Over the years, one of the most frequent questions I get is, “What books would you recommend I read?” So, from time to time I give readers a selection of stimulating, mind-expanding books to consider reading. This my summer list for 2022.

These books are nonfiction and force the reader to think, perhaps to think differently, which is the point.

So, all of these books relate to big trends, dynamics and forces that are and will shape our world in the future.

1. "Novacene: The Coming Age 0f Hyperintelligence" by James Lovelock. A beautifully lyrical book about the next stage of human evolution, written by the scientist who invented the concept of Gaia. This book was published to coincide with Lovelock’s 100th birthday in 2019.  He just died at age 103 in July.

2. "LIFE 3.0 Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" by Max Tegmark. Tegmark, an MIT professor, is one of the leading thinkers on AI and this book is breathtaking in its scope. Read this and have a solid understanding of what our future might be like as superintelligences are created this century.

3. "A Planet of 3 Billion" by Christopher Tucker. This book altered my thinking on what humanity has to do in the face of catastrophic global warming. The quote from Jane Goodall on the cover states it well: “Essential reading for anyone who cares about the fate of our planet and our species.” Tucker, as chairman of the American Geographical Society, uses beautiful maps to explain the multiple climates on earth. This book will change your thinking about population.

4. "Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow" by Yuval Noah Harari. Harari is one of the biggest brains on the planet today. Best known for his recasting of history with his first book “Sapiens,” I think that of his three books, this is the most profound, as it looks into the coming century with insight and vision.

5. "Post Growth: Life After Capitalism" by Tim Jackson. One of the hardest things that humanity will need to do this century is to move to a post-growth form of capitalism. Given that we have never lived in non-growth economies, this is an extremely difficult idea to comprehend, but our survival might well depend upon it. This is a good introductory primer on what lies ahead as capitalism gets reinvented in a time of catastrophic global warming.

6. "The Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail" by Ray Dalio. Dalio is one of the most successful hedge fund managers in history. His first book “Principles” was a global bestseller. He is a true thinker. He wanted to look back at the last 2,000 years of civilization – with a focus on the last 500 years – to see how nations succeed and fail. If you are wondering whether we are living in the late stage of the American Empire, this book will be a profound read.

7. "A Tale of Four Graphs: An Essay About Sarasota, Florida’s Changing Climate" by Roy Wysnewski. The last entry on this short list is from a Sarasota resident. The good news is that it is free if you set up a Smashwords account (or you can purchase it from Amazon). This being given free is a public service as everyone reading this column can download this, and should. In four charts – history of human population over 12,000 years, carbon dioxide over 800,000 years, global average temperature over the last 2,000 years and finally a chart that shows the warming temperature of Sarasota since 1900. Read this book and it becomes clear why global warming is occurring and why this is a unique time in planetary history.

Any one of these seven books will change your thinking. Read them all and transform how you look at the future. If you like my writings here, you might like to also read “The 2020s: The Golden Age of Design and Redesign” written by James Fathers and yours truly. This is Book 3 in the 2020s book series, and shows why almost everything in our lives will need to be either redesigned or designed anew.

The future is now. The future we will share in the next 20 years will be incredibly disruptive and transformative. The books listed above will help you anticipate and prepare for it.

Sarasota resident David Houle is a globally recognized futurist. He has given speeches on six continents, written 13 books and is futurist in residence at Ringling College of Art and Design. His websites are davidhoule.com and the2020sdecade.com. Email him at david@davidhoule.com.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: DAVID HOULE: Seven books that will force you to think differently