A firsthand account from one of computing's most influential figures, chronicling the creation and evolution of the Unix operating system at Bell Labs. Brian Kernighan offers intimate insights into the brilliant minds and collaborative culture that revolutionized modern computing, blending personal memoir with technical history. This engaging narrative reveals how a small team's innovations fundamentally shaped the digital world we inhabit today.

Unix: A History and a Memoir

In the far future, humanity's last survivors search desperately for a new home, only to discover a terraformed planet inhabited by an unexpected civilization that has evolved over millennia. As the remnants of Earth clash with a species that has undergone rapid, engineered evolution, both must confront questions of survival, consciousness, and what it truly means to inherit the cosmos. This epic tale spans thousands of years, following parallel narratives of desperate humans and an astonishing new form of intelligent life.

Children of Time

Seth Rogen shares a hilarious and heartfelt collection of personal essays chronicling his journey from a strange, awkward Canadian kid to one of Hollywood's most successful comedy writers and actors. Through stories about his experiences making movies, smoking weed, and navigating fame, Rogen offers an unfiltered look at his life filled with both absurd misadventures and touching moments. This memoir captures his unique voice and perspective on everything from working with comedy legends to nearly starting an international incident.

Yearbook

In a future where psychic powers are commonplace and the dead can be kept in a state of half-life, Joe Chip finds himself trapped in a deteriorating reality after a catastrophic explosion. As the world around him regresses through time and his colleagues begin dying mysteriously, only the enigmatic product Ubik seems to offer salvation from an increasingly unstable existence. Philip K. Dick's mind-bending masterpiece questions the nature of reality itself in a paranoid spiral of entropy and corporate intrigue.

Ubik

Robert Neville is the last man alive in a world overrun by vampires. By day, he hunts the infected creatures who were once his neighbors; by night, he barricades himself in his home while they gather outside, calling his name. This groundbreaking novel explores themes of isolation, survival, and what it truly means to be human when you're the sole survivor of a plague that has transformed the rest of humanity into monsters.

I Am Legend

A groundbreaking chronicle of the computer revolution, tracing the history and culture of brilliant programmers from the 1950s to the 1980s. Steven Levy explores the passionate individuals who believed that computers could liberate humanity, revealing how their hacker ethic of openness, creativity, and hands-on innovation transformed technology and society. This definitive account captures the personalities, adventures, and philosophies of the pioneers who built the foundation of our digital age.

Hackers

A darkly comic novel about a young woman who attempts to hibernate her way through a year of life by heavily medicating herself in her Upper East Side apartment. With a Columbia degree, a trust fund, and an unethical psychiatrist supplying her pills, the protagonist embarks on a radical experiment to sleep away her trauma and emerge transformed. Moshfegh crafts a provocative satire about privilege, depression, and the pursuit of oblivion in millennial-era New York.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation

A groundbreaking investigation into the hidden world of ultra-processed foods that dominate modern diets and their profound impact on our health, behavior, and society. This eye-opening exposé reveals how food companies engineer products designed to override our natural satiety signals, creating a system where we consume substances barely recognizable as food. Combining scientific research, personal experience, and investigative journalism, it uncovers why these foods are so irresistible and what they're doing to our bodies and minds.

Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn't Food … and Why Can't We Stop?

A visceral and groundbreaking account of the Vietnam War, written by a correspondent who witnessed the chaos firsthand. Michael Herr's hallucinatory prose captures the madness, terror, and dark absurdity of combat, creating one of the most influential war narratives ever written. This unfiltered masterpiece revolutionized war journalism and inspired countless works including the film Apocalypse Now.

Dispatches

When an invisible barrier suddenly envelops Earth, causing the stars to vanish and time outside to accelerate wildly, humanity faces extinction as billions of years pass in the cosmos while only decades elapse on the planet. Tyler Dupree and his childhood friends Jason and Diane must grapple with this apocalyptic mystery, as Jason races to unlock the secret of the Spin while their relationships and humanity's survival hang in the balance. This Hugo Award-winning novel masterfully weaves hard science fiction concepts with intimate human drama.

