BOOK OF THE DAY

A WALL STREET JOURNAL, WASHINGTON POST, AND FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
*Now with a new foreword on ChatGPT*
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How will artificial intelligence change our world within twenty years?

AI will be the defining development of the twenty-first century. Within two decades, aspects of daily human life will be unrecognizable. AI will generate unprecedented wealth, revolutionize medicine and education through human-machine symbiosis, and create brand new forms of communication and entertainment. However, AI will also challenge the organizing principles of our economic and social order and bring new risks in the form of autonomous weapons and smart technology that inherits human bias. AI is at a tipping point, and people need to wake up-both to AI's radiant pathways and its existential perils for life as we know it.

In this provocative, utterly original work of "scientific fiction," Kai-Fu Lee, the former president of Google China and bestselling author of AI Superpowers, joins forces with celebrated novelist Chen Qiufan to imagine our AI world in 2041 in ten gripping short stories.

Gazing toward a not-so-distant horizon, AI 2041 offers urgent insights into our collective future and reminds us that we are the authors of our own destiny.

BOOK OF THE DAY

Academy Award–winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins delves into his illustrious film and theater career, difficult childhood, and path to sobriety in his honest, moving, and long-awaited memoir.

Born and raised in Port Talbot—a small Welsh steelworks town—amid war and depression, Sir Anthony Hopkins grew up around men who were tough, to say the least, and eschewed all forms of emotional vulnerability in favor of alcoholism and brutality. A struggling student in school, he was deemed by his peers, his parents, and other adults as a failure with no future ahead of him. But, on a fateful Saturday night, the disregarded Welsh boy watched the 1948 adaptation of Hamlet, sparking a passion for acting that would lead him on a path that no one could have predicted.

With candor and a voice that is both arresting and vulnerable, Sir Anthony recounts his various career milestones and provides a once-in-a-lifetime look into the brilliance behind some of his most iconic roles. His performance as Iago gets him admitted into the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and places him under the wing of Laurence Olivier. He meets Richard Burton by chance as a young boy in his art teacher’s apartment, and later, backstage before a performance of Equus as an established actor meeting his hero. His iconic portrayal of Hannibal Lecter was informed by the creepy performance of Bela Lugosi in Dracula and the razor-sharp precision of his acting teacher. He pulls raw emotion from the stoicism of his father and grandfather for an unforgettable performance in King Lear.

Sir Anthony also takes a deeply honest look at the low points in his personal life. His addiction cost him his first marriage, his relationship with his only child, and nearly his life—the latter ultimately propelling him toward sobriety, a commitment he has maintained for nearly half a century. He constantly battles against the desire to move through life alone and avoid connection for fear of getting hurt—much like the men in his family—and as the years go by, he deals with questions of mortality, getting ready to discover what his father called The Big Secret.

Featuring a special collection of personal photographs throughout, We Did OK, Kid is a raw and passionate memoir from a complex, iconic man who has inspired audiences with remarkable performances for over sixty years.

BOOK OF THE DAY

The tumultuous period in English history that marked the end of the medieval era and the rise of the Tudors comes to stunning life in the final volume of Alison Weir’s four-part Medieval Queens series, filled with dramatic true stories chronicling the turbulent reigns of the last five Plantagenet queens.

The fifteenth century was a violent age. In Queens at War, Alison Weir chronicles the five queens who got caught up in wars that changed the courses of their lives: the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, and the Wars of the Roses between the royal Houses of Lancaster and York.

Against this tempestuous backdrop, Weir describes the lives of five Plantagenet queens, who occupied the consort’s throne from 1403 to 1485. Joan of Navarre was happily married to King Henry IV but was accused of witchcraft by Henry’s heir and imprisoned. Paris-born Katherine of Valois’s political marriage to Henry V was meant to bring peace between England and France. It didn’t, and Henry died during the Hundred Years’ War without ever seeing his newborn heir, Henry VI, who was wed to another French princess, Margaret of Anjou, in 1445. In the Wars of the Roses, Margaret staunchly supported her husband and son. Henry’s successor, Edward IV, became embroiled in scandal after he fell in love with and married Elizabeth Widville, mother of the tragic Princes in the Tower. The notorious Richard III usurped Edward’s throne and married Anne Neville, who died after losing her only child, forsaken by her husband.

“Underpinned by extensive reading of original sources” (The Washington Post), Weir’s Medieval Queens series strips away centuries of historical mythologizing to shed light on the genuine accomplishments and bravery of these fascinating female monarchs. Queens at War brings the series to an action-packed close.

BOOK OF THE DAY

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK · AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER · Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping novel from Emily Henry.

