Almost 60 years after a sentient computer refused to “open the pod bay doors” in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the idea of artificial intelligence, or AI, continues to stir unease, despite the fact it’s already in widespread use.
The new book “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI,” by Karen Hao — which joins the original non-fiction list at No. 9 — is the journalist’s deep dive into the implications of the technology for the planet and for humanity.
Hao began covering OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, in 2019 and came to realize, according to the book’s description on the Penguin Random House website, “that the core truth of this massively disruptive sector is that its vision of success requires an almost unprecedented amount of resources.”
“The truth is that we have entered a new and ominous age of empire: only a small handful of globally scaled companies can even enter the field of play.” And that has unsettling implications for the people at the bottom of the food chain as well as an environment taxed by voracious demands for energy and water.Ìý
An empire of a different sort makes a reappearance on the Canadian non-fiction list. “Empire ofÌýDeception,” by Halifax author Dean Jobb, clocking in at No. 9 on the list and first published in 2015, tells the story of Chicago con man Leo Koretz, who fled New York for Nova Scotia in the 1920s, posing as a writer.
ORIGINAL FICTION
1. Don’t Let Him In, Lisa Jewell, Atria (1)
2. One Golden Summer, Carley Fortune, Viking (8)*
3.ÌýAtmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Doubleday Canada (4)
4.ÌýMy Friends,ÌýFredrik Backman, Simon & Schuster (9)
5.ÌýNever Flinch, Stephen King, Scribner (5)
6.ÌýBroken Country, Clare Leslie Hall, Simon & Schuster (13)
7.ÌýProblematic Summer Romance, Ali Hazelwood, Berkley (5)
8.ÌýCaught Up, Navessa Allen, Zando (3)
9.ÌýThe Tenant, Freida McFadden, Poisoned Pen (7)
10.ÌýBury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, V.E. Schwab, Tor (3)
ORIGINAL NON-FICTION
1. Anatomy of a Cover-Up, Paul Palango, Random House Canada (3)
2.ÌýThe Serviceberry,ÌýRobin Wall Kimmerer, Scribner (31)
3.ÌýThe Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt, Penguin (52)
4.ÌýA Spy in the Family, Paul Henderson, David Gardiner, HarperCollins Canada (2)
5.ÌýIs a River Alive?, Robert Macfarlane, Random House Canada (5)
6.ÌýOne Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This,ÌýOmar El Akkad, McClelland & Stewart (17)
7.Ìý52 Ways to Reconcile, David A. Robertson, McClelland & Stewart (7)
8.ÌýNexus, Yuval Noah Harari, Signal (22)
9. Empire of AI, Karen Hao, Penguin (1)
10. Everything Is Tuberculosis, John Green (5)
CANADIAN FICTION
1.ÌýOne Golden Summer, Carley Fortune, Viking
2.ÌýEvery Summer After, Carley Fortune, Viking
3.ÌýFinding Flora, Elinor Florence, Simon & Schuster
4.ÌýThe Retirement Plan, Sue Hincenbergs, Harper Avenue
5.ÌýA Most Puzzling Murder, Bianca Marais, Mira
6.ÌýThe Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood, McClelland & Stewart
7.ÌýThe Maid’s Secret,ÌýNita Prose, Viking
8.ÌýWild Love, Elsie Silver, Bloom
9.ÌýI Hope You Remember, Josie Balka, Simon & Schuster
10. This Summer Will Be Different, Carley Fortune, Viking
CANADIAN NON-FICTION
1.ÌýValue(s),ÌýMark Carney, Signal
2.ÌýAnatomy of a Cover-Up, Paul Palango, Random House Canada
3.ÌýOne Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This,ÌýOmar El Akkad, McClelland & StewartÌý
4.Ìý52 Ways to Reconcile, David A. Robertson, McClelland & StewartÌý
5.ÌýApple in China, Patrick McGee, Scribner
6.Ìý21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act, Bob Joseph, Indigenous Relations
7. Code Name: Pale Horse, Scott Payne, Michelle Shephard, Atria
8.ÌýOutsider, Brett Popplewell, HarperCollins Canada
9. Empire of Deception, Dean Jobb, HarperCollins Canada
10.ÌýAlly Is a Verb, Rose LeMay, Page Two
CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT
1.ÌýOh, the Places You’ll Go!,ÌýDr. Seuss, Random House Books for Young Readers
2.ÌýSunrise on the Reaping,ÌýSuzanne Collins, Scholastic
3. The Wild Robot on the Island, Peter Brown, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
4.ÌýKaren’s Ghost (Baby-Sitters Little Sister #11), D.K. Yingst, Ann M. Martin, Graphix
5.ÌýBinding 13, Chloe Walsh, Bloom
6.ÌýThe Paper Bag Princess, Robert Munsch, Michael Martchenko, Annick
7.ÌýBig Jim Begins (Dog Man #13),ÌýDav Pilkey, Graphix
8. We Were Liars, E. Lockhart, Ember
9.ÌýFearless,ÌýLauren Roberts, Simon & Schuster Books for Young ReadersÌý
10. The Wild Robot Protects, Peter Brown, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
HEALTH AND FITNESS
1. The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners, Dorothy Calimeris, Lulu Cook, Callisto
2. What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Heidi Murkoff, Workman
3. When the Body Says No, Gabor Maté, Vintage
4. Super Agers, Eric Topol, Simon & Schuster
5. The Myth of Normal,ÌýGabor Maté, DanielÌýMaté, Knopf Canada
6. The New Menopause, Mary Claire Haver, Rodale
7. Come As You Are (updated), Emily Nagoski, Simon & Schuster
8. Super Gut, William Davis, Collins
9. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts,ÌýGabor Maté, Vintage Canada
10. Outlive, Peter Attia, Bill Gifford, Harmony
*Weeks on list
The bestseller lists are compiled by É«É«À² Star Newspapers Limited from information provided by BookNet Canada’s national sales tracking service, BNC SalesData.
Correction — July 3, 2025
This story has been edited from an earlier version to add Lisa Jewell’s “Don’t Let Him In” to the original fiction list.
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