Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What is Human in a World of Machines by Joy Buolamwini

22 Tuesday Oct 2024

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What does it mean to millions of people when the newest of the newest technology, facial recognition software can’t see your face? The author describes her work at MIT to raise awareness about this important failing. 

“This is as much a memoir as it is a clarion call for change. Unmasking AI belongs alongside Cathy O’Neil’s Weapons of Math Destruction and Safiya Umoja Noble’s Algorithms of Oppression as essential warnings for our time. It’s an important corrective to our unquestioning embrace of technology.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Unmasking AI shows Dr. Joy Buolamwini’s unmatched ability to break down complex topics for a wide audience. While taking us through her journey from a curious scientist excited by the possibilities of AI to one who uncovers its harms, Buolamwini breaks down the past, present, and future of AI harms in a manner that allows everyone to understand and participate in resisting them. This book is yet another artifact of her excellence.”—Timnit Gebru, founder of Distributed AI Research Institute and co-founder of Black in AI

“This revelatory book exposes the myriad, deeply ingrained biases encoded into facial recognition and other ‘trusted’ AI systems, pushing us to confront our blind trust in the machines that are taking over our lives. In describing how she conquered her own demons along her path towards justice for all, Dr. Joy Buolamwini offers a deeply felt, stirring call to action for ethical AI—a must-read for those who want a world in which technology serves humanity.”—Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize winner, CEO and president of Rappler

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Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

15 Tuesday Oct 2024

Posted by in adventure, detective, Fiction, Historical Fiction, mystery, nature, United States

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“I barely put Shelterwood down as my new favorite heroine, Ranger Valerie, uncovered the chilling story of children displaced by land barons. This book has it all—two fabulous heroines, a little-known true story, and a setting to die for.”—Martha Hall Kelly, author of Lilac Girls and The Golden Doves

“Wingate is at her best writing in her sweet spot of writing for children’s rights while introducing us to a moment in Oklahoma history that would otherwise be forgotten”. —Sadeqa Johnson, author of The House of Eve

“Wingate’s stellar latest explores a centuries-long legacy of missing child cases. . . . Wingate’s insightful depiction of her young characters’ vulnerability and resourcefulness enriches the intricate plotting, and her portrayal of the region’s history, culture, and landscape enthralls. Wingate is at the top of her game.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A complex and fascinating tapestry woven with threads of history, mystery, and menace that proves yet again that there is no finer storyteller at work today than Lisa Wingate.”—William Kent Krueger, author of The River We Remember

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By Any Other Name: a Novel by Jodi Picoult

02 Wednesday Oct 2024

Posted by in Biographical fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction

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Outstanding across the board!

“You’ll fall in love with Emilia Bassano, the unforgettable heroine based on a real woman that Jodi Picoult brings vividly to life in her brilliantly researched new novel.”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Women

“Picoult’s fictional take on the real life of [Emilia Bassano]. She quite likely would have known Shakespeare, because they moved in the same circles. Did she write things attributed to the Bard? Who knows. But her own life is interesting enough.”—Los Angeles Times

“[A] timely and affecting tale . . . Picoult’s many, many fans will pounce on her latest incisive, pot-stirring tale.”—Booklist, starred review

“Masterful . . . Breathtaking . . . Picoult’s own writing reminds us that to be a truly magnificent author, one also must be a poet, a creator of imagery and metaphor.”—Bookreporter

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Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips

25 Wednesday Sep 2024

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction, United States

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PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION • A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War—and a brilliant portrait of family endurance against all odds

“A searing portrait of the cruelties of race, the insanity of war, and the tragedy of its aftermath.”
—Drew Gilpin Faust, author of This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War

“There is a luminous beauty in Phillips’s prose. Whether it is the dark interiors of war—which have become her forte—or the equally complex and fraught lives of so-called ‘ordinary’ people, Phillips brings these theaters of peace and loss, death and transcendence together with a remarkable alchemy.”—Ken Burns, filmmaker

“Gorgeous prose, attention to detail, and masterful characters . . . Set in West Virginia during and after the Civil War, Phillips’ book takes as given that slavery was evil and the war a necessity, focusing instead on lives torn apart by the conflict and on the period’s surprisingly enlightened approach toward care of the mentally ill . . . Pitch-perfect voice . . . Haunting storytelling and a refreshing look at history.”—Kirkus, starred

“Exquisite attention to detail propels a superb meditation on broken families in post–Civil War West Virginia . . . A profound sense of loss haunts the novel, and Phillips conveys a strong sense of place . . . The bruised and turbulent postbellum era comes alive in Phillips’s page-turning affair.”—Publishers Weekly, starred

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The Devotion of Suspect X: A Detective Galileo Novel (Detective Galileo Series, 1) by Keigo Higashino

18 Wednesday Sep 2024

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We know who committed the crime at the very beginning of this Japanese mystery, yet there are still many twists and turns to come in the story of a man who helps his neighbor cover up a murder.

“Winner of Japan’s prestigious Naoki Prize and a bestseller there with more than two million copies sold, this literary psychological thriller is a subtle and shifting murder mystery. It will make readers redefine devotion and trust in an otherwise complete stranger.” ―Library Journal (starred review)

Veteran police detective matches wits with a brilliant rookie criminal. This character-driven mystery by the prolific Higashino has much to recommend, including a droll Columbo-like sleuth and a great surprise ending.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“In The Devotion of Suspect X, Keigo Higashino weaves a web of intellectual gamesmanship in which the truth is a weapon that leads both police and readers astray. The ingenius conclusion is so unexpected that it’s difficult to imagine anyone seeing it coming. Smart, smart characters.” ―Jaqueline Winspear

“Irresistible! A mind-twisting story that will have readers plunging in to try to solve the crime before the math genius, the physics professor, or the cop get there first.” ―Nancy Pickard, New York Times bestselling author of The Scent of Rain and Lightning and The Virgin of Small Plains

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The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin

09 Monday Sep 2024

Posted by in Biography, memoir, United States

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This was one of the best memoirs I’ve read in a while. While raising their kids in a California suburb, the author and her husband are arrested for a series of crimes stemming from their drug addiction. In jail and in recovery, Lara finds the power of her voice in this compelling story.

