SUMMER HALF OVER READING LIST to understanding the future

Summer Half Over Reading List



I bet you haven't started on the 10 books to explain the future.  So I thought in the interest of time that I would shorten the list since summer is half over.  You do want to understand what's coming, right?  So here is my top 5 choices of books to read pertaining to the future.

If I could only recommend one book to read this summer it would be Jaron Lanier's "You Are Not A Gadget.  Jaron is a techie that has stepped out of his comfort zone to help the public understand what is occurring in Silicon Valley and how they are creating your future.  He is smart and truthful.  This is a must read book and I am sure you can get it as an e-book (which is just wrong in my opinion).

#1 You Are Not a Gadget BY Jaron Lanier

 

2. This 2nd book is an oldie but goodie.  I bet you saw the movie but the book is way better and very different.  This little book was for the future but I think you will agree that it is relevant for today.  It is about a society (in the future) that couldn't handle conflicting opinions and chose to remain ignorant by filling their time with entertainment and empty pursuits.  Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451." 



 

#2  Fahrenheit 451 BY Ray Bradbury

 

3. This book is so short you can read it in an hour or two.  Again, this is a story written for a future time in which society has let the machine take over every aspect of life.  Everything is done for them by their fancy smartphone (or whatever device you would like it to be).  People rarely see each other in person but instead attend to their life in VR (virtual reality).  E. M. Forester's "The Machine Stops."

 

#3 The Machine Stops BY E.M. Forster

 

Or here is a link to a pdf of this story: http://www.ele.uri.edu/faculty/vetter/Other-stuff/The-Machine-Stops.pdf

 

4. The next recommended book is a response to the fact that the middle-class is disappearing and his suggestions of how to take advantage of the time available to make lots of money.  Also, he suggests ways to be happy and to find balance in a very unbalanced time.  This is a fast and fun read.  This guy is smart and funny.  James Altucher's "Choose Yourself."







 



 #4 Choose Yourself BY James Altucher

 

5. I can't recommend this author and this book enough.  The author continues with his theory on the take over by everything digital and what it will mean to our VERY NEAR future.  This is an insider's story of the technologies that are consuming our life.  Jaron Lanier's "Who Owns the Future?"

 

 

#5  Who Owns the Future? BY Jaron Lanier

 

There you go!  This list is as easy as it is interesting and fun.  So grab some good books or reading devices and start reading!