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Author Jesse Walker argues that believing in shadowy cabals and ominous secrets isn't just for people on the margins — it's as American as apple pie. He says that our nation's paranoia stretches back to the colonial era, and that some conspiracy theories are believed by a majority of Americans.

Iain Banks' last novel, The Quarry, follows awkward teen Kit, his dying father Guy, and a group of Guy's former friends as they search for a possibly incriminating videotape. Reviewer Ellah Allfrey says The Quarry isn't Banks' best work, but "it doesn't disappoint."

Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan was inspired by a real-life gorilla who lived in a mall in Tacoma, Wash. The author says humans have "a real obligation" to care responsibly for animals in captivity.

Patrick Flanery's taut new novel, Fallen Land, delves into the housing crisis, creeping corporate surveillance and a "crisis of neighborliness" in American life. The backdrop: a half-built and crumbling subdivision outside of an unnamed American city.

Susan Choi's new novel, My Education, is a study of relationships and how they end. Reviewer Meg Wolitzer says the book is a triumph for academic novels, portraying youth, love and naivete with exceptional style.

Since the end of the Cold War, many Americans have largely dismissed the threat of nuclear war. But Paul Bracken warns that Americans feel a misguided sense of calm. In The Second Nuclear Age, he argues that the second age of nuclear politics has arrived and the U.S. must face a new nuclear reality.

Graphic novelist Chris Ware's latest, Building Stories, is a collection in many formats, following the (mostly) sad and lonely lives of the inhabitants of a Chicago brownstone. But reviewer Glen Weldon says the work is colorful, intricate and ultimately beautiful.

When 18th century Jewish peddler Jacob Cerf reappears in the 21st century, he finds he can read minds and will people to do his bidding — but he's also a common housefly. Rebecca Miller's Jacob's Folly traces Jacob's mission to get back at God.

Cartoonist Art Spiegelman's epic Holocaust graphic novel, Maus, was published 25 years ago. Spiegelman's new book, MetaMaus, explores that signature work through interviews, answers to persistent questions and examples of his early drawings.

Former engineer Arturo Bejar says he repeatedly raised the alarm to company execs about Instagram's harm to teens and they failed to act. Senators vow to pass a social media law this year.