In choices of fictional books to read I gravitate toward sci-fi and fantasy. For example, in late 2014 and through the first few months of this year I read all the Game of Thrones books.
The first three of those were the best and I thought definitely better than the TV show, although it’s pretty good too even if a bit violent for my taste.
My reading lately has been leaning more toward books about human transformation of various kinds including non-fictional works.
This reading has come to constitute, I realized, a somewhat electric mix with the common thread of science (and in particular genetics and biology) fantasy becoming reality. I recommend these as thought-provoking reads.
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- Regenesis by George Church and Ed Regis
- Evolving Ourselves by Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans
- Frankenstein’s Cat by Emily Anthes
- Unnatural Selection by Mara Hvistendahl
See any patterns there?
This reading is in part inspired by research I was doing for my own new book GMO Sapiens, hopefully coming out in December. By the way GMO Sapiens is a mashup (or portmanteau) of Homo sapiens and GMO.
It is focused on human genetic modification and the very real possibility of designer babies on the horizon.
In the coming weeks and months I will be posting excerpts from the book. Stay tuned.