send Gail back into her past and how her own relationship fell apart."-- Provided by publisher. -- Some strong language, some violence. Commercial audiobook.July 21, 2026DB 119947 Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray"Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference. When she's not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell's Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with whom she falls deeply in love. But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he's a rich, arrogant dilettante who gets by on a handsome face and a famous name. He thinks she's a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House. Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR's most trusted lieutenant-even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she's willing to do-and what she's willing to sacrifice-to save a nation"-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook....