Adam Alter, Irresistible

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Adam Alter, Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked.

Sherry Turkle, Alone Together

At Amazon, Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other.

Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans

Here's Brian Kilmeade's new book, at Amazon, Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans: The Battle That Shaped America's Destiny.

And at Prager University:

Unconscious Bias Training

I've been boycotting Starbucks for a while. The company's closing 8,000 stores today for "unconscious bias training," which sounds like a joke to me and won't change my mind. In fact, it makes me even less likely to go there for a cup of coffee: too left wing.

At USA Today, "Starbucks anti-bias training: Here's what to expect as the coffee chain closes 8,000 stores."

Critics and Historians Pick Philip Roth's Best Book

This is really great.

At the New York Times, "Philip Roth’s Best Book":

Philip Roth’s Best Book:
Gary Shteyngart, Richard Ford, Ron Chernow, Lorrie Moore, Stephen King, Michael Lewis, Joseph O’Neill on their favorite Roth books. https://t.co/Xixsh8NeYc

— Michiko Kakutani (@michikokakutani) May 25, 2018

The death of Philip Roth this week led to near instantaneous debate about which of his books was his best. There was the transgressive Roth; the epic, historical Roth; the personal, memoiristic Roth; the postmodernist playful Roth. His genius has been an inspiration and a prod to a few generations of writers now. And it usually comes down to the individual book, that one book, which first opened their mouths in awe.

In that spirit, we asked a number of great, contemporary novelists, critics and historians, to make their own case for Roth’s greatest book. It’s silly to have to choose, of course, but for those only now coming to his work, consider these good places to start.

Jonah Goldberg, Suicide of the West

*BUMPED.*

Available now, at Amazon, Jonah Goldberg, Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics is Destroying American Democracy.

Steven Saylor, Roma

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Steven Saylor, Roma: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome).

Also, Empire: The Novel of Imperial Rome.

These two are grand sweeping epics, covering centuries. Start with Saylor as you jump into this fiction literature on Ancient Rome. Saylor and then Colleen McCullough.

Elisabeth Moss Has Complete Control Over Her Nude Scenes in 'The Handmaid's Tale'

At WWTDD, "Elisabeth Moss in Complete Control of Selling Her Nude Body."

Lilith Saintcrow, Afterwar

First there was Omar El Akkad's, American War. And now here comes another in this burgeoning genre.

At Amazon, Lilith Saintcrow, Afterwar: A Novel.

Jennifer Delacruz's Sunday Forecast

It's the May Gray weather, and it's lingering.

But Ms. Jennifer looks fantastic in that white dress.

At ABC News 10 San Diego:

Danica Patrick's Seen as Role Model, Though Critics See Her as Under-Performing

This is interesting. At LAT, "Danica Patrick's final race at Indy 500 comes with a hotly debated legacy":

Danica Patrick's race car is painted in a lustrous neon green one last time, a hue that ensures its "look at me" quality even when the car is a 230-mph blur.

The color is apropos of Patrick and her racing career, which she's ending Sunday with a final attempt to win the Indianapolis 500, the race that initially made her famous in 2005.

From that race forward, Patrick — often driving the shiny green car favored by her and her longtime main sponsor, the web services firm GoDaddy Inc. — has been the driver everyone watched, analyzed and endlessly debated.

That was due not only to her on-track achievements as a female in a male-dominated sport, but also to her relentless self-promotion, which together earned her the one-name celebrity of being simply "Danica."

"I can't think of a better way to end my racing career than at Indianapolis for the 500," the 36-year-old Patrick said in an interview. "I can't think of a more cool way to be done.

"I mean, to finish up at a place that has so many good memories for me, and at the biggest race of the year for Indy cars and arguably the biggest race of the year, period," she said.

Patrick achieved several firsts as a woman in the IndyCar and NASCAR racing series, and in doing so became a role model for countless young women and their parents who admired her feats, tough persona and unflagging determination.

No less than seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson tweeted earlier this year: "Thank you @danicapatrick for being a strong role model to the little girls in my life," referring to his two young daughters.

Patrick's fame also was burnished by her blunt, outspoken manner, her savvy marketing of her personal "brand" that earned her millions of dollars in endorsements, and by the outsized media attention she always received.

Patrick's overall record on the track was middling; she had one victory in 13 years of big-league racing. That fueled the debate about whether she deserved the attention she received and made the Roscoe, Ill., native one of the most polarizing figures in sports.

"I don't know that we've seen someone who is so popular when not performing as well," said Greg Goldring, senior director of sports and entertainment at the Marketing Arm, a marketing agency.

Her impact on motor racing will be argued long after the 102nd running of the iconic race, one of the biggest one-day sporting events in the world. Patrick is adamant that she's not going to just circle the track as more than 250,000 spectators and millions more on television look on.

"I'm here to win the race," she said...

In California, Democrats Go All-Out to Avoid Disaster

We have the top-two "jungle primary" in the Golden State nowadays, and with Democrats worried about a crowded field, Republicans are in the driver's seat. This is cracking me up, actually.

At NYT, "Democrats Go All-Out to Avoid Disaster in California House Races":

NEW: Democrats fear they are up the creek in Rohrabacher’s seat and could face same fate in Issa district, too.

