Amazon names best books of 2020, with ‘timely and powerful’ criminal justice memoir atop list Is there a better time to stay in and catch up on all the reading you meant to get to… Read More
Science-fiction master Ted Chiang explores the rights and wrongs of AI What rights does a robot have? If our machines become intelligent in the science-fiction way, that’s likely to become a… Read More
Wizards of the Coast in court: ‘Dragonlance’ authors file suit over rights to classic ‘D&D’ franchise Two of the authors who created the iconic Dragonlance setting for Dungeons & Dragons are taking Wizards of the Coast… Read More
Indie booksellers feeling ‘Boxed Out’ by Amazon respond with campaign targeting tech giant Independent bookstores across the country put out the unwelcome mat for Amazon and the tech giant’s Prime Day shopping extravaganza… Read More
‘Mysterious $60B woman’: Profile offers rare look at MacKenzie Scott’s distribution of Amazon wealth MacKenzie Scott hasn’t given any interviews about her split from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos or her philanthropic pursuits in the… Read More
Portland’s Powell’s Books says it ‘must take a stand’ and will stop selling books through Amazon Powell’s Books, the venerable independent bookstore in Portland, has had enough with Amazon and will no longer sell books through… Read More
Book excerpt: Why brands must deliver compelling visual content or risk losing their audience [Editor’s note: Amy Balliett is founder and CEO of Seattle-based creative content agency Killer Visual Strategies. This excerpt is from… Read More
Elon Musk tweets, ‘Time to break up Amazon’ as he defends author in dispute over COVID-19 book Elon Musk jumped to the defense of an author on Twitter on Thursday who was claiming that his book submission… Read More
Bill Gates shares 5 books on summer list – and much more to read and watch while stuck at home We’re all looking for some sort of distraction from the daily deluge of coronavirus news and stress, and ways to… Read More
From Big Bang to Big Chill, physicist Brian Greene contemplates the beginning (and end) of everything You might think it’s depressing to contemplate the view that the universe is likely to end in everlasting darkness —… Read More
In Amazon’s hometown, we get a read on Barnes & Noble customers as downtown Seattle store closes Another chapter in Seattle’s storied literary and retail history is coming to a close on Saturday. Barnes & Noble is… Read More
Bill Gates reflects on what he read in 2019 and offers up 5 books for your holiday wish list In the recent Netflix documentary “Inside Bill’s Brain,” books are a constant for the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist. We get… Read More
Holiday gift guide for science books: Find your way through parallel universes in print Parallel universes are big in science fiction, popping up in shows ranging from the “Terminator” movies to “The Man in… Read More
Praise be: Amazon’s best books of the year list topped by Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Testaments’ If you’re still riveted by the all-too-believable and creepy nature of “The Handmaid’s Tale” on streaming television, you should know… Read More
Book excerpt: Heroclip creator Mina Yoo’s ‘Be an InventHer’ aims to inspire women to ‘just go for it’ Mina Yoo didn’t actually recognize that she was an inventor until she’d received two utility patents during her journey toward… Read More
Are dogs conscious? How about computers? Brain scientist Christof Koch takes on deep questions Do animals possess consciousness? Can consciousness be uploaded into a computer? Can we measure objectively whether someone is conscious or… Read More
Shake it off, Microsoft: Brad Smith book recounts run-in with pop star over failed chatbot ‘Tay’ Nothing like an email from Taylor Swift’s lawyers to get your attention during vacation. That was the case for Microsoft… Read More
Podcast Microsoft President Brad Smith: Tech sector needs to face up to responsibility and embrace regulation Microsoft President Brad Smith has a light-up globe, a neon blue miniature likeness of Earth, spinning on his desk inside… Read More
‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette’ brings book’s take on Seattle tech to film — here’s what makes the cut Maria Semple’s best-selling 2012 novel “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” has been championed for its hilarious take on Seattle as well… Read More
Geek of the Week: Researcher, writer, mom Amanda Sullivan pushes importance of STEM for young girls As a young girl, Amanda Sullivan never met any female engineers or scientists. She was never encouraged to pursue a… Read More
Little-known twists in moonshot tales come to light 50 years after Apollo 11 Even after 50 years, it’s still possible to find new angles on one of history’s most widely witnessed events —… Read More
From augmented reality to fake news: Five glimpses of the future from sci-fi author Neal Stephenson Seattle author Neal Stephenson’s works of fiction often play off the potential for future facts — for example, the virtual… Read More
Book excerpt: Neal Stephenson’s ‘Fall’ foretells the future of Seattle’s South Lake Union tech hub Today, Seattle’s South Lake Union district is a beehive of tech activity, dotted with campuses for Amazon, Facebook and Google.… Read More
Podcast Science-fiction master Neal Stephenson blends high tech and high fantasy in ‘Fall’ Are we living in a simulation? Is there an afterlife? And if not, what would it take to create one?… Read More
50 years after first lunar landing, Apollo moonshots inspire a new blast of books In the 50 years since Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong left humanity’s first bootprint on the moon, that “one small… Read More
Banana standoff at Amazon used to promote ‘IGIST,’ a sci-fi novel and app created by Axon president Away from his day job as president of Axon, makers of police body cameras and other products, Luke Larson has… Read More
Geek of the Week: Amazon vet Jill Taplin applies lessons from tech giant at her tiny comic book shop In the city where an online bookseller turned into a global tech giant, Jill Haick Taplin is trying to take some… Read More
Beyond ‘Zucked,’ what concerns author Roger McNamee most about our future in tech Roger McNamee is a veteran investor in Silicon Valley, and one of the earliest people to invest in Facebook, even… Read More
I read MacKenzie Bezos’ books, and this is what I learned She was an aspiring fiction writer with an audacious start along that path. She pursued creative writing at Princeton, and… Read More
Former NRC head disagrees with Bill Gates, says nuclear not a safe bet for combating climate change How much do you think about nuclear power? If you’re like most Americans, the answer is likely “not often.” Unless… Read More
