It is that time of year when many of us are taking a break and catching up on some reading. Here are three fiction and three non-fiction books I have really enjoyed in my futures space this year. I have some good podcasts, websites and videos too but I will share them at a later time. If you have recommendations please share so I can add recommendations to my 2025 list.
| Fiction Titles | Comments |
|---|---|
| Orbital – Samantha Harvey | This book was a Booker Prize winner 2024. This is focuses on six astronauts who are in their spacecraft rotating around the earth. They see earth from a different view, reflecting on how fragile it seems but how strong their connection is. What is life without earth? What is the earth without humanity? |
| The Children’s Book of the Future – Lavie Tidhar & Richard Watson | I have always been a fan of Richard Watson and the maps he produces. This book is a little different. Pages contain a story, some facts and a Did You Know section. Take time to explore the Junk Collector, who captures satellites and tows them to the Graveyard Orbit where they will be pulled apart and the parts sold. There is also a story about an Upgraded Aunt! |
| Ultrawild – An Audacious Plan to Rewide Every City on Earth – Steve Mushin | This book is a masterpiece of illustrations, dreams and inventions, with feedback from top scientists and engineers. Each double page has drawings, images, quirky facts. Each chapter focuses on a particular project eg The SewerSub project, asking a key question Could we convert abandoned sewers into underground rivers and ride through them in submarines? Ideas may seem preposterous but are they really? |
| Non Fiction Titles | Comments |
|---|---|
| Future Opportunities Report: The Global 50 2024 Summary – Dubai Futures Foundation Full Report | I picked up a copy of the Summary Report at the Dubai Futures Forum. It contains 50 opportunities for future growth, prosperity and wellbeing under the headings of Heath Reimagined, Nature Restored, Societies Empowered, Systems Optimised and Transformational. The opportunities are posed as questions such as What if youth were paid to explore careers and retirees never retired? and What if clothes kept us healthy? Each opportunity connects to megatrends and trends. |
| The Hesitant Feminist’s Guide to the Future – Ivana Milojević | Ivana is an amazing futurist, researcher and colleague. In 2024 Ivana was invited to be part of a project focused on women who engage in futures thinking and foresight. Many conversations underpinned this important research. “We create our language, then the language shapes us.” |
| The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an age of Machine Learning – Shannon Vallor | This book reminds us that we are uniquely human. A couple of quotes to whet your appetite: “We are strangling in a garment we have woven, as are many who had no say in their weaving” and “AI is the first technology that can make us forget how to answer our own question.” |