From the OC to La Jolla, on the $4M (!) rescue mission to keep em in play >https://t.co/KAXFMSHS2b

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) May 26, 2018

IRVINE, Calif. — National Democrats, confronting mushrooming political chaos across Southern California, are pouring millions of dollars into congressional races to avert a self-inflicted disaster that could undermine their chances at taking control of the House.

After months of optimism that the state’s June 5 primary would position them to pick off seven Republican-held districts in November — a substantial down payment on reclaiming the House — Democrats are now trying to ensure that they do not hurt themselves because of their unusually crowded slates of candidates.

With so many Democrats running, the party’s fear is that the vote will be splintered, allowing Republicans — who have fewer candidates — to dominate some primaries. The party and allied groups are spending more than $4 million on just three campaigns, intervening in one contest to prop up a favored candidate; attacking a Republican from the right in another; and even reminding people not to waste their votes on “ghost candidates” who have dropped out yet remain on the ballot.

As any progressive activist will explain through gnashed teeth, the head-snapping scramble is because of the state’s “top two” open primary system, which allows the two leading vote-getters — regardless of political parties — to advance to the general election.

The “top two” system was meant to create incentives for political moderation in a state where about a quarter of the voters are independents, but it has created immense stakes for Democrats: They need to win 23 seats to take back the House, and party officials believe the path runs through the seven competitive California districts, all of which Hillary Clinton carried in 2016.

“It’s a disaster,” Gail Reisman, a retired gerontologist and Toronto native who lives in Representative Dana Rohrabacher’s district, said after attending a candidate forum Tuesday. “If we have two Republicans running I think I’m going back to Canada.”

After three of the Democrats opposing Mr. Rohrabacher had taken a turn speaking at the forum, held at a synagogue, the moderator briefly came back on stage to alert the audience that the parking lot was so crowded the police intended to ticket those cars parked more creatively than legally.

The overflow of Priuses and Mercedes was a particularly vivid reminder of the California candidate logjam. Confusion and frustration among Democrats here only seems to grow by the day, as the state and national party back different contenders and spending sprays forth like an out-of-control garden hose. Some voters are not sure who to back to feel confident that a Democrat will advance past June 5, and they increasingly worry that Republicans will foil the party’s chances to stop President Trump’s agenda in the House next year.

The painful twist is that what seemed like the Democrats’ most valuable asset in the midterm campaign — the wave of liberal activism unleashed by President Trump — has metastasized into a mortal threat because of the glut of candidates.

Nowhere is the danger more acute than in a pair of contiguous districts that stretch from Orange County’s Seal Beach down the Pacific coastline to the cliffs of La Jolla.

It is here where national Democrats, deeply concerned their voters are scattered among little-known House candidates, are staging a rescue mission to ensure they are not locked out this fall in Mr. Rohrabacher’s district and the one farther south held by Representative Darrell Issa, a Republican who is retiring.

Opposition research and hard-edge direct mail pieces are flying between candidates, too, some of them tinged with accusations of #metoo impropriety. But surveys show many of the candidates bunched together in the teens and few operatives have a firm grasp for what will unfold...

Democrats' Counterintelligence Operation Against Donald Trump's Presidential Campaign

It's Sharyl Attkisson, at the Hill, "8 signs pointing to a counterintelligence operation deployed against Trump's campaign":

My latest in The Hill: 8 signs pointing to a counterintelligence operation deployed against Trump's campaign https://t.co/CHyDoeHDpb

— Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) May 23, 2018

It may be true that President Trump illegally conspired with Russia and was so good at covering it up he’s managed to outwit our best intel and media minds who've searched for irrefutable evidence for two years. (We still await special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings.)

But there’s a growing appearance of alleged wrongdoing equally as insidious, if not more so, because it implies widespread misuse of America’s intelligence and law enforcement apparatus.

Here are eight signs pointing to a counterintelligence operation deployed against Trump for political reasons...

Keep reading.

Jay Leno’s Garage: Hellcat-Powered Toyota PriuSRT8 (VIDEO)

This is crazy lol.

Via Theo Spark.

Charles Frazier, Varina

At Amazon, Charles Frazier, Varina: A Novel.

Neal Stephenson, The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.

*BUMPED.*

Neal Stephenson, The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.: A Novel.

ICYMI: Matthew Sullivan, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Matthew Sullivan, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore.

Sarah Perry, The Essex Serpent

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Sarah Perry, The Essex Serpent: A Novel.

Richard White, The Republic for Which It Stands

*BUMPED.*

At Amazon, Richard White, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896.

New Nina Agdal Bikini Shots

On Instagram.

And at Drunken Stepfather, "NINA AGDAL ASS IN A BIKINI OF THE DAY":

Just because you were in Sports Illustrated it’s final years, before it shuts down like Interview magazine….doesn’t mean you’re shit…even if you can scam 100k a year from bikini lines who also believe your lie.

She dumped her miami boyfriend for LEO DICAPRIO because she’s that much of a delusional idiot, who thought she was hot enough to have a chance, probably because she’s knows he is gay and that she’s big and dude like…

Just a garbage opportunist, who at least knows to cover up that face…in her bikini selfies of self promotion she’s onto.