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The Dream Hotel: A Novel
Laila Lalami
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From Laila Lalami—the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist and a “maestra of literary fiction” (NPR)—comes a riveting and utterly original novel about one woman’s fight for freedom, set in a near future where even dreams are under surveillance.
Sara has just landed at LAX, returning home from a conference abroad, when agents from the Risk Assessment Administration pull her aside and inform her that she will soon commit a crime. Using data from her dreams, the RAA’s algorithm has determined that she is at imminent risk of harming the person she loves most: her husband. For his safety, she must be kept under observation for twenty-one days.
The agents transfer Sara to a retention center, where she is held with other dreamers, all of them women trying to prove their innocence from different crimes. With every deviation from the strict and ever-shifting rules of the facility, their stay is extended. Months pass and Sara seems no closer to release. Then one day, a new resident arrives, disrupting the order of the facility and leading Sara on a collision course with the very companies that have deprived her of her freedom.
Eerie, urgent, and ceaselessly clear-eyed, The Dream Hotel artfully explores the seductive nature of technology, which puts us in shackles even as it makes our lives easier. Lalami asks how much of ourselves must remain private if we are to remain free, and whether even the most invasive forms of surveillance can ever capture who we really are.
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Jananie\
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• Apr 10
all the books I want to read this spring 🌸📚 a long overdue book haul!
open for an exclusive giveaway! 👀
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Anti Brain Rot Reading Challenge: Announcing the 2026 Boundless Book Club Picks 📚📖
watch for the full list of picks for 2026!
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Jananie\
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• Nov 19 2025
Boundless Book Club Picks 2026: January, February, March, April
open to find out what the picks are!
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Jananie\
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• Jan 9 2025
25 books releasing in 2025 to add to your TBR | anticipated books to preorder ASAP!
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Posts about this book from across Bindery
Children of Diaspora\
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Rae the Reviewer\
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• Jun 8
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40+ Books to Celebrate the World Cup!
What team are you rooting for?
Thank you so much @librosmeansbooks for helping me put this list together. We’ve been gushing about the friendlies and upcoming matches and the World Cup overall since @booknetfest and I’m super excited for the real action to begin ⚽️ 🥅
Please let me know any other books from these countries that you loved in the comments, there are so many on this list that I hadn’t even heard of before that have peaked my interest
#worldcup #booklist #readingrecommendations #bookstagram #readtheworld
18 books
3
Boundless Press\
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Jananie\
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• Apr 10
all the books I want to read this spring 🌸📚 a long overdue book haul!
open for an exclusive giveaway! 👀
22 books
15
4
Literally Moody\
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Una\
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• Mar 25
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I recently finished The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula (thank you @PRHaudio for the gifted audiobook) and had an interesting conversation with a friend about the presence of the Church in a fantastical Victorian London setting. Not an allegorical representation, or metaphorical references to Christendom, but the actual Church complete with the Papacy was a steady presence throughout the novel. I think this was a bold choice on the author's part and likely reflects some religious trauma (maybe) but it actually worked pretty well for the story. My friend showed clear distaste for the heavy religious presence and that got me thinking about the veil of comfort that comes from fictionalizing institutions of systemic harm. \
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I eat up the toppling-of-an-oligarchical-system in any novel I read. For example, in The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami, a grounded dystopian novel, the characters overcome a corpo-oligarchical carceral system. In Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang, the systems in question were academia as the gatekeeper for state violence and colonization. There are a million examples I could name and most folks would have no trouble naming the real-world system or institution to which the fictional one is alluding to. So why does The Geomagician's inclusion and naming of the Christian Church give us pause? Literary scholars, that's a question for you! \
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Does naming the "boogey man" sully the experience of reading fantasy? Is the art of writing Sci-fi/Fantasy, or Horror defined by the ability to create parallel systems as part of world-building, or can fantastical worlds be built around existing systems? \
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Mild spoilers ahead:\
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For what it's worth, I found the world-building and magic system in The Geomagician to be quite compelling, especially as someone with dinosaurs as their lifelong special interest. I did find the ending a bit disappointing, specifically because of the way the MCs continue to acquiesce to the systems that oppress them. The main protagonist maintains a neutral stance throughout the novel which is infuriating, but reflects a common characteristic of White feminism: "I don't care until it harms me." It was still a fun fantasy read and I'd recommend it to fans of dinosaurs and unique magic systems!\
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\* Disclaimer \* This is neither an endorsement nor a condemnation of the titles mentioned, simply a bid to interact critically themes.
