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Editorial Content for The Internet of Us: Knowing More and Understanding Less in the Age of Big Data

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Lorraine W. Shanley

A slim volume, THE INTERNET OF US is unlikely to find a huge audience, as it is an academic (though readable) treatise, and nobody likes a naysayer. Despite his protestations to the contrary, author Michael Patrick Lynch believes that the internet holds many perils of which we are blissfully –-- willfully --- unaware. But instead of focusing on financial fraud and identity theft (though those are touched on), Lynch is more interested in how the typical surfer is being seduced by information rather than knowledge, and how this affects us in the long term. Read More

Teaser

The Internet has revolutionized the way we learn and know, as well as how we interact with each other. And yet this explosion of technological innovation has also produced a curious paradox: even as we know more, we seem to understand less. Demonstrating that knowledge based on reason plays an essential role in society and that there is much more to “knowing” than just acquiring information, leading philosopher Michael Patrick Lynch shows how our digital way of life makes us overvalue some ways of processing information over others, and thus risks distorting what it means to be human.

Promo

The Internet has revolutionized the way we learn and know, as well as how we interact with each other. And yet this explosion of technological innovation has also produced a curious paradox: even as we know more, we seem to understand less. Demonstrating that knowledge based on reason plays an essential role in society and that there is much more to “knowing” than just acquiring information, leading philosopher Michael Patrick Lynch shows how our digital way of life makes us overvalue some ways of processing information over others, and thus risks distorting what it means to be human.

About the Book

With far-reaching implications, this urgent treatise promises to revolutionize our understanding of what it means to be human in the digital age.

We used to say "seeing is believing"; now googling is believing. With 24/7 access to nearly all of the world's information at our fingertips, we no longer trek to the library or the encyclopedia shelf in search of answers. We just open our browsers, type in a few keywords and wait for the information to come to us. Indeed, the Internet has revolutionized the way we learn and know, as well as how we interact with each other. And yet this explosion of technological innovation has also produced a curious paradox: even as we know more, we seem to understand less.

While a wealth of literature has been devoted to life with the Internet, the deep philosophical implications of this seismic shift have not been properly explored until now. Demonstrating that knowledge based on reason plays an essential role in society and that there is much more to “knowing” than just acquiring information, leading philosopher Michael Patrick Lynch shows how our digital way of life makes us overvalue some ways of processing information over others, and thus risks distorting what it means to be human.

With far-reaching implications, Lynch's argument charts a path from Plato's cave to Shannon's mathematical theory of information to Google Glass, illustrating that technology itself isn't the problem, nor is it the solution. Instead, it will be the way in which we adapt our minds to these new tools that will ultimately decide whether or not the "Internet of Things" --- all those gadgets on our wrists, in our pockets and on our laps --- will be a net gain for humanity. Along the way, Lynch uses a philosopher's lens to examine some of the most urgent issues facing digital life today, including how social media is revolutionizing the way we think about privacy; why a greater reliance on Wikipedia and Google doesn't necessarily make knowledge "more democratic"; and the perils of using "big data" alone to predict cultural trends.

Promising to modernize our understanding of what it means to be human in the digital age, THE INTERNET OF US builds on previous works by Nicholas Carr, James Gleick and Jaron Lanier to give us a necessary guide on how to navigate the philosophical quagmire that is the Information Age.

Audiobook available, narrated by Dan Woren

Editorial Content for Cambodia Noir

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

CAMBODIA NOIR by Nick Seeley is, in a way, the feel-good book of the year. After you read it, you will feel good about living in a developed country; maintaining sobriety (or the equivalent thereof); and having a safe, boring, predictable job. Seeley, a journalist whose past beats have included Phnom Penh, puts the reader on the street and in the jungle in this powerful debut novel. You will itch, look over your shoulder, and overreact to strange noises one-hundredfold after reading it. Naturally, I couldn’t put it down, even when I should have. Read More

Teaser

Once-great war photographer Will Keller's days and nights are a haze of sex, drugs, booze and brawling in lawless Phnom Penh, Cambodia. That is, until he meets Kara Saito, a beautiful young woman who begs Will to help find her sister, June, who disappeared while interning at a local paper. Entering the dangerous Phnom Penh underworld, Will uses June’s diary --- an unsettling collection of experiences, memories and dreams --- on his search for the missing girl. However, when disturbing facts about June and her family history reveal themselves, Will realizes that the most dangerous thing in Cambodia may be June herself.