As featured in The New York Times · Rolling Stone · People · Good Morning America · NPR · Vogue · The Cut · USA Today · Cosmopolitan · Harper's Bazaar · Marie Claire · Glamour · ELLE · E! Online · The New York Post · Bustle · Reader's Digest · BBC · PopSugar · SheReads · Paste · and more!

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad . . . depending on who’s telling it.

BOOK OF THE DAY

WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION • A “masterly” (The New York Times, Editors’ Choice), “riveting” (The Atlantic) novel of friendship, family, and the unthinkable realities of exile, from the Booker Prize–nominated and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Return

“A profound celebration of the sustaining power of friendship, of the ways we mold ourselves against the indentations of those few people whom fate presses against us.”—The Washington Post

One evening, as a young boy growing up in Benghazi, Khaled hears a bizarre short story read aloud on the radio, about a man being eaten alive by a cat, and has the sense that his life has been changed forever. Obsessed by the power of those words—and by their enigmatic author, Hosam Zowa—Khaled eventually embarks on a journey that will take him far from home, to pursue a life of the mind at the University of Edinburgh.

There, thrust into an open society that is miles away from the world he knew in Libya, Khaled begins to change. He attends a protest against the Qaddafi regime in London, only to watch it explode into tragedy. In a flash, Khaled finds himself injured, clinging to life, unable to leave Britain, much less return to the country of his birth. To even tell his mother and father back home what he has done, on tapped phone lines, would expose them to danger.

When a chance encounter in a hotel brings Khaled face-to-face with Hosam Zowa, the author of the fateful short story, he is subsumed into the deepest friendship of his life. It is a friendship that not only sustains him but eventually forces him, as the Arab Spring erupts, to confront agonizing tensions between revolution and safety, family and exile, and how to define his own sense of self against those closest to him.

A devastating meditation on friendship and family, and the ways in which time tests—and frays—those bonds, My Friends is an achingly beautiful work of literature by an author working at the peak of his powers.

BOOK OF THE DAY

On the eve of his 100th birthday, national treasure Dick Van Dyke brings us this autobiographical collection of stories, reflections, and life advice on how he’s maintained a zest for life.

Dick Van Dyke danced his way into our hearts with iconic roles in Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Now, as he’s about to turn 100 years old, Dick is still dancing and approaching life with the twinkle in his eye that we’ve come to know and love. In 100 Rules for Living to 100, he reveals his secrets for maintaining your joie de vivre and making the most out of the life you’ve been given. 

Through stories of his pivotal childhood, moments on film sets, his expansive family, and finding love late in life, Dick reflects on both the joyful times and the challenges that shaped him. His indefatigable spirit and positive attitude will surely inspire readers to count the blessings in their own lives, persevere through the hard times, and appreciate the beauty and complexity of being human.

BOOK OF THE DAY

POISONS IN YOUR FOOD

, award-winning science writer Ruth Winter makes consumers aware of the many potential dangers in the modern food supply and provides practical advice on minimizing these risks. 

The Dangers You Face

The book addresses a range of safety and health concerns that arise at various stages of the food chain, from production to preparation. Key dangers and topics covered include: 

Pesticides and Insecticides: The widespread use of these chemicals in food production and their potential long-term health effects.

"Hidden Ingredients" and Additives: The presence of numerous chemicals, preservatives, and artificial colors/flavorings in processed and convenience foods, which may pose risks (e.g., carcinogens).

Hazardous Food Handling: The potential for food poisoning and contamination from improper handling of fish, poultry, and meat, both in commercial settings (restaurants) and at home.

The Water Supply: Concerns about the safety and purity of drinking water.

Food Labeling: Issues surrounding the transparency and clarity of food labels.

Animal Drugs: The use of drugs and antibiotics in animal feed, which can lead to resistant strains of bacteria or tranquilize diners. 

What You Can Do About Them

Winter's book is a practical guide designed to help individuals and families protect themselves. While the specific advice is detailed within the book's chapters, the general approach involves: 

Informed Consumer Choices: Making informed decisions about what foods to purchase by understanding potential risks.

Reading and Understanding Labels: Learning to decipher and interpret ingredient labels on food products to avoid harmful additives.

Safe Food Preparation: Following proper home safety and handling procedures for raw ingredients like meat and fish to minimize the risk of bacterial contamination.

Minimizing Processed Food Intake: Reducing reliance on convenience foods that often contain more hidden ingredients and chemical agents. 

The book encourages a proactive, "Earth Day Every Day" approach to personal health through careful consideration of diet and food sources. 