Christian Fundamentalism in Fantasy
3 books
Ronnica Reads\
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Ronnica Fatt\
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• Feb 26
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Poll:\
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Which of these titles are you interested in for the Leans Literary book club?\
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I've already announced that the Leans Literary book club (which you're a part of if you are reading this...if you want to be!) will be reading Good People by Patmeena Sabit in April. \
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But I know how hard it can be to get your hands on books sometimes, so I want to go ahead and make up a calendar for the rest of the year. \
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Taking a look at my shelves, the below titles are books I think would be a good fit that I have already read. Feel free to suggest other titles as well.\
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The Leans Literary book club will focus on genre fiction (sci fi, horror, dystopian, dark academia, etc) written by marginalized authors that has literary character-development and/or themes. We'll probably shy away from fantasy, as it's not generally my favorite, and I feel like there are already a lot of good book clubs out there focused on fantasy.\
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What Do You Want to Read Together?
11 books
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Discotopia | Diverse Books\
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Disco (he/they)\
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• Jan 21
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Hi folks!\
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I have been having a brilliant reading week, filling my boots with dystopian sci fi and queer horror. Both books I read were utterly brilliant and very different.\
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Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle\
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How have I not read Chuck Tingle before?? This is a brilliant sci fi horror about a bisexual statistics professor who witnesses the horror of a mass ‘bad luck’ event, where 8 million people die in bizarre, unlikely ways. She withdraws from the world, but when a government agent tells her a Las Vegas casino may have had something to do with it, she tags along.\
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So fun, so weird, and has so much to (subtly) say about the way people in our world deal with crazy mass events. Loved it.\
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The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami\
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A Moroccan-American woman is sent to a for-profit ‘retention facility’ after an AI algorithm that monitors her dreams flags her as a risk, likely to commit a crime. While imprisoned, she tries to figure out how it could have happened.\
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This was obviously very reflective of a certain… situation today, and infuriating, but also brilliant and clever and surprising. It’s pretty contemplative, not a whole ton of action, but oh man it really enraged and energised me. Brilliant book.\
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Happy reading!\
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Disco x\
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Evil AI and Bizarre Queer Horror
2 books
3
Boundless Press\
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Jananie\
\
• Jan 7
Anti Brain Rot Reading Challenge: Announcing the 2026 Boundless Book Club Picks 📚📖
watch for the full list of picks for 2026!
25 books
19
2
Boundless Press\
\
Jananie\
\
• Nov 19 2025
Boundless Book Club Picks 2026: January, February, March, April
open to find out what the picks are!
8 books
15
Fairly Queer Books\
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Fareeha\
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• Aug 4 2025
Join for free
\
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The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami \
\
Sara has just landed at LAX, returning home from a conference abroad, when agents from the Risk Assessment Administration pull her aside and inform her that she will soon commit a crime. Using data from her dreams, the RAA’s algorithm has determined that she is at imminent risk of harming the person she loves most: her husband. For his safety, she must be kept under observation for twenty-one days.\
\
The agents transfer Sara to a retention center, where she is held with other dreamers, all of them women trying to prove their innocence from different crimes. With every deviation from the strict and ever-shifting rules of the facility, their stay is extended. Months pass and Sara seems no closer to release. Then one day, a new resident arrives, disrupting the order of the facility and leading Sara on a collision course with the very companies that have deprived her of her freedom.\
\
Eerie, urgent, and ceaselessly clear-eyed, The Dream Hotel artfully explores the seductive nature of technology, which puts us in shackles even as it makes our lives easier. Lalami asks how much of ourselves must remain private if we are to remain free, and whether even the most invasive forms of surveillance can ever capture who we really are.\
\
Join the discord channel to join the discussion and vote on the poll for our date. See you there!](https://fairlyqueer.binderybooks.com/item/mcxAs6DgDPjO7OxCezij/)
August Book Club Pick
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The Inky Phoenix\
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Kathryn Budig\
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• May 3 2025
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What should I read next?
Can’t we just pick them all??
