April is Library Month at Braille Institute
Our Library staff created a list of the best science fiction and tech-related books available in our BARD system for our Technology Month celebration held in January. Explore their list below to find out some of the most-harrowing books we have available about technology and in the popular science fiction genre.
NON-FICTION
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson – DB73682 (Spanish version: DB 72993) – Biography of entrepreneur Steve Jobs (1955-2011) chronicles his childhood, education, entry-level jobs in California’s Silicon Valley, 1976 cofounding of Apple computer in his parents’ garage, and leadership in spearheading the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Discusses Jobs’ personal and professional relationships and his 2003 cancer diagnosis.
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport – DB94076 Computer scientist presents an argument for reducing the amount of time we spend online. Uses case studies to form a foundation for why to do this and suggests ways to undertake a “digital declutter.”
Bad Blood by John Carreyou – DB 91456 – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist recounts his investigation into Silicon Valley startup company Theranos, which claimed its new machine would speed up and simplify blood testing. Describes interviews with insiders, research into the technology, threats he received as he uncovered fraud after fraud, and Theranos’s eventual collapse.
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez – DB94381 Examination of a root cause of gender inequality–the exclusion of women or preferential bias toward men in research data sets. Discusses the ways these biases play out in daily life, the workplace, product design, the doctor’s office, and public life, and what happens when things go wrong.
The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine is in Your Hands by Eric Topol DB02757 – A trip to the doctor is almost a guarantee of misery. Eric Topol, one of the nation’s top physicians says it doesn’t have to be that way. You could use your smartphone to get rapid test results from one drop of blood, monitor your vital signs both day and night, and use an artificially intelligent algorithm to receive a diagnosis without having to see a doctor
Megatech: Technology in 2050 by Daniel Franklin DB88590 – A collection of essays forecasting the role of technology in the year 2050. Contributors include journalists, scientists, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, medical doctors, philosophers, and novelists. In her essay, Melinda Gates envisions what might happen if every woman in the world had a smartphone of her own.
The Smartphone Society: Technology, Power, and Resistance in the New Gilded Age by Nicole Marie Aschoff DB98753 – Journalist examines the rise of smartphone usage and ways corporations including Google, Facebook, and Amazon have used smartphones to surveil social, political, and economic activity of users. Discusses the ways users have taken advantage of the technology to create and maintain political resistance movements.
Beauty and the Beak: How Science, Technology, and a 3D-Printed Beak Rescued a Bald Eagle by Deborah Lee Rose & Jane Veltkamp DB89590 – After a hunter shattered her beak, Beauty, a bald eagle, was rescued in Alaska and relocated to Birds of Prey Northwest, a raptor center in Idaho. Recounts how scientists and engineers created a prosthetic beak from a 3D printer while her real beak regenerated slowly.
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made by Jason Schreier DB90959 – A journalist who covers the video game industry documents the process of making a game, from initial concept with the game creator through the large team efforts that it takes to develop a popular game. Includes creation stories of popular games like Diablo III, Halo Wars, and more.
Cryptography: The Key to Digital Security, How it Works, and Why it Matters by Keith M. Martin – DB101019 – Information security specialist presents an explanation of the role of cryptography–often associated with the world of spies–in the world of information security. Topics covered include what security means in cyberspace, algorithms and what they do, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and potential scenarios for the use of cryptography.
FICTION
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – DB73772 – 2045. Multibillionaire James Halliday dies, leaving his last will and testament online for the world to see. His massively multiplayer online game OASIS has a hidden feature–an Easter egg–and the person who finds the egg first wins Halliday’s fortune.
The Circle: A Novel by Dave Eggers – DB77770 – Mae begins work at the Circle–a company that reinvented the Internet by creating one transparent identity for each user. Although enthralled by her increasingly powerful online role, Mae is troubled to learn that the company may have a dark side.
Jurassic Park: A Novel by Michael Crichton – DB32018 – Something is terribly wrong at Jurassic Park on a remote island off the coast of Costa Rica. Visitors and residents are being attacked by strange looking animals that maul them and leave behind a sticky saliva. Dinosaurs cloned and raised by a genetic engineering firm have escaped. Consultants are brought in to solve the problem, but soon everyone is running for dear life.
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov DB15779 – U. S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc, headed by the strong-minded Susan Calvin, manufactures and sells intelligent, human-like robots. Nine stories illustrate how the robots are programed with the three Laws of Robotics to serve man, despite many of the ingrained fears and prejudices humans have against them.
Feed by M.T. Anderson – DB55687 – In the future, most people have computer implants in their heads streaming information. Titus has had his since birth, while home-schooled Violet received hers later. When the “feed” is attacked by a hacker, Titus’s system shortly recovers but Violet’s continues to malfunction.
April is Library Month at Braille Institute and we are sharing our Library staff’s recommendations for the best books available in our BARD system throughout the month. Visit Library services for more information and learn how you can get thousands of free audio books if you are not already a patron.
Contact our Reader Advisors at (323) 660-3880 if you have questions about any of the titles featured in this post, or if you are looking for other book recommendations. Or, call: 1(800) 808-2555, Monday – Friday 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (PDT).
