BEYOND THE BITCOIN HYPE: a witty look at cryptocurrency’s potential, as well as bubbles, scams, and hacks. B PLUS

ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT BLOCKCHAIN
David Gerard
2017

MISUNDERSTANDINGS OF SCIENCE, and how they connect to our childhood intuitions, brilliantly explained. A MINUS

SCIENCEBLIND: WHY OUR INTUITIVE THEORIES ABOUT THE WORLD ARE SO OFTEN WRONG (HARDCOVER)
Basic Books
2017

DESPITE A LIFE OF PRIVILEGE, creativity, writer Daphne Merkin battles deadly depression with insight, grace. B PLUS

THIS CLOSE TO HAPPY: A RECKONING WITH DEPRESSION (HARDCOVER)
Farrar
2017

EERILY ENTERTAINING COLLECTION of short tales of the occult; clever riffs on genre traditions abound. B PLUS

FIRST BORN: TALES OF THE LIBER MONSTRORUM
Seventh Star Press
2017

A SPY’S FAILED MISSION on the eve of World War II unfurls webs of treachery in the US and Germany. Thrilling! B PLUS

CAVE DWELLERS (HARDCOVER)
Knopf Publishing Group
2017

A SUDDEN STROKE AT 33 turns a writer’s life, and her construction of her self, inside out. Candid and bold. B PLUS

TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU DON’T REMEMBER: THE STROKE THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
HarperCollins Publishers
2017

PHYSICIST WERNER HEISENBERG’S life serves as the center point for an eloquent novel about purity and horror. B PLUS

THE PRINCIPLE (PAPERBACK)
Europa Editions
2017

A WHIRLWIND OF HEARTBREAKS disrupts a writer’s rich, unconventional life. Frank and thoughtful memoir. B PLUS

THE RULES DO NOT APPLY: A MEMOIR (HARDCOVER)
Random House
2017

A NIGERIAN EXPATRIATE CONTEMPLATES her own mortality, and her lifetime of memories. Gorgeous and touching. B PLUS

LIKE A MULE BRINGING ICE CREAM TO THE SUN
Cassava Republic Press
2017

23RD CENTURY THRILLER stylishly sets up a battle between augmented agents and fundamentalist fanatics. B PLUS

THE GENESIS SPHERE
Ben Chiappetta
2017