Black Box

Black Box
Author: Julie Schumacher
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2008-08-26
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0375891161

WHEN DORA, ELENA’S older sister, is diagnosed with depression and has to be admitted to the hospital, Elena can’t seem to make sense of their lives anymore. At school, the only people who acknowledge Elena are Dora’s friends and Jimmy Zenk—who failed at least one grade and wears blackevery day of the week. And at home, Elena’s parents keep arguing with each other. Elena will do anything to help her sister get better and get their lives back to normal—even when the responsibility becomes too much to bear.

Lauren's Black Box

Lauren's Black Box
Author: Arnica Butler
Publisher: Thirteenth Line Publications
Total Pages: 196
Release:
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

An engineer by vocation, Jason is used to having control over things in his life. He knows he's lucky to be married to Lauren, a sporty, daring, beautiful blonde - but she's the one thing he can't predict with certainty, and so he never dares to share some of his darkest secrets with her. There are events in her past that wave him off, and Jason doesn't like risks he can't fully assess, or outcomes he can't predict. When Lauren gets a dark, handsome new client at her gym, Jason's demons rear their heads. He turns to the internet for support, but his failure to delete his history leads Lauren to encounter his secrets. But how much does she know? And most importantly: what will she do?

The Black Box Society

The Black Box Society
Author: Frank Pasquale
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2015-01-05
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0674967100

Every day, corporations are connecting the dots about our personal behavior—silently scrutinizing clues left behind by our work habits and Internet use. The data compiled and portraits created are incredibly detailed, to the point of being invasive. But who connects the dots about what firms are doing with this information? The Black Box Society argues that we all need to be able to do so—and to set limits on how big data affects our lives. Hidden algorithms can make (or ruin) reputations, decide the destiny of entrepreneurs, or even devastate an entire economy. Shrouded in secrecy and complexity, decisions at major Silicon Valley and Wall Street firms were long assumed to be neutral and technical. But leaks, whistleblowers, and legal disputes have shed new light on automated judgment. Self-serving and reckless behavior is surprisingly common, and easy to hide in code protected by legal and real secrecy. Even after billions of dollars of fines have been levied, underfunded regulators may have only scratched the surface of this troubling behavior. Frank Pasquale exposes how powerful interests abuse secrecy for profit and explains ways to rein them in. Demanding transparency is only the first step. An intelligible society would assure that key decisions of its most important firms are fair, nondiscriminatory, and open to criticism. Silicon Valley and Wall Street need to accept as much accountability as they impose on others.

Parable of the Brown Girl

Parable of the Brown Girl
Author: Khristi Lauren Adams
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2020-02-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506455697

The stories of girls of color are often overlooked, unseen, and ignored rather than valued and heard. In Parable of the Brown Girl, minister and youth advocate Khristi Lauren Adams introduces readers to the resilience, struggle, and hope held within these stories. Instead of relegating these young women of color to the margins, Adams bring their stories front and center where they belong. By sharing encounters she's had with girls of color that revealed profound cultural and theological truths, Adams magnifies the struggles, dreams, wisdom, and dignity of these voices. Thought-provoking and inspirational, Parable of the Brown Girl is a powerful example of how God uses the narratives we most often ignore to teach us the most important lessons in life. It's time to pay attention.

Beyond the Bright Sea

Beyond the Bright Sea
Author: Lauren Wolk
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2017-05-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1101994851

- Winner of the 2018 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction - From the bestselling author of Echo Mountain and Newbery Honor–winner Wolf Hollow, Beyond the Bright Sea is an acclaimed best book of the year. An NPR Best Book of the Year • A Parents’ Magazine Best Book of the Year • A Booklist Editors' Choice selection • A BookPage Best Book of the Year • A Horn Book Fanfare Selection • A Kirkus Best Book of the Year • A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year • A Charlotte Observer Best Book of the Year • A Southern Living Best Book of the Year • A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year “The sight of a campfire on a distant island…proves the catalyst for a series of discoveries and events—some poignant, some frightening—that Ms. Wolk unfolds with uncommon grace.” –The Wall Street Journal ★ “Crow is a determined and dynamic heroine.” —Publishers Weekly ★ “Beautiful, evocative.” —Kirkus The moving story of an orphan, determined to know her own history, who discovers the true meaning of family. Twelve-year-old Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny, isolated piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Abandoned and set adrift in a small boat when she was just hours old, Crow’s only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar. Crow has always been curious about the world around her, but it isn’t until the night a mysterious fire appears across the water that the unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart. Soon, an unstoppable chain of events is triggered, leading Crow down a path of discovery and danger. Vivid and heart-wrenching, Lauren Wolk’s Beyond the Bright Sea is a gorgeously crafted and tensely paced tale that explores questions of identity, belonging, and the true meaning of family.

Opening Skinner's Box

Opening Skinner's Box
Author: Lauren Slater
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2004
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9780393050950

Traces developments in human psychology over the course of the twentieth century, beginning with B. F. Skinner and the legend of the child raised in a box.

