Books with category 🤳 Social Media
Displaying 21 books

American Spirits

2024

by Russell Banks

American Spirits, penned by one of America's most celebrated storytellers, Russell Banks, weaves together three dark, interlocking tales set against the backdrop of a rural New York town. These stories become the shocking headlines and local mythologies that resonate within the community.

A husband's decision to sell property to a mysterious and temperamental stranger leads to an onslaught of hounding on social media when he publicly questions the man's character. Nearby, a couple's sense of security is shaken when an enigmatic family moves in next door, prompting their children to start sneaking over to beg for help. In a more dire turn of events, two dangerous criminals kidnap an elderly couple and resort to blackmailing their grandson, insisting he settle his debts with them.

Each narrative thread in American Spirits is suspenseful and thrilling, showcasing Banks' expertise in crafting stories that explore the hostile undercurrents of our communities and the expansive landscape of American politics. At the same time, the novel delves into the concept of how local tragedies can be both overwhelmingly devastating and yet, somehow, a part of everyday life. Banks guides readers through the town of Sam Dent, solidifying his reputation as a masterful contributor to the bedrock of American fiction.

Filterworld

2024

by Kyle Chayka

From New Yorker staff writer and author Kyle Chayka comes a timely history and investigation of a world ruled by algorithms, which determine the shape of culture itself. From trendy restaurants to city grids, to TikTok and Netflix feeds the world round, algorithmic recommendations dictate our experiences and choices.

The algorithm is present in the familiar neon signs and exposed brick of Internet cafes, be it in Nairobi or Portland, and the skeletal, modern furniture of Airbnbs in cities big and small. Over the last decade, this network of mathematically determined decisions has taken over, almost unnoticed—informing the songs we listen to, the friends with whom we stay in touch—as we've grown increasingly accustomed to our insipid new normal.

This ever-tightening web woven by algorithms is called “Filterworld.” Kyle Chayka shows us how online and offline spaces alike have been engineered for seamless consumption, becoming a source of pervasive anxiety in the process. Users of technology have been forced to contend with data-driven equations that try to anticipate their desires—and often get them wrong. What results is a state of docility that allows tech companies to curtail human experiences—human lives—for profit.

But to have our tastes, behaviors, and emotions governed by computers, while convenient, does nothing short of call the very notion of free will into question. In Filterworld, Chayka traces this creeping, machine-guided curation as it infiltrates the furthest reaches of our digital, physical, and psychological spaces. With algorithms increasingly influencing not just what culture we consume, but what culture is produced, urgent questions arise: What happens when shareability supersedes messiness, innovation, and creativity—the qualities that make us human? What does it mean to make a choice when the options have been so carefully arranged for us? Is personal freedom possible on the Internet?

To the last question, Filterworld argues yes—but to escape Filterworld, and even transcend it, we must first understand it.

Doppelganger

2023

by Naomi Klein

From the award-winning, bestselling author of No Logo, The Shock Doctrine, and This Changes Everything, Naomi Klein presents a revelatory analysis of the collapsed meanings, blurred identities, and uncertain realities of the mirror world.

Naomi Klein takes a more personal turn, braiding together elements of tragicomic memoir, chilling political reportage, and cobweb-clearing cultural analysis, as she dives deep into what she calls the Mirror World—our destabilized present rife with doubles and confusion, where far right movements playact solidarity with the working class, AI-generated content blurs the line between genuine and spurious, New Age wellness entrepreneurs turned anti-vaxxers further scramble our familiar political allegiances, and so many of us project our own carefully curated digital doubles out into the social media sphere.

Klein begins this richly nuanced intellectual adventure story by grappling with her own doppelganger—a fellow author and public intellectual whose views are antithetical to Klein’s own, but whose name and public persona are sufficiently similar that many people have confused the two over the years. From there, she turns her gaze both inward to our psychic landscapes—drawing on the work of Sigmund Freud, Jordan Peele, Alfred Hitchcock, and bell hooks—and outward, to our intersecting economic, environmental, medical, and political crises.

Ultimately seeking to escape the Mirror World and chart a path beyond confusion and despair, Klein delivers a treatment of the way many of us think and feel now, offering an intellectual adventure story for our times.

The Long Game

2023

by Elena Armas

In The Long Game, a disgraced soccer exec, Adalyn Reyes, faces the challenge of her career when a viral video disrupts her meticulously crafted routine. Sent to redeem herself by turning around a struggling local soccer team in North Carolina, Adalyn's plans are further complicated by the team's unconventional practices and their fear of her.

