LONELY? THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT. Reeling after a breakup, young animator "K" is pushed by a friend to join the popular dating site Lovebug. His journey begins as a search for true love, but soon awakens a relentless craving for novelty and sexual conquest. With the touch of a button, K embarks on a dating spree, browsing a digital marketplace of the flesh. Who can stop when Lovebug offers an endless stream of prospective mates, sorted by algorithms and stored on a distant server, ready on demand like TV episodes or Chinese takeout? And in the face of this addiction, can K hold on to his friends, his job, or even his humanity? The acclaimed author of In the Flesh and The Abaddon presents an evocative tale of modern love... in a world where even full bars can lead to a bad connection.

Now a scripted-thriller podcast series starring Emmy-nominated actor, Jon Hamm, Rise of the Dungeon Master is a graphic narrative of the life of Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, one of the world’s most influential role-playing games. Rise of the Dungeon Master tells, in graphic form, the story of Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, one of the most influential games ever made. Like the game itself, the narrative casts the reader into the adventure from a first person point of view, taking on the roles of the different characters in the story. Gygax was the son of immigrants who grew up in Lake Geneva, WI, in the 1950s. An imaginative misfit, he escaped into a virtual world based on science fiction novels, military history and strategic games like chess. In the mid-1970s, he co-created the wildly popular Dungeons & Dragons game. Starting out in the basement of his home, he was soon struggling to keep up with the demand. Gygax was a purist, in the sense that he was adamant that players use their imaginations and that the rules of the game remain flexible. A creative mind with no real knowledge of business, he made some strategic errors and had a falling out with the game's co-creator, his close friend and partner, David Arneson. By the late 1970s the game had become so popular among kids that parents started to worry -- so much so that a mom's group was formed to alert parents to the dangers of role play and fantasy. The backlash only fueled the fires of the young fans who continued to play the game, escaping into imaginary worlds. Before long, D&D conventions were set up around the country and the game inspired everything from movies to the first video games. With D&D, Gygax created the kind of role playing fantasy that would fuel the multibillion dollar video game industry, and become a foundation of contemporary geek culture.

You're miserable, in pain, frustrated. He says he loves you, but he's never available. Wtf? No matter what you do, no matter how successful you are, you can't seem to break the pattern of dating unavailable, avoidant guys, and you're sick of it. "Girl Rebuilt" is designed for women who are seeking to avoid dating those partners. It requires asking yourself a tough question: could you be a love addict? Tracy Shields is the bestie you need to talk it out with. She offers up fresh, intense insight on how to reconfigure your defense mechanisms, ditch your fears of abandonment, and become the person you need to be to experience healthy love.

Hurt people hurt people. Say there was a novel in which Holden Caulfield was an alcoholic and Lolita was a photographer’s assistant and, somehow, they met in Bright Lights, Big City. He’s blinded by love. She by ambition. Diary of an Oxygen Thief is an honest, hilarious, and heartrending novel, but above all, a very realistic account of what we do to each other and what we allow to have done to us.

Bionic is a coming-of-age tale for the digital generation, taking place in the near future. It’s the story of Victor, a geeky teenager on a hopeless quest to win the love of the gorgeous Patricia—but when she returns from a horrible accident with astonishing new robotic parts, both their lives will be changed forever. Koren Shadmi (Highwayman, The Twilight Man: Rod Serling and the Birth of Television) presents a hypnotically illustrated story of warm flesh and cold metal. It’s the story of a love that was never meant to be, of overwhelming emotions, trauma, rebellion, loss of innocence, and the fear that wanting something may not be enough.

Dating today can seem like Alice's tumble down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Whether starting out or starting again, women face the difficult task of sorting through the good (guy), the bad (boy) and the ugly (morning after) in their search for Mr. Right. Here,giving hope to smart single women everywhere is Amy DeZellar, who bravely dedicated two years of her life to debunking common dating myths and documenting 50 of her dates. She's gone wine-tasting with Indentured Cats, a blind date who also happened to be blind; been accosted in a cornfield by Glitter Ball, a lounge musician who grew up with the Beatles; and found her artistic sentiments at odds with her desire for financial security when she simultaneously got involved with a painter named Harry Potter and a NASA super-computer designer named Teflon, all in her quest to chronicle the dating life of a regular girl and maybe even find true love. Each of the 50 chapters is dedicated to a different date, and includes the kinds of tips and sharp observations that only someone on the front lines can offer. Get ready to laugh, cry, and commiserate with Amy--and learn, as she did, a few things about finding the perfect man.

"A former hedge-fund trader presents a memoir about coming of age on Wall Street, his obsessive pursuit of money, his disillusionment and the radical new way he has come to define success, "--NoveList