7 books
3
7
Not So Well Read\
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Courtney\
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• Mar 9 2025
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[I'm back with my scheduled weekly updates after a few-week-long brain break. Sorry for not keeping up with things, but sometimes I just don't really want to be on the internet. You can read this short post if you want to know more.\
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This week in the book world: \
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Oh, no! People are surprised that Barnes & Noble didn't treat the Oathbound release in the same way it treated Onyx Storm. It's almost like they're a giant corporation that chooses profits over people. If only there was a pattern of previous behaviors that they could have predicted this. If only they could choose better places to spend their money, you know, like indie bookstores that threw parties and had signed stock and special swag and everything for this release.\
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Can't wait til the next time this exact thing happens.\
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This week's publishing news: \
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- Excited for Luke Larkin's debut, House of Hands, which was pitched as an "atmospheric Western with a paranormal twist, in which a girl in the Montana Territory sets out to find her father after he is carried off by an otherworldly creature".\
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- Kelly Andrews, author of Your Blood, My Bones, announced a new duology. The Gravewood, was described as "supernatural romance with dystopian elements, about a Deaf girl living in post-climate collapse New England who offers up her blood to the cunning young leader of a local vampire cartel in exchange for desperately needed supplies". Sign me up.\
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- New John Wiswell's!!! The Dragon Has Some Complaints, which is about "a dragon whose three heads bear three mismatched personalities and the dragon rider trying to befriend all three heads in time for them to save the world together"\
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- Queer romantasy alert! Sarah Glenn Marsh's We Could Be (Anti)Heroes, "pitched as gay Lord of the Rings, a m/m romantasy in which ex-best friends, the descendants of heroes, must team up to find treasure in a haunted swamp"\
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This week's new releases: \
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- Oathbound by Tracy Deonn (YA, Fantasy)\
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- Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid (YA, Dystopian)\
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- The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Adult, Fantasy)\
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- They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran (YA, Horror)\
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- Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Adult, Literary)\
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- The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (Adult, Dystopian)\
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- The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (Adult, Horror)\
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What I read this week: \
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The Devils (Finished):\
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THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING. The characters, the comedic timing, the storytelling. This book goes up there with Shades of Magic and The Scholomance as one of my favorite adult fantasy series. It made me laugh out loud in an embarrassing fashion and also made me cry. I'm not over it. \
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The Scorpion Queen (Finished):\
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This was... fine. I really liked the premise, but the pacing was so weird. It's not a long read, but it felt like it was dragging on for forever. I was also so disappointed when I got to the end and realized it was being set up a series. I will probably not be reading the next one. \
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Fable for the End of the World (Finished):\
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Fable for the End of the World has burrowed its way into my soul in ways I cannot even begin to describe. It has all of my favorite things... sapphic longing, enemies-to-lovers arc, dystopian setting... you know, the works. It’s a quick, easy-to-fall in love with read that will have you going back to the nostalgia of 2010s teen fiction.\
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One For My Enemy (75%):\
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If you're looking to get into Olivie Blake's writing THIS is where you should start. I love her books, but as I've said many, many times–she's not for everyone. One for My Enemy gives you a good look at her usual tone/storytelling approach, but with a much more traditional narrative approach. Also, it's endlessly quotable. Like, some seriously gorgeous moments. Join my Fable book club if you want to read a few I've pinned.\
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Brother Brontë (50%):\
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Lol, I'm supposed to have this finished by Book Club tomorrow. It's not very long, but I'm kind of hating it. The descriptions of the setting and the prose style is hard to describe, but it spends so much time describing things without actually telling you anything. Does that make any sense? Probably not. It's also structured in "4 Books," and they each have a different narrative style, which is kind of chaotic.\
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Oathbound (10%):\
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I swear to god if any of you spoil this book for me I will throw my phone/laptop/ipad into the nearest ocean and then I will drive to your home and throw yours in the next nearest ocean.\
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What I bought/shelved: \
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I went a little wild at the bookstore this week. Whoops.\
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- A Song for You and I by K. O'Neill\
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- The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amélie Wen Zhao\
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- Nightweaver by R.M. Gray\
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- Oathbound by Tracy Deonn\
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- Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft\
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- Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid\
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Not being on the internet as much has caused a severe decline in books I've shelved, so nothing to report there.\
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Other Musings: \
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Sorry for being a "bad" creator last month. I'm feeling much better and will get back to my old habits. Thanks friends. Appreciate you.](https://notsowellread.binderybooks.com/item/SvQlRwA3kD2ZlCmdfs9J/)
Weekly Wrap Up – 3.03-3.09
15 books
Not So Well Read\
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Courtney\
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• Feb 18 2025
Join for free
The cathartic nature of horror is widely-talked-about across the book internet, but I haven't seen that same discussion extended into dystopian fiction. While some might consider dystopian a brand of horror in itself, there are clear differences between the two. Horror typical works to confront the self, but dystopian always is focused on greater societal issues.\
