Loyal Blues Book Club with Evviva

  • Evviva Weintraub Lajoie, Vice Provost for University Libraries.

    Evviva Weintraub Lajoie, Vice Provost for University Libraries

    Evviva Weinraub Lajoie, Vice Provost for University Libraries hosts our virtual book club exclusively for Loyal Blues.

    You’ll have the opportunity to connect with alumni and friends, all while having an expert educator guide you through several books annually.

    Our Summer Book

    I'm excited to read All Systems Red, the first book in the Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries series, with you this summer. This Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novella introduces readers to a rogue security android who just wants to be left alone to watch its favorite soap operas - but keeps getting dragged into saving humans instead. 

    While fast-paced and often laugh-out-loud funny, All Systems Red also opens the door to deeper questions about autonomy, artificial intelligence, corporate responsibility, and what it means to be sentient. 

    I hope you'll join us for a lively conversation about the book's humor and heart - and the surprising ethical questions it raises about innovation, ownership, and identity in an increasingly tech-driven world.

    How it works

    Book cover of Martha Wells’ “All Systems Red.” The artwork shows a humanoid figure in futuristic white armor, partially shadowed, standing against a hazy, otherworldly backdrop with muted green and gray tones. The title “All Systems Red” appears in bold red lettering, with the author’s name, Martha Wells, in white above it.

    There is no cost to participate. Simply purchase a copy of the book and sign up below to receive emails.

    This title is available through GooglePlay, Amazon Kindle, and Red Shelf. If you need help finding a copy, just let us know.

    Summer Reading Cycle

    Once you've signed up, you will receive weekly emails to guide you through the reading period, which will run from August 5 until August 28. You can also join our to discuss the book and post questions.

    Virtual Events

    Thursday, August 28, 2025 | 12:00-1:00 p.m.
    Loyal Blues Book Club Discussion:

    Evviva Weinraub Lajoie
    Vice Provost for University Libraries 

    Dominic Sellitto
    Clinical Associate Professor, Management Science and Systems

    We hope you can participate in our virtual discussion of All Systems Red, where we'll be joined by UB Professor who will help guide our conversation and talk about the book, deeper questions about artificial intelligence, consciousness, and corporate responsibility. 

    Zoom details will be posted soon. 

    Discussion Questions & Resources

    Previous Loyal Blues Book Club Reads:

    • Binti Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor
    • City of Light by Lauren Belfer
    • Dubliners by James Joyce
    • Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
    • Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
    • Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
    • Kindred by Octavia Butler
    • Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
    • Louise Blanchard Bethune: Every Woman Her Own Architect by Kelly Hayes McAlonie 
    • North By Shakespeare by Michael Blanding
    • One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
    • Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
    • Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
    • The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
    • The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
    • The Overstory by Richard Powers
    • The Personal Librarian by Heather Terrell and Victoria Christopher Murray
    • The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
    • Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil

Suggest a Book

Have a book that you think might be interesting for the book club to read? Drop us a note and we'll add it to our list of recommendations.