Five books on Virtual Reality

Not all of them are 'good' - but hopefully they're informative

1. ‘Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy’ - David Chalmers
   

   

   
   This book deals preemptively with the philosophical crisis a virtual reality that feels as authentic as the real thing would cause. The key question it grapples with - if VR becomes so sophisticated that it replaces the reality we’re currently in (due to it being more comfortable, convenient, etc.) - how bad of a thing would that be? Would it really be that bad.
   
   It also gives us a look into the many philosophers across many periods of history who have grappled with the meaning of reality and the possibility that we might be in a virtual world already. We just wouldn’t know it. For all we know, this is reality. Who’s to say the next generation won’t embrace VR as their reality - either by choice or because it’s all they’ll really know.
   
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2. ‘The History of the Future: Oculus, Facebook, and the Revolution That Swept Virtual Reality’ - Blake J. Harris

   

   
   This book gives us an insight into the history of Oculus - the manufacturer of the most consumer-accessible VR headsets currently on the market - from its founding by Luckey Palmer to its acquisition by Mark Zuckerberg on behalf of Facebook and beyond.
   

3. ‘Snow Crash’ - Neal Stephenson
   

   

   
   
   This is where the term ‘Metaverse’ first originated before it became a technology pitched and run into the ground by the aforementioned Mark Zuckerberg. It feels dated as far as science fiction goes, but is still engaging as far as early science-fiction exercises around the topic of Virtual Reality go.
   

4. ‘Neuromancer’ - William Gibson
   

   

   
   This book is kind of considered a sister book to ‘Snow Crash’, but was written earlier and I personally like it more. But it’s harder to read. It features criminals who operate across realities - virtual and real-but-less-than-ideal.
   

5. ‘Ready Player One’ - Ernest Cline
   

   

   
   
   This is probably one of the more famous invocations of Virtual Reality in science fiction. It features a Virtual Reality ecosystem - here named 'the Oasis’ - that serves as a refuge for millions of people who’ve inherited a reality ravaged by climate disaster. VR here gives everyone a chance to reinvent themselves completely. They unfortunately also have to reckon with multimillion-dollar companies looking to monetise the Oasis for everything that it’s worth - true to form as tributes to evil 1980s-film corporations.