100 books like Upgrade Soul

By Ezra Claytan Daniels,

Here are 100 books that Upgrade Soul fans have personally recommended if you like Upgrade Soul. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Book cover of Last Days of an Immortal

Sophie Goldstein Author Of The Oven

From my list on for speculative fiction lovers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a compulsive reader and writer of speculative fiction, in love with the genre’s capacity to extrapolate our present social, economic and technological into horrifying/astonishing futures. That being said, I need strong writing and compelling characters to pull me into a world and make it feel lived in and real. It’s this kind of emotional realism that I seek out as a reader and try to create as an author.

Sophie's book list on for speculative fiction lovers

Sophie Goldstein Why did Sophie love this book?

Last Days of an Immortal is a stylish, picaresque foray into a lavish post-scarcity future where cloning has made death optional and bodies can be changed as easily as a shirt. The black and white art has a graphic 1960s flair enlivened with wonderful textural details. Poignant, beautiful, and totally weird with some excellent alien cultures. One of my all-time favorite graphic novels.

By Gwen de Bonneval, Fabien Vehlmann,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Last Days of an Immortal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the distant future, Elijah is a member of the "Philosophical Police," who must solve conflicts that arise out of ignorance of the Other. Two species are fighting a war with roots in a crime committed centuries ago, and Elijah must solve the crime and bring peace between their species, while also confronting his own immortality in a world where science provides access to eternal life. In a world where death no longer exists, why do so many want to give up on life?


Book cover of Curveball

Sophie Goldstein Author Of The Oven

From my list on for speculative fiction lovers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a compulsive reader and writer of speculative fiction, in love with the genre’s capacity to extrapolate our present social, economic and technological into horrifying/astonishing futures. That being said, I need strong writing and compelling characters to pull me into a world and make it feel lived in and real. It’s this kind of emotional realism that I seek out as a reader and try to create as an author.

Sophie's book list on for speculative fiction lovers

Sophie Goldstein Why did Sophie love this book?

Curveball is less compelled by plot than by setting and character. Sorese’s future is gorgeously imagined in melting black, white, and gray with electric orange highlights. Every element–from the clothing to the tech to the furniture–is thoughtfully designed and elegantly rendered. Moreover, Curveball has some of the best acting I have ever seen in *any* graphic novel. A triumph!

By Jeremy Sorese,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Curveball as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Curveball is a science fiction graphic novel telling the story of a waiter named Avery coping with the ending of a difficult relationship. Having spent years attempting to build something substantial with an indecisive sailor named Christophe, Avery stubbornly holds on despite the mounting evidence against him. The idea of the relationship has eclipsed its reality and in Avery's already troubled life, the allure of something dependable is a powerful force.

Curveball focuses on the duality of hope and delusion. How ignorance is integral to surviving our day to day lives but can be incredibly destructive if allowed to blossom…


Book cover of Ancestor

Sophie Goldstein Author Of The Oven

From my list on for speculative fiction lovers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a compulsive reader and writer of speculative fiction, in love with the genre’s capacity to extrapolate our present social, economic and technological into horrifying/astonishing futures. That being said, I need strong writing and compelling characters to pull me into a world and make it feel lived in and real. It’s this kind of emotional realism that I seek out as a reader and try to create as an author.

Sophie's book list on for speculative fiction lovers

Sophie Goldstein Why did Sophie love this book?

I always love a good near-future sci-fi book and the opening pages of this graphic novel deliver wonderful technological details in spades, including a ubiquitous “Service” pictured as floating pools of word balloons that cleverly conveys information overload. Then a sharp twist takes the story in a whole new, utterly unexpected direction I won’t ruin for you… Just read it.

By Matt Sheean, Malachi Ward,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ancestor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In rare lucid moments you see that you are enslaved. You tell yourself that The Service is a helpful interface providing your mind with continual aid and stimulation, but you know it's a lie.

Patrick Whiteside can help you. He doesn't require much: An open mind. Determination. The ability to make sacrifices.

Let Whiteside help you.

From the pages of BRANDON GRAHAM's ISLAND comes the debut science fiction epic by MATT SHEEAN and MALACHI WARD.

Collects "ANCESTOR" from issues 3, 5, 7 and 9 of ISLAND.


Book cover of Habitat

Sophie Goldstein Author Of The Oven

From my list on for speculative fiction lovers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a compulsive reader and writer of speculative fiction, in love with the genre’s capacity to extrapolate our present social, economic and technological into horrifying/astonishing futures. That being said, I need strong writing and compelling characters to pull me into a world and make it feel lived in and real. It’s this kind of emotional realism that I seek out as a reader and try to create as an author.

Sophie's book list on for speculative fiction lovers

Sophie Goldstein Why did Sophie love this book?

A generational ship fallen to ruin and tribalism? Sign me up! Roy spares no effort in bringing to life his vivid, action-packed book. The fun here is less the characters than the world-building and how artfully the past is revealed plot-point by plot-point like a delicious sci-fi strip-tease. Plus, Roy drew the shit out of this book.

