94 Books Like Toys

I loved this book because it was so gripping. It made me long to be a writer. Although it was written over a hundred years ago, the dark story spoke directly to me.

I read it at the darkest time in my life. I was fourteen, and my alcoholic father had become a terrifying force in our home, just like Dr. Moreau, who rules his island with vicious power. I had never dreamed that a crazed leader could break an entire population, but the idea seems shockingly prescient now.

The book made me realize that I, too, could escape from the trap around me, just like the book’s hero, and learn to use my imagination to tell stories.

I used this book to relieve the boredom of a long daily commute.

Instead of looking out of a train window at the same old scenery I'd passed a thousand times before, I was now taken to a dystopian society in which everything which I had taken for granted about family life was turned upside down. Where humans are manufactured to a specification instead of being born. A new pseudo religion where everyone makes the sign of the ‘T’, to signify their devotion to the original Ford Model T, which was the first vehicle to be manufactured on an assembly line.

When I read Michael Crichton’s Next, my first thought was that we’re entering a dangerous time with our ability to manipulate the genomes of many different species.

The central message is about the possible negative ramifications of manipulating the DNA of humans and other animal species and even the creation of transspecies. Crichton leads us through diverse stories of corporate greed to the life and death struggles of others just wanting a cure for cancer.

Crichton does a masterful job of tying the different agendas into a compelling, interwoven narrative. 

Michio Kaku’s Visions inspired me to write my first novel focusing on artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and Androids.

Kaku interviewed one hundred and fifty peers in the scientific community to predict what the future might be like. Genetic Elites will roam the earth as well as Humanoid Robots, where Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing lead the way to seemingly impossible breakthroughs.

Kaku’s Visions is fast becoming our reality.

This is the one book that explains why humans have become poor at understanding the passage of time and how we can change fast to plan for a shared future.

“Living in the age we do, we have never before had such leverage to shape the trajectory of the future, with so little collective recognition of that fact,” writes Richard Fisher. 

If you’re into philosophy, this is the book for you! It explores the big questions about the origins of life and human consciousness, and what is it to be human and what makes a soul. Set in a distant future, on an island republic brutally policed to keep out survivors from the ruined world beyond its shores, Anaximander is put through a grueling examination to get into The Academy. I loved how it pushed my brain and went in places I wasn’t expecting. 

​​A con man with a quantum intellect assembles a team of other bizarre post-humans—including AI and genetically engineered characters—to pull off a heist that could start a galactic-scale war or help these new species find meaning.

I love that the book incorporates pretty complex elements, like quantum mechanics, genetic engineering, and unique societies with plausible far-future world-building, yet the heist story at the heart of it is fun, accessible, and occasionally humorous.

Butler is known for bringing a black, feminist, and queer perspective to science fiction, a genre of futuristic and outer-space storytelling that traditionally features white male protagonists.

But what really captivates me about this book, which is set in a post-apocalyptic future where human survivors are mated with their alien rescuers (really!), is the way it asks icky-yet-intensely-meaningful questions. What does it mean to “be human” in a future of genetic hybridity and gender fluidity? What does it mean to love a partner or children whose genetics and culture are radically different from your own? When is violence futile, and when is it the only way to be heard?

I’m pretty much obsessed with this book, and I promise that any reader who has thought deeply about what it means to be really different will love it too.

This is the classic personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA. I read it as an early college assignment, but now find it rich in history, biology, and insight. Watson described himself as an ornithology undergraduate who avoided chemistry and physics courses in spite of a desire to do science—a common sentiment. He unfolds in frank detail how the world of science worked, and sometimes didn’t work, early post-WWII. We learn as much about bond angles and hydration as we do about laboratory politics and personality quirks beneath the effort to puzzle out the structure and function of DNA. The epilogue pays tribute to less well-known collaborators, especially Rosalind Franklin, sometimes dismissed as uncooperative, but recognized here for her essential contributions and competence as a scientist.

This book left me questioning what it truly means to be human. From the moment Logan Ramsay was infected with a mysterious virus, I was captivated by Crouch’s exploration of genetic enhancement. As Logan's abilities expanded—making him smarter, stronger, and more detached—I was both fascinated and horrified.

The tension between his new capabilities and the erosion of his emotional connections made the ethical dilemmas even more poignant. Crouch’s vision of a world on the brink of extinction, with genetic upgrades as both a salvation and a curse, felt disturbingly real. This isn’t just a techno-thriller; it’s a profound examination of what we might sacrifice in the relentless pursuit of progress.