Promo

Once-great war photographer Will Keller's days and nights are a haze of sex, drugs, booze and brawling in lawless Phnom Penh, Cambodia. That is, until he meets Kara Saito, a beautiful young woman who begs Will to help find her sister, June, who disappeared while interning at a local paper. Entering the dangerous Phnom Penh underworld, Will uses June’s diary --- an unsettling collection of experiences, memories and dreams --- on his search for the missing girl. However, when disturbing facts about June and her family history reveal themselves, Will realizes that the most dangerous thing in Cambodia may be June herself.

About the Book

A “sinuous, shattering thriller” (Booklist, starred review) with a heart-stopping conclusion about a mysterious American woman who disappears in to the Cambodian underworld, and the photojournalist who tracks her through the clues left in her diary, by an author whose “plotting and pacing are as sharp and original as his writing” (Nelson DeMille).

Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Lawless, drug-soaked, forgotten --- it’s where bad journalists go to die. For once-great war photographer Will Keller, that’s kind of a mission statement: he spends his days floating from one score to the next, taking any job that pays; his nights are a haze of sex, drugs, booze and brawling. But Will’s downward spiral is interrupted by Kara Saito, a beautiful young woman who shows up and begs Will to help find her sister, June, who disappeared during a stint as an intern at the local paper. So begins Will’s “journey to the heart of drug-fueled noirness” (New York Journal of Books).

There’s a world of bad things June could have got mixed up in: the Phnom Penh underworld is in an uproar after a huge drug bust; a local reporter has been murdered in what looks like a political hit; and the government and opposition are locked in a standoff that could throw the country into chaos at any moment. Will’s best clue is her diary: an unsettled collection of experiences, memories, and dreams, reflecting a young woman at once repelled and fascinated by the chaos of Cambodia. As Will digs deeper into June’s past, he uncovers one disturbing fact after another about the missing girl and her bloody family history. In the end, the most dangerous thing in Cambodia may be June herself.

Propulsive, electric and exotically enthralling, CAMBODIA NOIR “has it all: sex, drugs, and mystery” (MetroUS). Debut author Nick Seeley “impresses on every count,” (BookPage, Top Mystery Pick) exploring what happens when we venture into dark places…when we get in over our heads…when we get lost. “If ever a case was made for place as character in a novel, Seeley makes it here with scene after nightmarish scene…This is distinctive work” (Kirkus Reviews).

Audiobook available, narrated by Kate Rudd

Editorial Content for Postcards from Stanland: Journeys in Central Asia

Reviewer (text)

Barbara Bamberger Scott

There are five “stans” (nations) in Central Asia: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the largest, Kazakhstan. David H. Mould has seen them all, in his role as a UNICEF trainer among other professional connections to the region and as a proponent of what he calls “slow travel.” Read More

Teaser

Multinationals and nations compete for the oil and gas reserves of the Caspian Sea and for control of the pipelines. Yet “Stanland” is still, to many, a terra incognita, a geographical blank. Beginning in the mid-1990s, academic and journalist David Mould’s career took him to the region on Fulbright Fellowships and contracts as a media trainer and consultant for UNESCO and USAID, among others. In POSTCARDS FROM STANLAND, he takes readers along with him on his encounters with the people, landscapes and customs of the diverse countries --- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan --- he came to love.

Promo

Multinationals and nations compete for the oil and gas reserves of the Caspian Sea and for control of the pipelines. Yet “Stanland” is still, to many, a terra incognita, a geographical blank. Beginning in the mid-1990s, academic and journalist David Mould’s career took him to the region on Fulbright Fellowships and contracts as a media trainer and consultant for UNESCO and USAID, among others. In POSTCARDS FROM STANLAND, he takes readers along with him on his encounters with the people, landscapes and customs of the diverse countries --- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan --- he came to love.