Enter Cameron Caldani, a retired soccer star with a mysterious presence and a rocky first encounter with Adalyn. Despite the odds, Adalyn is determined to help this ragtag children's team succeed, with or without Cam's assistance. Her journey is a testament to resilience and the power of second chances in this heartwarming small-town love story reminiscent of Ted Lasso and It Happened One Summer.

The Quiet Before

2022

by Gal Beckerman

The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas is an exploration of the formation of social movements through history and the role of technology in shaping them. Gal Beckerman, an editor at The New York Times Book Review, presents a narrative that spans from the 1600s to the present, examining how the quiet conception of revolutionary ideas in small, private groups has led to significant social changes, from the scientific revolution to the suffrage movement, and from feminism to modern-day epidemiology.

This book delves into the correspondence that ignited the scientific revolution, the petitions that won voting rights in 1830s Britain, the zines that expressed women's rage in the early 1990s, and the messaging apps utilized by epidemiologists during a pandemic. Beckerman highlights the importance of secluded spaces where radical ideas can incubate before reaching a wider audience and cautions that the prevalence of social media may be undermining these productive environments. By examining the successes and failures of movements like the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, and Black Lives Matter, The Quiet Before offers insights into what current social media platforms lack and proposes ways to foster the growth of radical ideas in the future.

It Happened One Summer

2021

by Tessa Bailey

Tessa Bailey is back with a Schitt's Creek-inspired romantic comedy about a Hollywood "It Girl" who's cut off from her wealthy family and exiled to a small Pacific Northwest beach town, where she butts heads with a surly, sexy local who thinks she doesn't belong.

Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father's dive bar in Washington.

Piper hasn't even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won't last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So what if Piper can't do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She's determined to show her stepfather—and the hot, grumpy local—that she's more than a pretty face.

Except it's a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there's an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn't want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time. Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan—and this town full of memories—may have already caught her heart.

Talk Bookish to Me

2021

by Kate Bromley

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely—and inconvenient—sources.

Kara Sullivan's life is full of love—albeit fictional. As a bestselling romance novelist and influential Bookstagrammer, she's fine with getting her happily-ever-after fix between the covers of a book.

But right now? Not only is Kara's best friend getting married next week—which means big wedding stress—but the deadline for her next novel is looming, and she hasn't written a single word. The last thing she needs is for her infuriating first love, Ryan Thompson, to suddenly appear in the wedding party.

But Ryan's unexpected arrival sparks a creative awakening in Kara that inspires the steamy historical romance she desperately needs to deliver. With her wedding duties intensifying, her deadline getting closer by the second and her bills not paying themselves, Kara knows there's only one way for her to finish her book and to give her characters the ever-after they deserve.

But can she embrace the unlikely, ruggedly handsome muse—who pushes every one of her buttons—to save the wedding, her career and, just maybe, write her own happy ending?

The Ex Talk

Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can't imagine working anywhere else. But lately it's been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who's fresh off a journalism master's program and convinced he knows everything about public radio.

When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it's this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it's not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts.

As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.

Big Summer

2020

by Jennifer Weiner

Big Summer is a witty and moving story that dives into the complexities of female friendship, the challenges of living out loud and online, and the resilience of the human heart. Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shockingly reunited with Drue Cavanaugh, who looks as stunning and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask.

Daphne, who has built a life she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer, is speechless when Drue asks her to be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer. Drue, who seemingly had everything, struggled to maintain friendships. Now, Daphne must navigate the risky waters of rekindling a friendship with the glamorous and seductive Drue, which comes with an invitation to a waterfront Cape Cod mansion and the promise of summer excitement.

Big Summer, by #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner, is the perfect summer escape, celebrating the beauty of embracing oneself and the enduring power of friendship.

Ansibles, perfiladores y otras máquinas de ingenio

2020

by Andrea Chapela

En los futuros donde suceden estos diez relatos, una colecciĂł de dispositivos como pings, ansibles, lentillas, perfiladores o telones sensoriales -algunos de ellos instalados dentro del cuerpo humano- permiten a las personas conectar sus mentes en una nube digital, compartir sus pensamientos y memorias, ponerles filtros a sus percepciones o calcular el Ă©xito de un romance, mientras comen tacos de canasta o navegan sobre las calles de una Ciudad de MĂ©xico totalmente cubierta por el agua.

