Helen Plum Library

"Resettling Your Brain in the Age of Cheap Pleasures"-- We are living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation. Lembke explores new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain-- and what to do about it....

"The friend zone is not the end zone for Bree Camden, who is helplessly in love with her longtime best friend and extremely hot NFL legend, Nathan Donelson. The only problem is that she can't admit her true feelings, because he clearly sees her as a best friend with no romantic potential, and the last thing Bree wants is to ruin their relationship. But those abs . . . Nope! Nothing but good old-fashioned, no-touching-the-sexiest-man-alive, platonic...

"When Alex first began posting unscripted family moments and motivational messages online, she had no intention of becoming an influencer. Overnight it seemed she'd amassed a huge following, and her hobby became a full-time job--one that was impossible to manage without her sharp-as-a-tack personal assistant, AC. But all the good-will of her followers turns toxic when one controversial post goes viral in the worst possible way. Alex reaches out to...

The gripping and galling inside story of how Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social networks preyed on psychological frailties to create the algorithms that drive everyday users to extreme opinions and, increasingly, extreme actions. The companies' founding tenets, combined with a blinkered focus on maximizing engagement, have led to a destabilized world for everyone. -- adapted from jacket

"When teenage coder Emika Chen hacks her way into the opening tournament of the Warcross Championships, she glitches herself into the game as well as a sinister plot with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire"--

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Knowing the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she is determined to put a stop to his plans. But someone has put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. -- adapted from jacket

"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben, a heart-pounding thriller about the ties we have to our past ... and the lies that bind us together. It's a profile, like all the others on the online dating site. But as NYPD Detective Kat Donovan focuses on the accompanying picture, she feels her whole world explode, as emotions she's ignored for decades come crashing down on her. Staring back at her is her ex-fiance; Jeff, the man who shattered...

Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It's the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world. In this timely and enlightening book, the bestselling author of Deep Work introduces a philosophy for technology use that has already improved countless lives. Digital minimalists are all around us. They're the calm, happy people who can hold long conversations...

Given unprecedented access to three major influencers--Caitlin Covington of Southern Curls and Pearls, runner Mirna Valerio and OG "mommy blogger" Shannon Bird--a millennial journalist shows how they build their empires, struggle with the haters, fight for creative control, parent in public, and try to look good while doing it

The Jackson women, Indiana and Amanda, have always had each other. Yet, while their bond is strong, mother and daughter are as different as night and day. Indiana, a beautiful holistic healer, is a free-spirited bohemian, who looks for the good in people. Amanda is fascinated by the dark side of human nature, like her father, the SFPD's Deputy Chief of Homicide. She is addicted to crime novels and Ripper, the online mystery game she plays. When a...