Spin

Anthropologist David Graeber presents a provocative theory about the proliferation of meaningless work in modern economies, arguing that a significant portion of jobs serve no real purpose and leave workers feeling unfulfilled. Drawing on testimonies from workers across industries, Graeber explores why these 'bullshit jobs' exist, how they harm society, and what their prevalence reveals about contemporary capitalism. This groundbreaking work challenges fundamental assumptions about labor, productivity, and the organization of work in the 21st century.

Bullshit Jobs: A Theory

Merricat Blackwood lives with her sister Constance and ailing Uncle Julian in isolated seclusion after arsenic poisoning killed most of their family years ago. As the surviving sisters maintain their eerie routines while shunned by the townspeople, the arrival of their cousin Charles threatens to shatter their carefully constructed world. This darkly atmospheric tale explores themes of isolation, family bonds, and the fine line between protection and paranoia.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, chronicles his journey from selling running shoes out of his car trunk to building one of the world's most iconic brands. This candid memoir reveals the struggles, risks, and near-death experiences of the company, along with the relationships and luck that ultimately led to Nike's triumph. Knight's story is a raw, unflinching look at what it really takes to turn a bold idea into a global empire.

Shoe Dog

A transformative exploration of how people think about money, examining the psychological and emotional factors that drive financial decisions. Morgan Housel draws on history, behavioral psychology, and real-world stories to reveal why smart people make poor financial choices and how to develop a healthier relationship with wealth. This isn't a traditional how-to book about getting rich, but rather a profound look at the often-irrational ways humans approach saving, spending, and investing.

The Psychology of Money

A brilliant scientist invents a one-way portal to the past as a means to exile the world's most dangerous criminals, but when his own daughter is convicted of murder, he must break every rule to save her. Racing against time itself, he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens not just his family, but the entire fabric of human history. This mind-bending thriller explores the consequences of manipulating time and the lengths a parent will go to protect their child.

Lost in Time

A curated collection of wisdom from entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant, distilling his most valuable insights on wealth creation, happiness, and living a meaningful life. Drawing from Naval's tweets, podcasts, and interviews, this modern guide offers timeless principles for building wealth without sacrificing your time, finding genuine happiness, and understanding the philosophical foundations of success. The book serves as a practical manual for anyone seeking financial freedom and personal fulfillment in the modern age.

The Almanack Of Naval Ravikant

A groundbreaking exploration of why certain civilizations conquered others, examining how geography, agriculture, and technology shaped the modern world rather than racial or cultural superiority. Jared Diamond traces 13,000 years of human history across continents to reveal how environmental differences gave some societies decisive advantages in developing guns, germs, and steel. This Pulitzer Prize-winning work fundamentally challenges our understanding of human inequality and the forces that created today's global power structures.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Comedian Tom Segura shares outrageously funny and brutally honest essays about his life, from bizarre childhood experiences to the absurdities of adulthood. With his signature dark humor and unfiltered storytelling style, Segura takes readers through wild adventures, strange observations, and the kind of uncomfortable truths that most people wouldn't dare admit. This collection captures the same irreverent wit that has made him one of stand-up comedy's most popular voices.

I'd Like to Play Alone, Please

When an alien presence makes contact with humanity in the most unsettling way, a crew of retrofitted humans—including a linguist with multiple personalities, a biologist who's more machine than human, and a vampire—is sent to the edge of the solar system to make first contact. As they encounter an intelligence so profoundly alien it challenges their understanding of consciousness itself, the mission becomes a terrifying exploration of what it means to be sentient. This hard science fiction masterwork questions whether intelligence and consciousness are the same thing, and whether humanity's self-awareness might be an evolutionary dead end.

Blindsight

Chelsea Manning's powerful memoir chronicles her journey from a young intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army to becoming one of the most controversial whistleblowers in American history. Through candid reflection, she reveals the personal struggles with gender identity, the moral crisis that led her to leak classified documents to WikiLeaks, and her subsequent court-martial and imprisonment. This is an intimate account of conscience, identity, and the cost of speaking truth to power.

