New in 2025!
Since 1965, alumni have gathered each year for a lively panel discussion on the best new fiction and non-fiction at Conversation With Books. This year, Conversation With Books is growing! Join us in 2025 for hybrid events in January, June, and October. We’ll discuss books from multiple genres, including historical fiction, romance, speculative fiction, and more!
October 5, 2025: Suzanne Lehman ’93, MSN’11, DNP’18
Join Lehman, dean of the School of Nursing, for a lively discussion on literature that primarily focuses on BIPOC authors and speculative fiction.
“I believe a conversation, a real conversation, about something we've read, using critical thinking, is an exemplary demonstration of what unites all of us as Katies. It's women-centered, using skills from liberal arts and Catholic Social Teaching.â€
The books I have chosen reflect the power of women’s lives and voices.
Finding Me ~ Viola Davis
Circe ~ Madeline Miller
Where They Last Saw Her ~ Marcie Rendon
Broken Spaces and Outer Spaces ~ Nnedi Okorafor
More details coming soon.
today!
June 7, 2025: Lydia Butler Fasteland ’12, MLIS’17 and Taylor Harwood ’15
“What I find really interesting is what ‘happily ever after’ looks like, what how that looks like can tell us about our society and culture, and what we the readers might want out of our lives." Leading a discussion of the romance genre through an intersectional lens, Harwood and Fasteland explored tropes, themes, and romance novels as an act of feminism.
January 26, 2025: Ruth Haag Brombach ‘60 and Judie Martens Flahavan ‘60
We kicked off the year by discussing a mix of new fiction and nonfiction books, including titles by local Minnesota authors. This discussion was hosted by longtime Conversation with Books presenters Brombach and Flahavan, joined by Associate Professor of History Rachel Neiwert, PhD, and special guest ´ºÓêÖ±²¥ Marcheta P. Evans, PhD. This year they selected a list of titles, mostly current, that offer good literature from a variety of authors. Because most of the books chosen were recently published, the subjects are current or revisited through today's lens.