Bookshelf
Writing from the group, and the reading list that shapes our discussions.
20 April 2026
Let’s build a shared language.
Findings from our first meetings: what do we mean when we use the word “biomaterial”?
Ivy Li1 April 2026
We’re launching a biomaterials focus group.
Our premise for Rethink Matters: why we believe now is the time to examine biomaterials together, across disciplines.
Ivy Li + Içvara AorMore news coming soon …
Reading list
Tap a cover to find its ISBN. Showing 42 of 42.
- How matter becomes lifeLife on the EdgeThe Coming of Age of Quantum BiologyJim Al-Khalili and Johnjoe McFaddenISBN 9780552778077 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How life becomes technologyThe Nature of TechnologyWhat It Is and How It EvolvesW. Brian ArthurISBN 9780141031637 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeHow Life WorksPhilip BallISBN 9781529096002 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeVibrant MatterA Political Ecology of ThingsJane BennettISBN 9780822346333 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How life becomes technologyThe Man from the FutureThe Visionary Life of John von NeumannAnanyo BhattacharyaISBN 9780241398869 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyMaintenanceOf Everything, Part OneStewart BrandISBN 9781953953490 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How life becomes technologyWays of BeingAnimals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary IntelligenceJames BridleISBN 9780141994260 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeWood Formation in TreesCell and Molecular Biology TechniquesNigel J. ChaffeyISBN 9780415272155 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyExhalationTed ChiangISBN 9781529014488 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeThe Pleasure of Finding Things OutThe Best Short Works of Richard P. FeynmanRichard Feynman, foreword by Freeman DysonISBN 9780140290349 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyThe Great ReconfigurationA Socio-Technical Analysis of Low-Carbon Transitions in UK Electricity, Heat, and Mobility SystemsFrank W. Geels and Bruno TurnheimISBN 9781009198240 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How life becomes technologySynthetic AestheticsInvestigating Synthetic Biology's Designs on NatureAlexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Jane Calvert, Pablo Schyfter, Alistair Elfick and Drew EndyISBN 9780262534017 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyStaying with the TroubleMaking Kin in the ChthuluceneDonna HarawayISBN 9780822362241 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyTools for ConvivialityIvan IllichISBN 9780714509747 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeMutual AidA Factor in EvolutionPeter KropotkinISBN 9780486449135 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How life becomes technologyPrinciples of Tissue Engineering (3rd edition)Robert Lanza, Robert Langer, Joseph P. VacantiISBN 9780123706157 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyNapoleon’s ButtonsHow 17 Molecules Changed HistoryPenny Le Couteur, Jay BurresonISBN 9781585423316 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeThe Periodic TablePrimo LeviISBN 9780141185149 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyThe Mushroom at the End of the WorldOn the Possibility of Life in Capitalist RuinsAnna Lowenhaupt TsingISBN 9780691178325 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyThe Wizard and the ProphetScience and the Future of Our PlanetCharles C. MannISBN 9781509884186 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyThinking in SystemsA PrimerDonella H. Meadows, edited by Diana WrightISBN 9781603580557 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyYour Life Is ManufacturedHow We Make Things, Why It Matters and How We Can Do It BetterTim MinshallISBN 9780571381029 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeIt's a GasThe Magnificent and Elusive Elements that Expand Our WorldMark MiodownikISBN 9780241985595 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeLiquidThe Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our LivesMark MiodownikISBN 9780241977309 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeStuff MattersThe Strange Stories of the Marvellous Materials that Shape Our Man-made WorldMark MiodownikISBN 9780241955185 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeThe Song of the CellSiddhartha MukherjeeISBN 9781529111781 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How life becomes technologyBio DesignNature + Science + CreativityWilliam MyersISBN 9780500516270 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyAn Evolutionary Theory of Economic ChangeRichard Nelson and Sidney WinterISBN 9780674272286 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeThe Music of LifeBiology beyond genesDenis NobleISBN 9780199295739 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeAround the World in 80 TreesJonathan Drori, illustrated by Lucille ClercISBN 9781786276063 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How life becomes technologyBiomimicry in ArchitectureMichael PawlynISBN 9781859463758 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeThe OverstoryRichard PowersISBN 9781784708245 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How life becomes technologyBiofabricationRitu RamanISBN 9780262542968 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyGet TogetherHow to Build a Community With Your PeopleBailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh, Kai Elmer SottoISBN 9781732265196 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyThe Ministry for the FutureKim Stanley RobinsonISBN 9780356508849 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How life becomes technologyFrankensteinAnnotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All KindsMary Shelley, edited by David H. Guston, Ed Finn and Jason Scott RobertISBN 9780262533287 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyMaking the Modern WorldMaterials and DematerializationVaclav SmilISBN 9781118697979 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeThe Origin and Nature of Life on EarthThe Emergence of the Fourth GeosphereEric Smith, Harold J. MorowitzISBN 9781107121881 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyPlasticsImari Walker-Franklin and Jenna JambeckISBN 9780262547017 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How technology becomes societyScaleThe Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and CompaniesGeoffrey WestISBN 9781780225586 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How life becomes technologyOn the Future of SpeciesAuthoring Life by Means of Artificial Biological IntelligenceAdrian WoolfsonISBN 9780262054898 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- How matter becomes lifeAn Immense WorldEd YongISBN 9781529112115 ↗ (opens in a new tab)