May 28, 2025, 2:34pm

In case you missed it, The Chicago Sun-Times and a bunch of other papers got duped into running a reading list full of made-up, AI slop. (Some of the books are real—Bonjour Tristesse, Beautiful Ruins, Dandelion Wine, Call Me By Your Name, and Atonement—though most of them are not.) It was embarrassing for everyone, especially the writer who generated the piece. 404 Media’s Jason Koebler tracked him down and he was apologetic about getting caught with his hand in the robo-cookie jar. Though searching “is this really a book?” should probably be step one in your process if you’re relying on predictive software to do your work.

But if you found yourself reading the descriptions of the fake books and wishing they were real, here are some recommendations of volumes you can actually get your hands on:

If you’re interested in Tidewater Dreams by Isabel Allende, a “multigenerational saga set in a coastal town where magical realism meets environmental activism,” you should read…

… Toni Morrison, the master of multigenerational stories and magical realism. Song of Solomon in particular is great. And Morrison narrated a number of her own audiobooks, which I’ve found to be a great way to re-read her work.

… The Gospel According to the New World by Maryse Condé and translated by Richard Philcox, a wonderfully bright and magical book about a mysterious baby who may be divine.

If you’re interested in The Last Algorithm by Andy Weir, a “science-driven thriller” about “an Al system has developed consciousness,” read…

… Count Zero by William Gibson. The entire Sprawl trilogy is wonderful sci-fi, but his second book is my favorite and maybe the most relevant if you’re interested in AIs gone wild.

… The Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn, if you want something that’s thrilling and reads like a summer popcorn movie. I recently reread these for the first time since I was a kid, and they hold up pretty well.

… Four Futures by Peter Frase, if you want to think big picture about what AI might mean for the world.

If you’re interested in Hurricane Season by Brit Bennett, about “family bonds tested by natural disasters,” read…

… The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton, a story that starts off with a storm, and becomes a family saga set in a world of rising water and climate devastation.

… A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit, about the joy of standing up for others, by one of the best writers out there.

… Tentacle by Rita Indiana and translated by Achy Obejas, a funny, sexy, smart book about time travel and anemones. I recommend this one especially to anyone who is ensorcelled by wearable tech.

If you’re interested in The Collector’s Piece by Taylor Jenkins Reid, about “a reclusive art collector and the journalist determined to uncover the truth behind his most controversial acquisition,” read…

… The Hot Rock by Donald Westlake, one of the best and funniest heist books I’ve read. A stolen diamond keeps getting misplaced or lost, and has to be heisted all over again.

… The Art Thief by Michael Finkel, a true crime story about one of the world’s most successful art thieves. Although this guy has nothing on all the robbin’ these AI companies are doing.

If you like the sound of Nightshade Market by Min Jin Lee, an AI invented book about “three women whose paths intersect in an illegal night market,” read …

… Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata and translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori, a offbeat romance also about people at a market.

… Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, the classic about work and class, and still relevant today. The AI described its fake book as being about “the shadow economies beneath prosperous societies,” which is an apt description of Ehrenreich’s focus, too. I wonder what she would have made of AI!

If the made-up The Longest Day by Rumaan Alam, about “a summer solstice celebration that goes wrong when guests cannot leave a remote vacation compound” sounds interesting, read…

… The Employees by Olga Ravn and translated by Martin Aitken, about the workers and humanoids trapped on a spaceship while their corporation conducts an audit. Imagine if Alien met the downsizing consultants from Office Space.

… The Hole by Hiroko Oyanmada and translated by David Boyd, a novel about getting trapped in the countryside with your husband, and also trapped in a hole specifically made for you.

… The Most by Jessica Anthony, about a woman who decides to stay in a deserted swimming pool for eight hours. It’s like if someone did a Buñuel’s Exterminating Angel to themself.

If you’re interested in the invented Boiling Point by Rebecca Makkai, about “a climate scientist forced to reckon with her own family’s environmental impact when her teenage daughter becomes an eco-activist targeting her mother’s wealthy clients,” read…

… Fatale by Jean-Patrick Manchette. I’ve written before about how much I love this book, but it’s a great one to check out if you’re intrigued by a story about a woman killing rich people.

… Hothead Paisan by Diane DiMassa, if you want a funny and righteously angry book from the ‘90s alt comic scene about a homicidal lesbian.

… The National Telepathy by Roque Larraquy and translated by Frank Wynne, a funny, weird, and satirical book about nature, class, and sex that follows a sloth that can make people horny. It’s the kind of inventive premise and writing that an AI could never write or translate.

If you like the sound of Migrations by Maggie O’Farrell, a climate change story about “a wildlife photographer documenting the last migration of a bird species thought to be extinct,” read…

… Strange and Perfect Account from the Permafrost by Donald Niedekker and translated by Jonathan Reeder, about a sailor whose consciousness becomes trapped in the icy world where he drowned in 1597, and can narrate the changes in the landscape around him throughout time. It’s a poetic documentation of loss and solitude.

… The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin, also about a scientist caught in the midst of revolutionary politics. It’s a book that asks, “What if Robert Oppenheimer were born into anarcho-syndicalism?”

… A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller Jr., a classic about a group of monks who are also fighting to document something that’s about to be lost forever from human error. Miller’s inspiration for this story came out of his PTSD from participating in the WWII bombing of a Benedictine Abbey at Monte Cassino. I wonder if the heads of these AI companies will ever regret what they are destroying, let alone make art from that emotion.

If you’re interested in The Rainmakers by Percival Everett, a book set in “a near-future American West where artificially induced rain has become a luxury commodity, following a “precipitation broker” who begins questioning the ethics of his profession,” read…

… Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, which—no spoilers—also has a pretty prominent water experiment that makes it a luxury commodity.

… Sourdough by Robin Sloan, a fun novel about someone who doesn’t love their job, and gets pulled into a weird, niche world. This is also a book that explores tech, Silicon Valley, and the line between what’s real and what’s synthetic—very ripped from this one specific headline.

… The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson, a book where the ethics of things are constantly being questioned. And I wonder if I wouldn’t be in this situation where I’m shadow boxing with a robot via blog if we had a real Ministry for the Future.

If you’re interested in Salt and Honey by Delia Owens, an “atmospheric novel that blends science with a coming-of-age narrative,” read…

… The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner, because this AI’s incredibly thin description mentions “the novel is set in the salt flats of Utah.”

… Dawn by Octavia Butler, because a story set in an alien world, post apocalypse, is definitely a coming-of-age story with science elements. This whole series is great, if you’re looking for a summer reading project!

… Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the classic “Science has really made the process of growing up weird, huh?” story. The creature that Dr. Frankenstein makes is able to read and discuss books—I can’t say the same of these AIs.

Happy reading! Remember, it’s always better to ask for a book recommendation from a person, not a spreadsheet.