About the Book

Central Asia has long stood at the crossroads of history. It was the staging ground for the armies of the Mongol Empire, for the 19th-century struggle between the Russian and British empires, and for the NATO campaign in Afghanistan. Today, multinationals and nations compete for the oil and gas reserves of the Caspian Sea and for control of the pipelines. Yet “Stanland” is still, to many, a terra incognita, a geographical blank.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, academic and journalist David Mould’s career took him to the region on Fulbright Fellowships and contracts as a media trainer and consultant for UNESCO and USAID, among others. In POSTCARDS FROM STANLAND, he takes readers along with him on his encounters with the people, landscapes and customs of the diverse countries --- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan --- he came to love. He talks with teachers, students, politicians, environmental activists, bloggers, cab drivers, merchants, Peace Corps volunteers and more.

Until now, few books for a nonspecialist readership have been written on the region, and while Mould brings his own considerable expertise to bear on his account --- for example, he is one of the few scholars to have conducted research on post-Soviet media in the region --- the book is above all a tapestry of place and a valuable contribution to our understanding of the post-Soviet world.

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Douglas Adams

We at Teenreads love talking about books on all sorts of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter (@teenreads), Instagram (@teenreadsdotcom) and tumblr (@teenreadsdotcom). Where do YOU talk about books? Check all that apply.

April 1, 2016, 104 voters

Do you try to reach the end of a chapter before setting aside a book to do other things (sleeping included!)?

March 31, 2016, 650 voters

April 2016

Happy “Game of Thrones” month, Books on Screen readers! Can you feel it in the air, as thick as Jon Snow’s hair? That’s not early spring humidity; it’s excitement! It feels like a lifetime ago that the season five finale aired, and now we’re finally going to learn the fates of our favorite characters (JON SNOW JON SNOW JON SNOW), come hell or Ramsay Bolton. I was strictly told that I couldn’t devote this entire column to “Game of Thrones,” but --- as someone who, against all odds, was able to write about GONE WITH THE WIND in every single ninth grade English paper --- there are always loopholes. So welcome to Books on Screen, Thrones Edition! And sorry in advance, Tom.

March 31, 2016

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we know people will be talking about this spring. Read more about it, and enter our Spring Preview Contest by Friday, April 1st at 11:59am ET for a chance to win one of five copies of THE ONE-IN-A-MILLION BOY by Monica Wood, which releases on April 5th. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

Editorial Content for Burn Baby Burn

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Aimee Rogers

If you’ve read any of Meg Medina’s books, you’re a fan of Meg Medina; if you are not a fan of Meg Medina that just means you haven’t read any of her books yet. Her young adult novel YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS won the Pura Belpre Author Award in 2014. And her recent picturebook, MANGO, ABUELA AND ME, won a 2016 Pura Belpre Author Honor Award. Read More

Teaser

 

Nora Lopez is 17 during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora’s family life isn’t going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn 18 and be on her own. And while there is a cute new guy who started working with her at the deli, is dating even worth the risk when the killer likes picking off couples who stay out too late?

Promo

Nora Lopez is 17 during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora’s family life isn’t going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn 18 and be on her own. And while there is a cute new guy who started working with her at the deli, is dating even worth the risk when the killer likes picking off couples who stay out too late?

About the Book

While violence runs rampant throughout New York, a teenage girl faces danger within her own home in Meg Medina's riveting coming-of-age novel.

Nora Lopez is 17 during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora’s family life isn’t going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn 18 and be on her own. And while there is a cute new guy who started working with her at the deli, is dating even worth the risk when the killer likes picking off couples who stay out too late? Award-winning author Meg Medina transports us to a time when New York seemed balanced on a knife-edge, with tempers and temperatures running high, to share the story of a young woman who discovers that the greatest dangers are often closer than we like to admit --- and the hardest to accept.

March 31, 2016

There’s been quite a bit of shake-up in the social media sphere this week. First and foremost, a ton of people listened to the Kanye album, which means that they actually purchased Tidal. We had more faith in our compadres (read: millennials) than we realized. STOP ENABLING JAY Z, SHEEPLE. Secondly, and maybe more importantly, Instagram announced --- emphasis on announced because it hasn’t quite happened yet --- that they are making a change to our feeds. Politely put: People lost their sh*t and went slightly loco, even by current social media standards. Even @thefatjewish would agree that it was all a tad tasteless, and if we see one more “Turn On Post Notifications” gram, we might quit the whole thing and never look back. So let’s recap the whole fiasco so you’ll seem like a real expert in all of your group texts.