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The reason these books feel so timely is not that their authors are gifted with some sort of clairvoyance, but because they are deeply rooted in reality. Authors of dystopian and apocalyptic fiction are simply looking at current events and asking "what if". And, the results of their thought experiments are often uncanny in their parallels to current society, because it's not hard to imagine the repercussions of our actions when we actually sit down and confront them.\
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While not everyone might feel this way, for me, there's some comfort in the knowing. And, even more so, there's comfort in knowing that I'm not the only one looking out at the world and seeing that something has broken. It's a strange kinship, that's for sure, but kinship nonetheless.\
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So, if you too, find solace in facing our potential futures, here are some new dystopian/apocalyptic novels coming out this spring...\
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All Better Now by Neal Shusterman (Out Now) \
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What if: all "negative" emotions were suddenly erased from the world?\
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From the author of the Scythe series, comes a new sci-fi series where a virus wipes out all of humanities negative feelings. But, as people "recover" the economy begins to collapse, leading politicians and billionaires to try and race to find a "cure". This one confronts how much our economies depend on consumerism marketed towards "happiness". \
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Brother Brontë by Fernando A. Flores (Out Now) \
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What if: literacy was actually completely outlawed?\
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I can't give much away here, but this one tackles a lot. Set in a Texas border-town, Brother Brontë confronts a world where literacy has officially been outlawed and theirs rampant violence against women. But, it's also up to them to to lead a rebellion. Oh, did I mention it also features a technocracy and a focus on "government efficiency".\
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All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall (Out Now) \
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What if: climate change threatened our collective history?\
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All the Water in the World was actually inspired by the work of historians and museum curators in Iraq and Leningrad and all they've done to protect their collections from war. It follows a group of researchers trying to build a new society in a flooded world, while also protecting the world's history. But, as they rush to survive the failure of NYC flood protections, they're forced to weigh their new realities against humanity's history.\
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Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman \
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What if: your MAGA relatives were actually being possessed by the media?\
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Wake Up and Open Your Eyes is a "social horror" novel, so it straddles the line into dystopian, while also bringing in some supernatural horror elements. This story follows a young man, whose family starts falling into the traps of the far-right media to the point of literal possession. It directly confronts the feeling of hopelessness many of us feel watching our loved ones descend into hatefulness.\
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A Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (March 4, 2025) \
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What if: even our fail safes start to fail?\
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When I was in college, we had a guest artist come give a talk about her work photographing the world seed bank. Since then, I have been absolutely fascinated by the knowledge that the world's "fail-safe" is just out there in the literal middle of nowhere. A Wild Dark Shore, exists in a future where even that contingency plan is being threatened by rising tides. Asking the question of when should our focus shift from the greater good to our personal preservation?\
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Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid (March 4, 2025) \
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What if: the future was run by a single, blood-thirsty monopoly? \
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I, unfortunately, wasn't one of the chosen few who received an early copy of this one, but I know it is going to change my very being, because it feels like the dystopian novels of old (i.e. the 2000s). Fable for the End of the World is set in a world where society is at the whims of a single corporation, to which many individuals are in massive amounts of debt. But, obviously, the corporation has come up with a great way to rid folks of that debt–sacrificing their children to a televised "assassination spectacle" à la The Hunger Games.\
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The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (March 4, 2025) \
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What if: organized religion promises an "escape" from the apocalypse?\
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Let me caveat this blurb by being very clear that I will not be reading this book. I do not like splatterpunk, excessive violence, or graphic depictions of torture–which is exactly what this book promises (per current Goodreads reviews). But, if you're wanting ideological extremism and a world (and it's women) descending deeper into their violent natures, this one's definitely should be your go-to.\
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The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (March 4, 2025) \
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What if: the lines between our selves, technology, and the government disappeared entirely?\
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The Dream Hotel explores a future in which government surveillance extends to our dreams, gathering data for algorithm that can predict an individual's "risk" to society. Unsurprisingly, this leads to women trying to prove their innocent against the word of biased data. This one places the relationship between sweeping technological "advancements" and societies fall Fascism front and center.\
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When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory (April 1, 2025) \
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What if: our entire world was a digital simulation?\
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When We Were Real presents a reality in which nothing is in our control. In fact, our "reality" isn't even real, but rather an elaborate, widespread simulation. This one's a bit more on the lighthearted side of the genre. It still leans into the existentialism of knowing that your life is being dictated by an uncontrollable entity, but also the small activism in deciding to live anyway.\
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The Compound by Aisling Rawle (June 25, 2025) \
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What if: televised violence was the only thing left to distract the masses?\
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In an increasingly violent world, is it surprising that our reality television would also become... well... increasingly violent? The Compound follows a young woman who is a contestant on a popular reality television show where folks compete for modern luxuries and avoid getting banished to the outside world. This one has an eerie take on influencer-culture, consumerism, and the commodification of our everyday lives.
10 New Dystopian Novels for the Now Times
10 books
2
Boundless Press\
\
Jananie\
\
• Jan 9 2025
25 books releasing in 2025 to add to your TBR | anticipated books to preorder ASAP!
Anticipated Releases on my list!
24 books
2