By Roy Simon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Habitat as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

All his life, Hank Cho wanted to join the ranks of the Habsec - the rulers of the orbital habitat his people call home. But when he finds a powerful, forbidden weapon from the deep past, a single moment of violence sets his life - and the brutal society of the habitat - into upheaval. Hunted by the cannibalistic Habsec and sheltered by former enemies, Cho finds himself caught within a civil war that threatens to destroy his world.

A new barbarian sci-fi adventure from SIMON ROY (Prophet, Jan's Atomic Heart, Tiger Lung). Collecting installments originally serialized in ISLAND MAGAZINE…


Book cover of 75 Years of DC Comics. the Art of Modern Mythmaking

Roy Schwartz Author Of Is Superman Circumcised?: The Complete Jewish History of the World's Greatest Hero

From my list on comic book history.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the author of Is Superman Circumcised? The Complete Jewish History of the World's Greatest Hero, which won the 2021 Diagram Prize, and The Darkness in Lee's Closet and the Others Waiting There. I write about pop culture for The Forward and CNN.com. My writing has appeared in a range of publications, including New York Daily News, Jerusalem Post, and Philosophy Now. I’ve taught English and writing at the City University of New York and am a former writer-in-residence fellow at the New York Public Library.

Roy's book list on comic book history

Roy Schwartz Why did Roy love this book?

Paul Levitz was a writer, editor, editor in chief, publisher, and president of DC Comics for decades. This oversized coffee table book is a treasure trove of his insights, memories, and analysis. It’s the definitive history of DC, which only he could write. And it’s full of fun colorful images, making it interesting to younger readers as well as a perfect gift to any pop culture or comics lover.

By Paul Levitz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 75 Years of DC Comics. the Art of Modern Mythmaking as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1935, DC Comics founder Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson published New Fun No. 1-the first comic book with all-new original material-at a time when comic books were mere repositories for the castoffs of the newspaper strips. What was initially considered to be disposable media for children was well on its way to becoming the mythology of our time-the 20th century's answer to Atlas or Zorro.

More than 40,000 comic books later, TASCHEN has produced the single most comprehensive book on DC Comics. More than 2,000 images-covers and interiors, original illustrations, photographs, film stills, and collectibles-are reproduced using the latest technology to…


Book cover of The Witch Boy

Anthony Oliveira

From my list on queer YA topics that will crack your heart in half.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was growing up, there were no stories for me. A queer kid in a very conservative Catholic household, I knew I was different, but I had no way to articulate that difference, and no way to imagine a horizon of happiness, of dignity, or of joy. In the worlds people imagined for young people, we were simply written out. I have since spent a lifetime studying and telling stories – as an English professor, as a bartender at a queer bookstore and drag bar, and now as a writer. And what matters to me most is seeing queer lives lived in abundance. These are the stories I wish I had.

Anthony's book list on queer YA topics that will crack your heart in half

Anthony Oliveira Why did Anthony love this book?

Boys are one way; girls are another; that’s the way it has always been. But when Aster finds himself ineluctably drawn to the magic that should only be the province of the women in his family, he begins to realize some rules are not only antiquated, they can do material harm to the soul. Ostertag deftly uses the supernatural as a simple and elegant metaphor for the thousand indignities we can heap upon the queer and gender nonconforming, with an art style that simultaneously insists upon and celebrates the multiplicity of bodies and expressions that are our lived experience and belie these closed and closeting norms. An ingenious allegory, smartly and briskly told with charm and generosity.

By Molly Knox Ostertag,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Witch Boy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

From the illustrator of the web comic Strong Female Protagonist comes a debut middle-grade graphic novel about family, identity, courage -- and magic.

In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted . . . and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be.When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help -- as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical…


Book cover of Thor: Tales Of Asgard

James Lovegrove Author Of The Age of Odin

From my list on Norse mythology via Marvel comics.

Why am I passionate about this?

Like Neil Gaiman, I came to Norse mythology via the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby Marvel comics route. And when I explored the material further I was struck by the darkness and unsanitised oddity of many of the stories. They clearly reflected the Vikings’ view of the world as a cold, hostile, sometimes absurd place that must be met with a strong arm and a hearty laugh if one is to survive not only physically but mentally. There’s something refreshingly honest about such an approach, and when I came to write the third novel in my Pantheon series, The Age of Odin, which recast the myths as a modern military-SF thriller, I leaned heavily into the aspects I found the most appealing as well as the most dramatic, not least the snowy apocalypse that is Ragnarök, while injecting some appropriately ribald humour too.

James' book list on Norse mythology via Marvel comics

James Lovegrove Why did James love this book?

This series of short back-up strips in the 1960s Thor comic from Marvel retold and embellished on the myths in characteristically bombastic Lee/Kirby fashion. While Thor himself, in the main feature, battled costumed supervillains in contemporary New York, the supporting feature dealt with his youth, his allies and enemies in Asgard itself and the rest of the Nine Realms, and a whole host of sorcerers, witches, and grotesque monsters. Kirby in particular seemed enthused by the project and it shows in his artwork.