Con una inteligencia arrasadora, Andrea Chapela enfrenta a las protagonistas a realidades donde el conocimiento científico, la tecnología de punta y la vida cotidiana interactúan de forma cada vez ms intrincada e inevitable, de modo que incluso en la intimidad de la mente ya no reina la voz de la propia conciencia. La tecnología deja de ser un fetiche técnico para mostrar su capacidad de moldear los afectos y los vínculos humanos.

Las protagonistas son mujeres que se encuentran en una disyuntiva en sus relaciones personales a partir de un dispositivo de tecnologĂ­a mental o de asimilaciĂłn de la realidad que, a pesar de que deberĂ­a facilitar la vida, amenaza con volver ms asfixiantes, impredecibles o peligrosas las interacciones humanas. La mente y sus secretos, la percepciĂłn y la duda de si percibimos solo lo que deseamos, los lĂ­mites de la intimidad; estos son algunos de los temas que trata el libro.

Pro Truth: A Practical Plan for Putting Truth Back Into Politics

How can we turn back the tide of post-truth politics, fake news, and misinformation that is damaging our democracy? First, by empowering citizens to recognize and resist political lies and deceptions: Using cutting-edge neuroscience research, we show you the tricks post-truth politicians use to exploit our mental blindspots and cognitive biases. We then share with you strategies to protect yourself and others from these threats.

Second, by addressing the damage caused by the spread of fake news on social media: We provide you with effective techniques for fighting digital misinformation.

Third, by exerting pressure on politicians, media, and other public figures: Doing so involves creating new incentives for telling the truth, new penalties for lying, and new ways of communicating across the partisan divide. To put this plan into action requires the rise of a Pro-Truth Movement - a movement which has already begun, and is making a tangible impact.

If you believe truth matters, and want to protect our democracy, please read this book, and join us. Dr. Gleb Tsipursky and Tim Ward have teamed up to help citizens learn to protect themselves from lies, and empower them to put truth back into politics.

The Proposal

When freelance writer Nikole Paterson goes to a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend, his man bun, and his bros, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. Saying no isn't the hard part—they've only been dating for five months, and he can't even spell her name correctly. The hard part is having to face a stadium full of disappointed fans...

At the game with his sister, Carlos Ibarra comes to Nik's rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. He's even there for her when the video goes viral and Nik's social media blows up—in a bad way. Nik knows that in the wilds of LA, a handsome doctor like Carlos can't be looking for anything serious, so she embarks on an epic rebound with him, filled with food, fun, and fantastic sex. But when their glorified hookups start breaking the rules, one of them has to be smart enough to put on the brakes.

You

2018

by Caroline Kepnes

When a beautiful aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card. There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.

A terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation, debut author Caroline Kepnes delivers a razor-sharp novel for our hyper-connected digital age.

Well, That Escalated Quickly: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist

In this sharp, funny, and incredibly timely collection of personal essays, veteran video blogger and star of MTV's Decoded Franchesca Ramsey explores race, identity, online activism, and the downfall of real communication in the age of social media rants, trolls, and call-out wars.

Franchesca Ramsey didn't set out to be an activist. Or a comedian. Or a commentator on identity, race, and culture, really. But then her YouTube video "What White Girls Say... to Black Girls" went viral. Twelve million views viral. Faced with an avalanche of media requests, fan letters, and hate mail, she had two choices: Jump in and make her voice heard or step back and let others frame the conversation. After a crash course in social justice and more than a few foot-in-mouth moments, she realized she had a unique talent and passion for breaking down injustice in America in ways that could make people listen and engage.

Well, That Escalated Quickly includes Ramsey's advice on dealing with internet trolls and low-key racists, confessions about being a former online hater herself, and her personal hits and misses in activist debates with everyone from bigoted Facebook friends and misguided relatives to mainstream celebrities and YouTube influencers. With sharp humor and her trademark candor, Ramsey shows readers we can have tough conversations that move the dialogue forward, rather than backward, if we just approach them in the right way.

Comics for a Strange World

2017

by Reza Farazmand

Comics for a Strange World takes readers on a journey through time, space, and alternate realities, offering a collection of comics that hilariously skewers our modern age. This book reunites fans with favorite characters and presents even more bizarre scenarios.

Imagine a child arrested for plagiarism, a squirrel adapting to human society with a cell phone—and a gun, and an old man reminiscing about the Internet as a network of millions of idiots creating endless terrible ideas.