That's What Frenemies Are For

That's What Frenemies Are For
Author: Sophie Littlefield
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2019-07-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1984817973

In this razor-sharp novel for fans of When Life Gives You Lululemons, a Manhattan socialite turns her spin instructor into a fitness superstar to impress her friends. But can she keep her little project under control? Or has she created a monster? Julia Summers seems to have it all: a sprawling Upper East Side apartment, a successful husband, and two adorable children attending the best private school in the city. She relishes wielding influence over her well-heeled girlfriends . . . but her star appears to be fading. That’s why, when stranded in Manhattan for the summer as her entire crowd flees to the Hamptons, Julia is on the hunt for the next big thing that will make her the envy of her friends and put her back on top. Enter Flame, the new boutique gym in her neighborhood. Seductive and transformative, Flame’s spin classes are exactly what Julia needs—and demure, naïve instructor Tatum is her ticket in. But rebranding Tatum as a trendy guru proves hard work, and Julia’s triumphant comeback at summer’s end doesn’t quite go as planned. Tatum begins to grasp just how much power her newfound stardom holds, and when things suddenly get ugly, Julia realizes she’s in way over her head. Julia’s life is already spiraling out of control when her husband is arrested for fraud and bribery. As her so-called friends turn their backs on her, and Tatum pursues her own agenda, Julia is forced to rethink everything she knew about her world to reclaim her perfect life. But does she even want it back? Witty and incisive, Sophie Littlefield and Lauren Gershell’s That’s What Frenemies Are For provides an engrossing glimpse into the cutthroat moms’ club of the Upper East Side. Advance praise for That’s What Frenemies are For “Pack up your beach bag and put your phone on Do Not Disturb: This modern-day Pygmalion story is juicy fun! Fans of Lauren Weisberger and Jill Kargman will delight in this delicious romp about how the other half lives.”—Jamie Brenner, bestselling author of The Forever Summer and Drawing Home “Whether this book hits a little too close to home or offers the perfect escape, readers will love the insanity of Julia’s social ups and downs in this clever novel.”—Laurie Gelman, author of Class Mom

The Black Box of Biology

The Black Box of Biology
Author: Michel Morange
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 529
Release: 2020-06-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0674281365

In this masterful account, a historian of science surveys the molecular biology revolution, its origin and continuing impact. Since the 1930s, a molecular vision has been transforming biology. Michel Morange provides an incisive and overarching history of this transformation, from the early attempts to explain organisms by the structure of their chemical components, to the birth and consolidation of genetics, to the latest technologies and discoveries enabled by the new science of life. Morange revisits A History of Molecular Biology and offers new insights from the past twenty years into his analysis. The Black Box of Biology shows that what led to the incredible transformation of biology was not a simple accumulation of new results, but the molecularization of a large part of biology. In fact, Morange argues, the greatest biological achievements of the past few decades should still be understood within the molecular paradigm. What has happened is not the displacement of molecular biology by other techniques and avenues of research, but rather the fusion of molecular principles and concepts with those of other disciplines, including genetics, physics, structural chemistry, and computational biology. This has produced decisive changes, including the discoveries of regulatory RNAs, the development of massive scientific programs such as human genome sequencing, and the emergence of synthetic biology, systems biology, and epigenetics. Original, persuasive, and breathtaking in its scope, The Black Box of Biology sets a new standard for the history of the ongoing molecular revolution.

The Brazen Bride

The Brazen Bride
Author: Stephanie Laurens
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 439
Release: 2010-06-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 006200008X

“Fabulously entertaining….Laurens adds a dash of exotic spice to her always reliable mix of sexy romance and risky intrigue.” —Booklist The third book in New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens’s sensational Black Cobra Quartet, The Brazen Bride ingeniously blends intrigue and danger with sizzling, passionate love. With ties to Laurens’s wildly popular Cynster novels, The Brazen Bride—and the other breathtaking installments in her magnificent four-book adventure—will enthrall her devoted fans and every reader who craves historical romance rich in excitement and peril.

The Finishing House

The Finishing House
Author: Jason Lenov
Publisher: Thirteenth Line Publications
Total Pages: 119
Release: 2022-02-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Fresh from a gold medal win at the world-famous Kreutzhoffer music competition, Arthur and Hillary arrive at their first performance, a private concert at a wealthy sponsor's mansion. Dismayed at first that they'll be billeting, they quickly change their minds at the first sight of their opulent surroundings and embrace the experience. But the Franklin's have secrets they're not very good at keeping. Turns out their house helper, the formidable Walter, doesn't just chauffeur and wash dishes. Arthur is stunned when he finds Walter engaged in far more intimate responsibilites. The revelation sends Arty and Hill barelling into a world of lust and pleasure. Will they be able to keep their eye on the prize they've so coveted for so long: an international touring career?