Recs if you like The Circle...

Dystopian fiction that feels a little bit too real. Imagined futures, apocalypses, society collapse, oh my!

You loved Patrick Bateman. You wanted to be Jay Gatsby. You know all the rules about Fight Club. Well, do I have the list for you! Um, actually... is a list of books where the whole point went over people's heads. These novels handed readers a mirror and they wore it as a name badge instead. Always taking recommendations! (p.s. I am begging you to watch Um, Actually on Dropout TV... um, actually please watch anything/everything on Dropout TV)

These audiobooks do accents so badly they'll give you second-hand embarrassment. Please let me know what books I should add to this list.

Fiction has always been where truth hides. Across horror, thriller, literary fiction, fantasy & mystery every book on this list has something to say about power, who holds it, who destroys it, and how it reproduces itself.

Fictional stories. Real consequences. Profit > People is dedicated to books with capitalist critique, focusing on the lives - and bodies - sacrificed at the altar of industry and interest. Always taking recommendations!

We do not dream of labour but labour sure does dream of smothering and exploiting us in new and unusual ways.

aka the severance vibes are strong here

ANTI: fascism, ai, nfts, Big Tech, billionaires, surveillance states, optimization, algorithms, bot farms, technofeudalism, enshittification, exploitation, extractionism, planned obsolescence PRO: organized labor, punk, analog, solidarity, free speech, friction, degrowth, experimentation, right to privacy, right to repair, diy, material process, mutual aid, ecological living, the human hand, the human mind

*Short stories welcome. Looking for nonfiction? Check out The Big Bad Luddite List.

The books that have always been there, warning that these things might be coming if we don't change. So pick one up, grab a fridge cigarette, and let it sharpen your rage into something constructive.

Books that were adapted into movies (not tv shows). Let's make this list as long as possible!

(going to only add the first book in a series)

Books that make me afraid of tech, the surveillance state, and honestly the future. 🙃 Haha it’s probably fine.

fiction, dystopian, horror vibes

Do you enjoy reading about bad bosses and horrible workplaces? Are you anxiously awaiting the next season of Severance? Do you feel a delightful rush of goosebumps at the mention of workplace horror, technothrillers, technocratic dystopia, and tales of dysfunctional late-stage capitalism run amok? This may be the list for you!

Motivational posters, loyalty oaths, HR "family culture", retreats that feel like indoctrination, hustle worship, and LinkedIn messiah energy.

fiction that explores some aspect of the modern capitalist hellscape, whether high-tech corporate, blue collar, or something in between.

Uncanny digital intimacy. Ring lights, comment sections, stan culture, identity crisis, doomscroll insomnia.

The best dystopian novels don’t just imagine the future, they make us question the present. A mix of modern and classic dystopian stories that deserve a place on every reader’s shelf.

Digital minimalism reading list taken from r/nosurf. Plus recently released books relevant to the topic.

Timely Dystopian novels that reflect current realities

Per my last email...

Books to make you fear the future

Dystopian books becoming more realistic every day, but they have some hope (which I think we all need), which is why I love these books.