In Poorly Drawn Lines, nothing is too bizarre or outlandish to be parodied, making this book a perfect gift for fans of comic books who appreciate a good laugh at the absurdities of our world.

Aterryana: Los Defensores de la realidad

2017

by Eric Portnoy

¿Qué harías si tu realidad se modificara conforme lo que alguien escribiera en internet? Aterryana es un singular grupo de hackers que lucha para defender la realidad. Para lograrlo, pelea contra Global Comunications District, compañía que maneja los Historiales de Información Personal del mundo y que está modificando a su antojo la vida de las personas. Shana Vanir y el grupo de hackers deberán encontrar la forma de detener a esta empresa mientras pelean contra los ajustadores que vienen a destruirlo… y contra sus propios fantasmas.

Everybody Lies

Insightful, surprising, and with ground-breaking revelations about our society, Everybody Lies exposes the secrets embedded in our internet searches, with a foreword by bestselling author Steven Pinker. While people often lie to friends, lovers, doctors, pollsters—and to themselves—in Internet searches, they confess their truths, revealing secrets about sexless marriages, mental health problems, and even racist views.

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, an economist and former Google data scientist, presents what might be the most important dataset ever collected. This unprecedented database of secrets offers astonishing insights into humankind. For example, anxiety does not increase after a terrorist attack, crime levels drop when a violent film is released, and racist searches are no higher in Republican areas than in Democrat ones.

Stephens-Davidowitz reveals information that can be used to change our culture and addresses the questions we're afraid to ask that might be essential to our well-being—both emotional and physical. Everybody Lies is insightful, funny, and always surprising, exposing the biases and secrets deeply embedded within us, at a time when things are harder to predict than ever.

The Amazing Book Is Not on Fire

Hello reader! In this book is a world. A world created by two awkward guys who share their lives on the internet! We are Dan and Phil and we invite you on a journey inside our minds! From the stories of our actual births, to exploring Phil's teenage diary and all the reasons why Dan's a fail. Learn how to draw the perfect cat whiskers, get advice on how to make YouTube videos and discover which of our dining chairs represents you emotionally. With everything from what we text each other, to the time we met One Direction and what really happened in Vegas...

This is The Amazing Book Is Not on Fire.

Persona

Persona is an acerbic thriller set in a near-future world where celebrity ambassadors and assassins manipulate the media to the point where the only truth seekers left are the paparazzi. Suyana, the Face of the United Amazonia Rainforest Confederation, expects to solidify a relationship with the United States through a secret meeting with Ethan. However, her plans are upended by an unexpected assassination attempt.

Daniel, a teen runaway turned paparazzo, aiming for his big break, witnesses the attack on Suyana. Acting on impulse, he finds himself embroiled in the dangerous game of Faces, where the stakes are as high as life and death. Suyana and Daniel must navigate the treacherous political landscape, where one wrong move could be fatal.

Dataclysm: Who We Are

Our personal data has been used to spy on us, hire and fire us, and sell us stuff we don't need. In Dataclysm, Christian Rudder uses it to show us who we truly are.

For centuries, we've relied on polling or small-scale lab experiments to study human behavior. Today, a new approach is possible. As we live more of our lives online, researchers can finally observe us directly, in vast numbers, and without filters. Data scientists have become the new demographers.

In this daring and original book, Rudder explains how Facebook "likes" can predict, with surprising accuracy, a person's sexual orientation and even intelligence; how attractive women receive exponentially more interview requests; and why you must have haters to be hot. He charts the rise and fall of America's most reviled word through Google Search and examines the new dynamics of collaborative rage on Twitter.

He shows how people express themselves, both privately and publicly. What is the least Asian thing you can say? Do people bathe more in Vermont or New Jersey?

Rudder also traces human migration over time, showing how groups of people move from certain small towns to the same big cities across the globe. And he grapples with the challenge of maintaining privacy in a world where these explorations are possible.

Visually arresting and full of wit and insight, Dataclysm is a new way of seeing ourselves—a brilliant alchemy, in which math is made human and numbers become the narrative of our time.

Feed

2012

by Mira Grant

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED. Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives—the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

Feed is the electrifying and critically acclaimed novel of a world a half-step from our own—a novel of geeks, zombies, politics and social media. Mira Grant delivers a thrilling narrative that is not only gripping but also offers a stark reflection on our reality.

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