Oasis San Antonio ·  Summer 2026

Book Discussion Group

This summer reading group centers on four books chosen to provoke reflection and conversation about life's defining questions. Across genres — biography, memoir, narrative non-fiction, science fiction, and literary fiction — each work guides us to explore what it means to live with purpose, redefine success, and embrace reinvention. We will tackle urgent modern issues, including the relationship between humanity and technology, the role of empathy, and whether artificial intelligence enhances or diminishes our human experience. By following figures like Roosevelt in the Amazon, a neurosurgeon confronting mortality, and a bounty hunter questioning existence, these stories mirror our own search for meaning. We hope these books will inspire enduring insight and enrich our summer discussions.

4 BooksMay – August 2026San Antonio, Texas

This Season’s Reading

  1. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi — book cover
    Biography / Memoir

    When Breath Becomes Air

    Paul Kalanithi·2016

    At the age of thirty-six and on the verge of completing his neurosurgery training, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles his transformation from medical student to neurosurgeon to patient, as he wrestles with what makes a life worth living in the face of death. A Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times #1 bestseller, this memoir is profound, life-affirming, and impossible to forget.

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    Discussion  ·  May 14

  2. The River of Doubt by Candice Millard — book cover
    Non-Fiction

    The River of Doubt

    Candice Millard·2005

    In 1914, former President Theodore Roosevelt embarked on a perilous expedition down an uncharted tributary of the Amazon River. Accompanied by his son Kermit and Brazil's most famous explorer Candido Rondon, Roosevelt and his party faced starvation, disease, murder within their own ranks, and the unrelenting brutality of the jungle. Three men died, and Roosevelt himself was brought to the brink of death. A gripping narrative nonfiction thriller, The River of Doubt is a story of resilience, leadership, and the indomitable human spirit.

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    Discussion  ·  June 11

  3. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick — book cover
    Fiction / Science Fiction

    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

    Philip K. Dick·1968

    Set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco after nuclear war has devastated Earth, this landmark science fiction novel follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter tasked with tracking down and retiring rogue androids who are indistinguishable from humans. As he pursues his targets, Deckard is forced to question the nature of empathy, humanity, and what it truly means to be alive. The inspiration for the classic film Blade Runner, this visionary novel remains as thought-provoking today as when it was first published.

    Rate this book

    Discussion  ·  July 9

  4. Fiction

    To Be Announced

    Stay tuned — our fourth selection will be revealed this summer.

    Discussion  ·  August 13