Read With Us: Pacifica Book Clubs for 2026–2027

The Pacifica Book Club invites parents, alumni, and friends to join us in one of the oldest and richest human endeavors: reading great books in the company of friends.

Many of our selections come directly from Pacifica’s Humanities curriculum, offering adults the opportunity to read alongside our students and alumni the chance to revisit books that shaped their education. Other selections are enduring works chosen by our faculty because they illuminate the human condition and invite serious reflection on the questions that matter most.

Great books have a remarkable way of bringing people together. They form the imagination, deepen our understanding of ourselves and others, help order our loves, and teach us to see more clearly what is true, good, and beautiful. Whether you are already an experienced reader or simply desire thoughtful conversation and meaningful friendship, you are warmly invited to participate.

During the 2026–2027 school year, Pacifica will offer two book clubs in each of the fall, winter, and spring seasons. Each club meets for six consecutive Monday evenings from 7:00–8:30 p.m. on Pacifica’s Main Campus and is led by a member of our faculty.

We hope you will join us for one book, one season, or perhaps throughout the entire year as we pursue the lifelong work of becoming people who think well, love well, and live wisely.

 

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Fall Book Clubs | September 28–November 2

Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis

Led by Dr. David Woods

In this spiritual autobiography, C.S. Lewis traces the unexpected path by which his deepest longings led him from atheism to Christian faith. More than a memoir, Surprised by Joy is an exploration of desire and the human search for meaning, beauty, and truth. Lewis helps readers consider how God often works through imagination, friendship, literature, and the unexpected experiences of an ordinary life. The book invites us to examine our own longings and ask how they might point beyond themselves toward the One for whom we were made. Register today!

Selected Stories of Flannery O’Connor

Led by Dr. Eric Balmer

Flannery O’Connor’s stories are unsettling, humorous, memorable, and profoundly theological. Through eccentric characters and startling encounters with grace, she exposes human pride, self-deception, and the surprising ways God works within broken lives. Her stories strengthen the moral imagination and remind us that Christian faith is not merely a collection of ideas, but a reality that confronts and transforms us in the midst of ordinary life. Register today!

 

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Winter Book Clubs | January 4–February 9

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

Led by Dr. David Woods

In this imaginative allegory, Lewis describes a bus journey from a dreary gray town to the borders of heaven. There, each traveler must decide whether to surrender the sins, resentments, and illusions that have come to define them. The Great Divorce offers a compelling meditation on freedom, holiness, and the choices that shape our souls. It invites readers to consider how the loves and habits we cultivate today prepare us either to receive or resist the joy for which we were created. Register today!

The Fall by Albert Camus

Led by Rev. Chris Stratton

Read by Pacifica seniors in the capstone Humanities seminar Faith and Culture, The Fall is a brief but penetrating work of existentialist literature. Through an examination of guilt, judgment, hypocrisy, and self-justification, Camus raises questions that every human being must eventually confront. Although Camus writes outside the Christian faith, his work provides a powerful conversation partner for considering the human condition, the limits of secular accounts of redemption, and our persistent need for grace. Register today!

 

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Spring Book Clubs | April 5–May 10

The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis

Led by Dr. Eric Balmer

One of Lewis’s most significant works, The Abolition of Man considers what happens when a society abandons objective truth and a shared moral order. With remarkable foresight, Lewis addresses questions of education, virtue, technology, human dignity, and the formation of desire. He argues that education must shape not only what students know, but also what they love. This book offers parents and educators a compelling vision of the rightly ordered affections necessary for personal flourishing and the renewal of culture. Register today!

The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Led by Dr. David Woods

One of the most influential novels in Western literature, The Sorrows of Young Werther captures the intensity of youthful longing, romantic love, and the search for identity. Through Werther’s passionate inner life, readers encounter both the beauty and the danger of emotions detached from wisdom, community, and moral restraint. The novel opens enduring questions about freedom, suffering, self-expression, and the difficult work of ordering our deepest desires toward what is true and good.  Register today!

 

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Join the Conversation

Registration is available here for individual book clubs or for multiple offerings throughout the year. Select one of the books below to learn more and reserve your place.

Read deeply. Think carefully. Join the conversation.