Ars To-Be-Read: Our most anticipated publications for the autumn of 2019

The summer period of dogs is (largely) over now, and soon a clean wave only recognizable in "autumn" will enter the air. You may not be taking as many vacations in the next few months as in the summer, but you may still be able to find extra reading time during your commutes, lunch breaks, and weekends.

New releases are not lacking (check out our most anticipated readings in the second half of 2019 to see more), but here are some books that will come out in the next few months and may interest you. All of these books have recently fallen on my desk and I think that many Ars readers will enjoy as much as I do family operas filled with family dramas, weird AI dubs and intricate details on platypus biology. and other strange creatures. . Good reading!

Note: Ars Technica can earn compensation for sales from links on this post via affiliate programs.

Consider the platypus: evolution through the most confusing beasts of biology by Maggie Ryan Sandford

Science buffs and animal lovers will be attracted Consider the platypus, The beginnings of writer and researcher Maggie Ryan Sandford with, for her detailed and often hilarious exploration of evolution through animals. Darwin's theory of evolution shaped the opinions of all who came after him and she can explain how some creatures eventually became so curious.

The book does this by "profiling" more than 50 animals, and Sandford describes the most important quirks and anomalies in each of them that are probably due to evolutionary adaptation. If you're intrigued by octopuses that alter DNA, radiation-resistant tardigrades and venomous platypuses, then you should go for Consider the platypus (Although we love ebooks, we recommend you take a physical copy of it so that you can discover Rodica Prato's charming artwork and Sandford's intelligent annotations in all their splendor.)

The ten thousand doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Readers who like books on books will be thrilled by The ten thousand doors of January. A girl named January Scaller stumbles upon a door of the mansion she calls home in the early 1900s. Her guardian, the wealthy William Locke, refuses to believe her story and punishes her instead. So, January continues her life and almost forgets the door that she found child.

But then she discovers a book that seems to keep secrets on other worlds, many of which are hiding behind doors similar to the one she had encountered years ago. The following is the poignant story of a girl finding herself experiencing worlds she never would have seen with friends she did not own. would have never known, including a friendly dog ​​hired by his mysterious father to protect her. Fans of Seanan McGuire & # 39; s Every heart a door new series will find another favorite in The ten thousand doors of January, and whoever reads for pure escape will find the many worlds of this novel to be lost in refreshment.

Ghoster by Jason Arnopp

Kate Collins thought that life with her boyfriend, Scott, was going to the next level as she prepared to move in with him – but arriving at her Brighton apartment, she found Scott and all his material possessions except one. Only his mobile phone remains. Like so many young adults living in our increasingly connected world, Kate is looking for answers in Scott's phone and social networking accounts.

It's at this point that things really start to collapse.

In a horror story often funny and always annoying, Ghoster Explores how scary technology and social media can be, especially when we are back to the wall. Not only does Kate begin to receive strange texts that she can not explain, but she is pretty sure that Scott's apartment – his future home – is haunted. Despite this, she refuses to leave until she finds out what happened to her, but forces beyond her control push her to regret her decision. Like Arnopp's previous novel, The last days of Jack Sparks, Ghoster relies heavily on modern technology and many of its references will be aimed at younger customers. Nevertheless, it is worth checking if you like horror stories that have a strong technological element.

Fortuna by Kristyn Merbeth

The first book of the space-opera trilogy by Kristyn Merbeth, Fortuna takes readers into the life of Scorpia Kaiser, the pilot of Fortuna Spaceship and family screwed. His brother, Corvus, has always been the favorite, that is to say until he leaves his family to fight in a useless war. Since then, Scorpia has inherited Fortuna. This is her family's smuggled ship, her secure space and, unfortunately, the house she shares with the rest of her family, including her hard-to-please mother.

Scorpia's life becomes infinitely more complicated when Corvus returns home after the war. This compromises Scorpia's plans to take over the family business and Corvus will not collapse without a fight. However, when the true nature of their mother's latest business collaboration is revealed, brothers and sisters are forced to work together to potentially avoid thousands of deaths. Fortuna offers you all the adventure, action and plot you expect from a space opera, as well as an extra dose of family complexity.

You look like one thing and I love you: how artificial intelligence works and why it makes the world a strange place by Janelle Shane

We always hear about technology, and ordinary people also hear: "AI is everywhere." While this is true, there are many misconceptions about what is the AI ​​and how it actually works. Engineer, researcher and creator of the fascinating AI Weirdness blog, Janelle Shane dispels some myths about AI and tries to make it easier to understand for the uninitiated. You look like one thing and I like you (If it sounds strange to you, you would be right.)

What better way to explain the AI ​​than by examples of what it can and can not do? Shane is an expert in this field and fills the book with hilarious experiences in AI, as well as a series of complementary and charming cartoons. His writing style is also so accessible that anyone, not just the engineer or technology enthusiast, can understand the often abstract concepts that she details. It can be intimidating to think of what society often calls the imminent takeover of AI, but it's not so simple – and Shane's book explains why it's showing to readers that AI works generally well and that is incredibly wrong.