“Grips you as suddenly as any psychological thriller… Readers will experience the lows and highs of addiction, incarceration and rehabilitation as Love Hardin assembles the pieces of her shattered life into something beautiful again in this inspiring chronicle.” —BookPage

“A hilarious and heartbreaking confession that will not let you go until it is done—and then it will haunt you. It will give you hope in what is possible for each of us if we allow others—and ourselves—to move beyond our shame, find redemption, and write a new, more inspiring story of our lives.” —Lori Gottlieb, author of the New York Times bestseller, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

“A compelling and timely rebuttal to the perverse and unjust notion that people who are convicted of crimes can only be criminals. This critically important idea is essential for a nation that has been so derailed by destructive “law and order” narratives that have left us both less just and less safe.” —Bryan Stevenson, author of the New York Times bestseller Just Mercy

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The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

03 Tuesday Sep 2024

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction, United States

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“I knew from page one that this wasn’t going to be a typical journey through a familiar history. Wonderfully structured with a genius conceit, Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s The American Daughters is a thoughtful, courageous, exciting invitation to look beneath the surface—to uncover, peel back, find, and examine the hidden, lost, and missing fragments of the record, the recovery of which will lead us to discover the spirit of resistance embodied by our ancestors and awaken it in ourselves. . . . A splendid work.”—Robert Jones, Jr., New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award finalist The Prophets

“Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s third book is a tour de force. An intelligent and haunting novel that grapples with the legacies of American slavery, The American Daughters features a sparkling cast of engaging Black women that you won’t soon forget.”—Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy

 “Ruffin’s dignified prose and focus on the bonds of women of color help elevate the novel from the tropes of slavery narratives, and he paints a vibrant picture of antebellum New Orleans. Readers won’t be able to resist this stirring story of freedom by any means necessary.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A high adventure, a revealing history, and a chronicle of one woman’s self-realization. Ruffin also displays some of the cunning imagination and caustic wit he showed in his previous work by interspersing his narrative with imagined transcripts from the past, present, and even the future. Black women as agents—literally—of their own liberation. Who wouldn’t be inspired?”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan

26 Monday Aug 2024

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Her writing is so brilliant describing quiet, everyday moments with beauty and clarity in these short stories. Definitely read her other three short books!

“A master class in precisely crafted short fiction… Keegan’s trenchant observations explode like bombshells, bringing menace and retribution to tales of romance delayed, denied, and even deadly.” — Booklist, starred review

“Each story in So Late in the Day offers readers the suspense one might feel when walking home alone late at night. Violence lurks in Keegan’s stories, just as it does in our real world, despite it being so late in the story of women and men.” —Washington Independent Review of Books

“Compact but deep explorations of human vulnerability from a master of the form.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Exquisite . . . These pristine stories demonstrate the author’s genius for economy. Keegan says in a paragraph what other writers take entire novels to reveal.” — Publishers Weekly

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The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

19 Monday Aug 2024

Posted by in adventure, detective, Fiction, Historical Fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller, United States

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A literary mystery set at a summer camp, where two siblings vanish years apart. Well written and haunting.

“A rare gem, an immersive and enthralling literary thriller: a novel about love in the aftermath of tragedy, and about families of the very best—and the worst—kind.”—Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

“Liz Moore’s extraordinary new literary suspense novelreminds me of Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut, The Secret History. . . . [T]he vital connection for me was a reading experience where I was so thoroughly submerged in a rich fictional world, that for hours I barely came up for air. . . . The precision of Moore’s writing never flags. . . . Unforgettable.”—Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air, NPR

“Rich in background detail and secondary mysteries . . . this ever-expansive, intricate, emotionally engaging novel never seems overplotted. Every piece falls skillfully into place and every character, major and minor, leaves an imprint.”—Kirkus, STARRED review

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Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

12 Monday Aug 2024

Posted by in crimes against, Fiction, Historical Fiction, murder, murder and investigation, thriller, True crime, United States

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This novel is based on the real-life crimes of Ted Bundy, though he is deliberately never named. Instead, Bright Young Women focuses on the lives of the women he crosses paths with and forever changes. This is a powerful story about violence, anger, and how women navigate the world.

“An unsettling and thrilling page-turner… Knoll’s haunting, must-read account will captivate [readers] until the end.”—Library Journal (starred Review)

“Bright Young Women is a fearless and intoxicating ride into the aftershocks of a series of brutal murders. Knoll explores in vivid, pointillist prose the effects on the ‘bright young women’ of the title, both the victims snuffed out in their glorious prime, and those left behind in their wake. It’s a compelling, almost hypnotic read and I loved it with a passion.”
—Lisa Jewell, New York Times bestselling Author of Then She Was Gone

“Stunning… By focusing on the women affected by her Ted Bundy stand-in instead of the nuances of his criminal psychology, Knoll movingly reframes an American obsession without stripping it of its intrigue. The results are masterful.”—Publisher’s Weekly (Starred Review)

“Blistering and powerful, Bright Young Women is an almost unbearably vivid story of sisterhood and survival. With razor-sharp skill, Jessica Knoll deconstructs the myth of a criminal mastermind, revealing the women he seeks to destroy as the truly brilliant ones.”
—Flynn Berry, New York Times bestselling author of Northern Spy and Under the Harrow

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