Courtesy: Google Search AI Mode

BOOK OF THE DAY

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From humanitarian and actress Ashley Judd comes “an important and moving memoir. . . . Every reader will be inspired” (Bill Clinton).

“Enlightening . . . full of real-life stories that reflect both the compassion of its author and the need for healing in the world.”—Madeleine K. Albright

 

In 2002, award-winning film and stage actor Ashley Judd found her true calling: as a humanitarian and voice for those suffering in neglected parts of the world. After her first trip to the notorious brothels, slums, and hospices of southeast Asia, Ashley knew immediately that she wanted to advocate on behalf of the vulnerable. During her travels, Judd started to write diaries that detailed extraordinary stories of survival and resilience. But along the way, she realized that she was struggling with her own emotional pain, stemming from childhood abandonment and abuse. Seeking in-patient treatment in 2006 for the grief that had nearly killed her, Judd found not only her own recovery and an enriched faith but the spiritual tools that energized and advanced her feminist social justice work. 

 

In this deeply moving and unforgettable memoir, Judd describes her odyssey, from lost child to fiercely dedicated advocate, from anger and isolation to forgiveness and activism. In telling it, she answers the ineffable question about the relationship between healing oneself and service to others.

BOOK OF THE DAY

A groundbreaking book that reveals the hidden architecture of our conversations and how even small improvements can have a profound impact on our relationships in work and life—from a celebrated Harvard Business School professor and leading expert on the psychology of conversation.

“Alison Wood Brooks brings to life the science of conversation, in which she is a world expert, with the utmost warmth, empathy, and joy.”—Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit

All of us can struggle with difficult conversations, but we’re often not very good at the easy ones either. Though we do it all the time, Harvard professor Alison Wood Brooks argues that conversation is one of the most complex, demanding, and delicate of all human tasks, rife with possibilities for misinterpretation and misunderstanding. And yet conversations can also be a source of great joy, each one offering an opportunity to express who we are and learn who others are—to feel connected, loved, and alive.

In Talk, Brooks shows why conversing a little more effectively can make a big difference in the quality of our close personal relationships as well as our professional success. Drawing on the new science of conversation, Brooks distills lessons that show how we can better understand, learn from, and delight each other. The key is her TALK Maxims:

Topics: Choose topics and manage them well

Asking: Ask more questions

Levity: Use humor to keep conversations fizzy

Kindness: Prioritize their partners conversational needs

Through experiments ranging across the conversational spectrum—from speed daters who ask too few questions (or too many), to future business leaders averse to topic forethought, to traffic stops that reveal the essence of kind language—Brooks takes us inside the world of conversation, giving us the confidence and the advice to approach any interaction with more creativity and compassion.

Addressing our face-to-face conversations as well as those we have by phone, email, text, and social media, Talk is a thoughtful guide for anyone seeking to better establish and sustain their relationships. From managing our emotions and sparking creativity to navigating conflict and being more inclusive, the right conversation skills just might be the key to leading a more purposeful life.

BOOK OF THE DAY

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the second volume of the landmark American Revolution trilogy by the bestselling author of The British Are Coming, George Washington’s army fights on the knife edge between victory and defeat.

Rick Atkinson is featured in the new Ken Burns documentary The American Revolution, premiering ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

“This is great history . . . compulsively readable . . . There is no better writer of narrative history than the Pulitzer Prize–winning Atkinson.”—The New York Times (Editors’ Choice)

ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Kirkus Reviews

The first twenty-one months of the American Revolution—which began at Lexington and ended at Princeton—was the story of a ragged group of militiamen and soldiers fighting to forge a new nation. By the winter of 1777, the exhausted Continental Army could claim only that it had barely escaped annihilation by the world’s most formidable fighting force.

Two years into the war, George III is as determined as ever to bring his rebellious colonies to heel. But the king’s task is now far more complicated: fighting a determined enemy on the other side of the Atlantic has become ruinously expensive, and spies tell him that the French and Spanish are threatening to join forces with the Americans.

Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson provides a riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution. Stationed in Paris, Benjamin Franklin woos the French; in Pennsylvania, George Washington pleads with Congress to deliver the money, men, and materiel he needs to continue the fight. In New York, General William Howe, the commander of the greatest army the British have ever sent overseas, plans a new campaign against the Americans—even as he is no longer certain that he can win this searing, bloody war. The months and years that follow bring epic battles at Brandywine, Saratoga, Monmouth, and Charleston, a winter of misery at Valley Forge, and yet more appeals for sacrifice by every American committed to the struggle for freedom.

Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution, Atkinson’s brilliant account of the lethal conflict between the Americans and the British offers not only deeply researched and spectacularly dramatic history, but also a new perspective on the demands that a democracy makes on its citizens.