A dystopian reading list for beginners

Books that feel more relevant now than ever

Reading is something I’ve been actively trying to do a lot more of in the last 18 months.

I used to read constantly; at home, on holiday, in bed, on the bus. As my smartphone became a more permanent fixture in my life/hand, I find that I just don’t get round to reading a good old fashioned book as much.

This is NOT a good thing. However, while I don’t always read books, I do like reading articles and one grabbed my eye this week about how we are becoming post-literate society; guilting me but also encouraging me further to stick with my reading goal. Throw in a prompt from Instagram to share a book that ‘everyone should read, at least once’ and you pretty much have the inspiration for this entire post.

The dawn of the post-literate society

In a world where everything is on fire, here’s my dystopian must-reads that feel more relevant than ever. Whether they were on your high school reading syllabus or not, they’re chock full of things that will reshape your worldview.

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

I’ve read a LOT of Kurt Vonnegut but Slaughterhouse Five was my first, and it’s easy to see why it remains, both a beloved cult classic and his most famous and popular work. It follows a protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, who finds himself travelling to his past, present, and future simultaneously with the aid of an otherworldly race. Haunted by the trauma of his experiences as a soldier and prisoner of war during WW2, this anti-war novel tackles mental health, the concept of fatalism, and the futility of our worldly squabbles.

Watchmen by Alan Moore

From The Boys, to KickAss and Heroes, to some of the darker Marvel stuff, none of it would exist without Alan Moore’s original graphic novel. The concept of flawed superhero’s that also highlights the darker side of humanity feels old hat today but upon release, Watchmen changed the game forever. Set in an alternate universe in the ‘80s and on the brink of nuclear war, a group of outlawed ex-superhero’s investigate who has been picking off their kind one by one, eager to discover their larger purpose. Intertwined with multiple flashbacks, the novel covers the horrors of war, US politics, familial trauma, and post-humanism in a way that makes wearing a mask feel less cringe, and significantly more existential.

Neuromancer by William Gibson

If you think AI is scary now, William Gibson found it scary back in 1984. This sci-fi novel went on to inspire films like The Matrix, Bladerunner, Ghost in the Shell, and perhaps even Inception. We follow a hacker who is recruited by artificial intelligence to commit a heist, which as it turns out, is to create an even more powerful AI. The novel still feels fresh and though provoking - particularly as we’ve become increasingly reliant on technology and creating curated avatars for ourselves in a virtual world. Wrestling with corporate power and influence, human identity, addiction to technology, and false realities is part of everyday life in 2025 which makes this 40 year old novel feel like a spooky foreshadowing.

A Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood

Thanks to the TV series, this one probably needs very little explaining. We are closer to Gilead today than we could ever imagine with women’s reproductive rights openly up for debate. The novel, which follows Offred and her life as a concubine or ‘handmaiden’, ends quite abruptly with a lot less hopeful tone which makes it all the more haunting.

So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

I’m a huge Jon Ronson fan and would happily recommend any of his non-fiction deep dives but So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed is the one that sticks with me most in the current climate of online culture wars. Despite now being 10 years old, and the jumping off point for Ronson’s Butterfly Effect podcast series, it remains pertinent in it’s investigation about what happens when you’re the victim of an online pile-on. Looking at everything from lapses in judgement to those preaching hate speech online, Ronson critiques online culture and the concept of the modern ‘pitchfork hate mob’ in a way that many of us could still continue to learn from.

Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ‘72 by Hunter S.Thompson

If you find modern day politics confusing, this journalistic memoir looks - unforgivingly and sometimes a little exaggeratedly - at the chaotic, and sometimes seedy re-election of Richard Nixon in 1972. While Thompson is often more revered for his antics than his writing, the inner mechanics of political journalism, ambition and disillusionment are exposed by Thompson’s signature entertaining style. ‘How low do you have to stoop in this country to be President?” Asks Thompson. It would be interesting to see what the Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ‘25 would look like with today’s global politics in the spotlight.

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