README. Txt: A Memoir

A stunning collection of short stories from Hugo Award-winning author N. K. Jemisin that spans multiple worlds and possibilities, centering diverse characters navigating extraordinary circumstances. These tales blend imaginative worldbuilding with incisive social commentary, exploring themes of power, identity, and resistance across fantastical landscapes. From post-apocalyptic futures to alternate histories, Jemisin crafts narratives that challenge conventions while celebrating Black experiences in speculative fiction.

How Long 'til Black Future Month?

The riveting true story of John Carmack and John Romero, two brilliant programmers who revolutionized gaming by creating Doom and Quake, transforming a niche hobby into a billion-dollar industry. This fast-paced narrative chronicles their meteoric rise from teenage hackers to gaming legends, their explosive partnership at id Software, and the cultural phenomenon they unleashed that would forever change entertainment and technology. A tale of innovation, ambition, and the price of success in the digital age.

Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture

Oliver Sacks, the renowned neurologist and bestselling author, chronicles his extraordinary life journey from a shy English boy to a groundbreaking medical writer. With candor and insight, he reveals his struggles with his sexuality, addiction, and shyness, while celebrating his passions for motorcycles, weightlifting, and the exploration of the human mind. This intimate memoir captures the full complexity of a brilliant, unconventional life lived at the intersection of science, literature, and human connection.

On the Move: A Life

In a near-future America fragmented into corporate enclaves, Hiro Protagonist is a hacker and pizza delivery driver who uncovers Snow Crash—a dangerous new drug that functions as both a computer virus and a mind-altering substance. As he delves deeper into its origins, he discovers an ancient Sumerian conspiracy that threatens to enslave humanity by exploiting the deep structure of language itself. Racing through a neon-soaked cyberpunk landscape with his partner Y.T., a fearless teenage skateboard courier, Hiro must stop a digital plague that could rewrite human consciousness.

Snow Crash

A darkly comic and brutally honest account of life on the frontlines of Britain's National Health Service, drawn from the secret diaries of a young obstetrician. Adam Kay chronicles the exhausting, hilarious, and heartbreaking realities of working 97-hour weeks while navigating the absurdities of hospital bureaucracy and the profound moments of human vulnerability. Both laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving, this memoir exposes the sacrifices healthcare workers make and the system that pushes them to breaking point.

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor

In a dystopian near-future America ravaged by drug addiction, undercover narcotics agent Bob Arctor is assigned to spy on his own friends and ultimately himself, blurring the line between his cover identity and his real self. As Arctor becomes increasingly addicted to the mind-splitting drug Substance D, his fractured identity spirals into paranoia and cognitive disintegration. Philip K. Dick's semi-autobiographical masterpiece is a haunting exploration of surveillance, identity loss, and the devastating human cost of the war on drugs.

A Scanner Darkly

A groundbreaking collection of clinical tales that explores the strange and often poignant neurological disorders of Dr. Sacks's patients. Through compassionate storytelling, these case studies reveal how brain abnormalities can profoundly alter perception, memory, and identity, while illuminating the resilience of the human spirit. Each narrative transforms complex medical conditions into deeply human stories that challenge our understanding of what it means to be normal.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

Case, a washed-up computer hacker, is given one last chance at redemption when a mysterious employer recruits him for the ultimate hack. Along with Molly, a street samurai with razor-sharp enhancements, he must navigate a world of artificial intelligences, corporate espionage, and virtual reality to pull off an impossible heist in cyberspace. This groundbreaking novel defined the cyberpunk genre and predicted the digital age with stunning accuracy.

Neuromancer

Former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss reveals the field-tested techniques he used in high-stakes negotiations, from terrorist kidnappings to corporate boardroom deals. Drawing on decades of experience, Voss transforms traditional negotiation theory by introducing powerful psychological strategies like tactical empathy and calibrated questions that can be applied to everything from salary discussions to family conflicts. This practical guide demonstrates how mastering the art of negotiation can dramatically improve outcomes in both professional and personal situations.

2023