The Future

Nobel Prize-winning poet Wislawa Szymborska writes, “When I pronounce the word Future, / the first syllable already belongs to the past." How does our vision of the future impact the way we live now? Do we have any control over what the future holds, or is the future inherently unknowable? In this thematic collection we've gathered texts that address these questions and others as they imagine the future.

The Talisman

by Stephen King, Peter Straub

Publication year 1984

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Memory, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Fate, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Friendship, Mothers, Death, The Past, Future, Appearance & Reality, Animals, Space, War, Family

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Action & Adventure

The Talisman is a 1984 novel co-written by Stephen King and Peter Straub. It is a fantasy novel with horror elements and has connections to the works in King’s Dark Tower series. The Talisman is a road trip book that tells the story of Jack Sawyer and his quest to save his mother. The Talisman examines themes of lost innocence, coming of age, friendship, the corrupting nature of power, and more.The Talisman has a sequel... Read The Talisman Summary

The Teacher's Funeral

by Richard Peck

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Future, Family

Tags Humor, Children`s Literature, World History, Historical Fiction

In The Teacher’s Funeral (2004), Richard Peck gives a humorous, heartwarming look back at a changing time in America’s history. Narrator Russell Culver, a mischievous 15-year-old living in rural Indiana, reveals how his delight turned to dismay when his teacher died in August 1904. Peck draws on both his father’s childhood memories and his own recollections of visits to his grandparents’ farm as inspiration for the novel, which won a 2005 Christopher Award. Page citations... Read The Teacher's Funeral Summary

The Testing

by Joelle Charbonneau

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Future, Memory, Power & Greed

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Action & Adventure, Military & War, Climate Change, Relationships, Futurism, Fantasy, Romance

Published in 2013,The Testing is the first in a dystopian young adult trilogy by Joelle Charbonneau; it is Charbonneau’s first venture into YA fiction. The Testing is often compared to Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games due to its dystopian setting and the similarity of the brutal, life-or-death situations to which each series’ teen protagonists are subjected. The Testing received the Anthony Award for Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel in 2014 and was nominated for several other... Read The Testing Summary

The Time Keeper

by Mitch Albom

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Aging, Death, Future, The Past

Tags Fantasy, Science Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Symbolic Narrative, Inspirational

The Time Keeper (2012) by American author Mitch Albom is a fable that explores the themes of Humans’ Relationship with Time, The Need to Live in the Present, and the Acceptance of One’s Mortality. The inventor of the world’s first clock, Dor, is punished for measuring time and banished to a cave for thousands of years where he becomes an ageless Father Time. Eventually, he is granted his freedom with the condition that he must... Read The Time Keeper Summary

The Time Machine

by H. G. Wells

Publication year 1895

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Science & Technology, Future, Social Class

Tags Science Fiction, Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure

The Time Machine is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells published in 1895. The book’s protagonist, who is never named and called only the Time Traveller, is a brilliant Victorian inventor who travels 800,000 years into the future. He finds that humans have evolved into two distinct species, called the Eloi and the Morlocks. The Eloi are peace-loving and childlike simpletons who are farmed and eaten by the brutal Morlocks, who live underground... Read The Time Machine Summary

The Tipping Point

by Malcolm Gladwell

Publication year 2000

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Community, Science & Technology, Future

Tags Business & Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Self-Improvement, Leadership, Science & Nature, Psychology

Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point (2000) is an interdisciplinary work of popular sociology and psychology that explores the concept of the tipping point, a moment of sudden change that occurs in social epidemics. Gladwell explores how social epidemics work and offers many case studies and illustrative research to bolster his novel arguments about how epidemics “tip.” The book began as an article for The New Yorker. This guide refers to the first edition of the... Read The Tipping Point Summary

The Transall Saga

by Gary Paulsen

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Science & Technology, Environment, Appearance & Reality, Future

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Survival Fiction, Children`s Literature

The Transall Saga is a 1998 fantasy/sci-fi novel by author Gary Paulsen, who is best known for his wilderness survival books, such as Hatchet. The plot revolves around young protagonist Mark Harrison, who goes on a weeklong hiking trip and is transported to what appears to be another world—Transall. He must learn to survive among strange vegetation, animals, and people—all in the midst of war—as he tries to find a way home.Other works by this... Read The Transall Saga Summary

The Unworthy

by Agustina Bazterrica, Transl. Sarah Moses

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Regret, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Death, Future, Self Discovery, Community, Good & Evil, Power & Greed

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, LGBTQ+

... Read The Unworthy Summary

The Virgin Suicides

by Jeffrey Eugenides

Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Memory, Beauty, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Grief, The Past, Future, Environment, Appearance & Reality

Tags Coming of Age, Depression & Suicide, Climate Change, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness, Classic Fiction

The Virgin Suicides is a realistic fiction novel written by Jeffrey Eugenides and originally published in 1993. Using death by suicide as its central motif, the novel examines the themes of The Objectification of Women, Romanticizing the Past, and The Effects of Loss. A statement of youth disillusionment, death by suicide becomes The Death of the Future, another of the novel’s themes. The novel was adapted into a critically acclaimed film directed by Sofia Coppola... Read The Virgin Suicides Summary

The Viscount Who Loved Me

by Julia Quinn

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Aging, Death, Loyalty & Betrayal, Social Class, Friendship, Fate, Siblings, Safety & Danger, Coming of Age, Forgiveness, Memory, Daughters & Sons, Childhood & Youth, Love, Literature, Mothers, The Past, Family, Future, Appearance & Reality, Equality, Beauty, Self Discovery, Hate & Anger, Marriage, Loneliness, Conflict, Masculinity, Trust & Doubt, Grief, Femininity, Fathers, Nostalgia, Truth & Lies, Shame & Pride

Tags World History, Regency Era, Romance, Historical Fiction

... Read The Viscount Who Loved Me Summary

The Wild Robot Protects

by Peter Brown

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Future, Animals, Nature Versus Nurture, Family, Community, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Climate Change, Children`s Literature, Animals

... Read The Wild Robot Protects Summary

The Witch Collector

by Charissa Weaks

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Guilt, Hope, Love, Memory, Revenge, Disability, Language, Coming of Age, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Place, Family, Friendship, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, War, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Fantasy

... Read The Witch Collector Summary