BYOB: Bring Your Own Book Club

The internet isn't the first technology to alter how we communicate, but it is making our language change faster and in more interesting ways than ever before. The programmers behind the apps and platforms we use decide how our conversations are structured, from the grammar of status updates to the protocols of comments and @replies. Linguistically inventive niche online communities spread slang and jargon exponentially faster than in the days when new dialects were constrained by physical space. What's more, social media provides a fascinating laboratory for watching language evolve in real time.

THE INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER Editor's Choice from The New York Times Book Review A Los Angeles Times Bestseller Indie Next Pick for January "One of the more surprising double-reverse plot twists...in some time." --The New York Times "Deep State is a propulsive, page-turning, compelling fragmentation grenade of a debut thriller." --C.J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wolf Pack and The Bitterroots "The plot...rings eerily true...will keep you turning the pages well into the night." --Jack Carr, former Navy SEAL and acclaimed author of The Terminal List and True Believer In this white-knuckled, timely, and whip-smart debut thriller, a deadly plot against the president's life emerges from the shadows of the Deep State. Recently elected President Richard Monroe--populist, controversial, and divisive--is at the center of an increasingly polarized Washington, DC. Never has the partisan drama been so tense or the paranoia so rampant. In the midst of contentious political turf wars, the White House chief of staff is found dead in his house. A tenacious intern discovers a single, ominous clue that suggests he died from something other than natural causes, and that a wide-ranging conspiracy is running beneath the surface of everyday events: powerful government figures are scheming to undermine the rule of law--and democracy itself. Allies are exposed as enemies, once-dependable authorities fall under suspicion, and no one seems to be who they say they are. The unthinkable is happening. The Deep State is real. Who will die to keep its secrets and who will kill to uncover the truth?

A NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2019 * AN NPR BEST BOOK OF 2019 * ONE OF TIME'S MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2019 * AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK OF 2019 * A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF 2019 "Her highly personal and reflective memoir . . . is a must-read for anyone who cares about our role in a changing world."--President Barack Obama An intimate, powerful, and galvanizing memoir by Pulitzer Prize winner, human rights advocate, and former UN Ambassador Samantha Power. In her memoir, Power offers an urgent response to the question "What can one person do?" and a call for a clearer eye, a kinder heart, and a more open and civil hand in our politics and daily lives. The Education of an Idealist traces Power's distinctly American journey from immigrant to war correspondent to presidential Cabinet official. In 2005, her critiques of US foreign policy caught the eye of newly elected senator Barack Obama, who invited her to work with him on Capitol Hill and then on his presidential campaign. After Obama was elected president, Power went from being an activist outsider to a government insider, navigating the halls of power while trying to put her ideals into practice. She served for four years as Obama's human rights adviser, and in 2013, he named her US Ambassador to the United Nations, the youngest American to assume the role. Power transports us from her childhood in Dublin to the streets of war-torn Bosnia to the White House Situation Room and the world of high-stakes diplomacy. Humorous and deeply honest, The Education of an Idealist lays bare the searing battles and defining moments of her life and shows how she juggled the demands of a 24/7 national security job with the challenge of raising two young children. Along the way, she illuminates the intricacies of politics and geopolitics, reminding us how the United States can lead in the world, and why we each have the opportunity to advance the cause of human dignity. Power's memoir is an unforgettable account of the power of idealism and of one person's fierce determination to make a difference. "This is a wonderful book. [...] The interweaving of Power's personal story, family story, diplomatic history and moral arguments is executed seamlessly and with unblinking honesty."--THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, The New York Times Book Review  "Honest, personal, revealing... about the development of a young woman's inner strength and self-knowledge."--COLM TÓIBÍN, author of Brooklyn and Nora Webster "Truly engrossing."--RACHEL MADDOW

You might know a husband like Claire's. Ambitious, admired, with deep pockets. But behind closed doors, this husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he's not above using his staff to track Claire's every move. What he doesn't know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish.A chance meeting in an airport bar brings her together with a woman who seems equallydesperate to flee her life. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets--Claire taking Eva's flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. But when the Puerto Rico plane crashes, Claire's options narrow to one impossible choice: assume Eva's identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden. For fans of Lisa Jewell and Liv Constantine, a novel that asks the question: with your back against a wall, would you be brave enough to take the chance you're given?

"NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLER NAME ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR - "Entertainment Weekly - Kirkus Reviews - The Christian Science Monitor" In the picturesque village of Guzman, Spain, in a cave dug into a hillside on the edge of town, an ancient door leads to a cramped limestone chamber known as "the telling room." Containing nothing but a wooden table and two benches, this is where villagers have gathered for centuries to share their stories and secrets--usually accompanied by copious amounts of wine. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti found himself listening to a larger-than-life Spanish cheesemaker named Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras as he spun an odd and compelling tale about a piece of cheese. An unusual piece of cheese. Made from an old family recipe, Ambrosio's cheese was reputed to be among the finest in the world, and was said to hold mystical qualities. Eating it, some claimed, conjured long-lost memories. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong. . . . By the time the two men exited the telling room that evening, Paterniti was hooked. Soon he was fully embroiled in village life, relocating his young family to Guzman in order to chase the truth about this cheese and explore the fairy tale-like place where the villagers conversed with farm animals, lived by an ancient Castilian code of honor, and made their wine and food by hand, from the grapes growing on a nearby hill and the flocks of sheep floating over the Meseta. What Paterniti ultimately discovers there in the highlands of Castile is nothing like the idyllic slow-food fable he first imagined. Instead, he's sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery, a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot. As the village begins to spill its long-held secrets, Paterniti finds himself implicated in the very story he is writing. Equal parts mystery and memoir, travelogue and history, "The Telling Room "is an astonishing work of literary nonfiction by one of our most accomplished storytellers. A moving exploration of happiness, friendship, and betrayal, "The Telling Room" introduces us to Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras, an unforgettable real-life literary hero, while also holding a mirror up to the world, fully alive to the power of stories that define and sustain us. Praise for "The Telling Room" "Captivating . . . Paterniti's writing sings, whether he's talking about how food activates memory, or the joys of watching his children grow."--NPR "A gorgeous and impassioned monument to the art and mystery of storytelling, "The Telling Room" is rich, funny, humane, devastating, and beautiful. It made me want to applaud, it made me want to cry, it made me want to move to Spain. Michael Paterniti is a genius."--Elizabeth Gilbert, author of "Eat, Pray, Love" "Unforgettable . . . a must-read for all who think of Spain as magical, who consider cheese as the ultimate gift of love, who love stories of betrayal, despair, revenge and redemption.""--The Wall Street Journal" ""The Telling Room" embodies the spirit of slow food and life."--Michael Pollan "Elegant, strange, funny, and insightful, "The Telling Room" is a marvelous tale and a joyful read, a trip into a world peopled by some of the most remarkable characters--and, yes, cheese--in memory."--Susan Orlean, author of "The Orchid Thief"" "