By Stan Lee, Jack Kirby,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Thor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Never has Thor been more sensational than during these early tales, crafted by Marvel's greatest, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Re-live Stan and Jack's stories of the Norse Gods and Thor before he came to Earth as Don Blake. Witness as these masters breathe life into the thunder god. Read these stories as never before with all-new, modern coloring and six interlocking covers by Olivier Coipel.

Collecting:

Thor: Tales of Asgard by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby #1-6


Book cover of The Adventures of Tintin: Volume 1

Marisha Wojciechowska Author Of My Globetrotter Book: Paris

From my list on for globetrotter kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

My Globetrotter Book’s creative adventure originated from a deep desire to show the world to my son... I am from Quebec, Canada, but I have lived and traveled across the globe with my family for 20+ years and – so far – have lived in Montreal, Paris, New York, Tokyo, and Bangkok! I work as an international consultant on water security issues with the United Nations and other international organisations. My son has grown up, so now, I continue to inspire other kids to explore the myriad beauties and cultures of the world and, as of 2022, to "journey within" with the creation of My Bodytrotter Book.

Marisha's book list on for globetrotter kids

Marisha Wojciechowska Why did Marisha love this book?

Young Belgian reporter Tintin and his little white dog, Snowy, travel the world with their strange and funny group of friends. They solve mysteries, catch thieves or help a friend in need. Action-packed graphic books that take you around the world! I loved reading these books as a pre-teen, and then later my pre-teen son did too.

By Hergé,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Adventures of Tintin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Three classic graphic novels in one deluxe hardcover edition: Tintin in America, Cigars of the Pharaoh, and The Blue Lotus.


Book cover of Fruits Basket, Vol. 1

Stephen McCranie Author Of Space Boy Volume 1

From my list on graphic YA with slow-burning high school romances.

Why am I passionate about this?

My name is Stephen McCranie and I'm currently working on Space Boy, a slow-burning high school romance that asks the question, "How do we bridge the gap between us?" I love working in this particular genre because high school is such a formative period for all of us. Also, when a romance burns slowly, the audience gets time to explore the world of the story, which can often be dynamic and lush with detail. And then, when our lovers find each other at long last, it is all the more sweet for having waited.

Stephen's book list on graphic YA with slow-burning high school romances

Stephen McCranie Why did Stephen love this book?

A homeless high school girl is taken in by a mysterious family, whose members are possessed by the 13 animals of the Zodiac. As she lives with the family, she slowly uncovers hidden wounds, which she heals with her generous spirit. Eventually, she falls in love with one of the two brothers her age, but which one will it be? Usually, with love triangles like this, I can figure out almost immediately who will end up together, but this one took me a while, which made the story all the more interesting.  

By Natsuki Takaya, Natsuki Takaya (artist),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fruits Basket, Vol. 1 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

After a family tragedy turns her life upside down, plucky high schooler Tohru Honda takes matters into her own hands and moves out...into a tent! Unfortunately for her, she pitches her new home on private land belonging to the mysterious Sohma clan, and it isn't long before the owners discover her secret. But, as Tohru quickly finds out when the family offers to take her in, the Sohmas have a secret of their own--when touched by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac!A perennial favorite of fans and librarians alike, Natsuki Takaya's beloved bestselling Fruits…


Book cover of Space Dumplins

Scott SanGiacomo Author Of Bedhead Ted

From my list on navigating friendships and family.

Why am I passionate about this?

Hi, my name is Scott SanGiacomo, (San-JAH-Ko-mo) from Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Stories have always been important to me. From the ones read to me as a boy; to the comics I devoured as an adolescent; all the way to the stories I read to my own children. I’m inspired to create stories and art that explore childhood and the universal themes that follow us into adulthood. I hope you enjoy my list of graphic novels about navigating friendships and family.

Scott's book list on navigating friendships and family

Scott SanGiacomo Why did Scott love this book?

I love a good adventure, don’t you? Craig Thompson has created a space-epic about friendship, family, and loyalty. Violet is a young girl who sets out on an adventure to save her Dad, who’s gone missing. With his usual jaw-dropping illustrations, this action-packed graphic novel is full of interesting characters, amazing settings, and cool spaceships! I found it to be very cinematic. It’s a fun ride, full of heart and important messages. Perfect for 8-14-year-olds who like to be engulfed in a new world.

By Craig Thompson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Space Dumplins as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

'Like the twisted lovechild of Jack Kirby and Dr Seuss, Craig Thompson has created a new genre: the Adorable Epic.' JOSS WHEDON

From the Eisner award winning, New York Times bestselling author of Habibi and Blankets, comes this year's most exciting adventure.

For Violet, family is the most important thing in the whole galaxy. So when her father goes missing while on a hazardous job, she can't just sit around and do nothing. Throwing caution to the stars, she sets out with a group of misfit friends on a quest to find him. But space is a big and dangerous…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in comics, genetic engineering, and film?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about comics, genetic engineering, and film.

Comics Explore 113 books about comics
Genetic Engineering Explore 51 books about genetic engineering
Film Explore 231 books about film