Latest Book Recommendations

The Best History Books of 2018, recommended by Paul Lay

From female spies during the English Civil Wars to the enduring distinctiveness of Iran, there is much left to be understood about history globally. Editor of History Today Paul Lay recommends the best history books that hit the shelves this past year.

Recent Recommendations

Zoe Greaves on EDITORS’ PICKS: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018

Kwame Anthony Appiah on The Best Fiction of 2018

Tom McLaughlin on Books to Make Your Kids Laugh

Most Popular Expert Interviews

Most Recommended Books

Holiday Gift Ideas for Book Lovers

The Best Board Games

Rummikub
$

If you don't have Rummikub yet, it's a great one to have in the house as the 'default' game. The game involves thinking, but not too much, is competit…

Azul
$$

Though not yet tried and tested, we've included Azul because it is 2018's 'Spiel des Jahres' or 'Game of the Year', i.e. a family board game judged by…

Werewolves
$

If you haven't played this game yet, you haven't lived. You need quite a large group (minimum 8, we would say) to play so it's actually best suited fo…

Catan
$$

Most people know about this game already, but we're including it because it's one of those games that, once you own it, is always on the kitchen table…

Dixit
$$

Dixit is one of those games where you're guessing what other people are thinking, a more aesthetic and ethereal version of Apples to Apples, maybe. It…

Gift Book Box Sets for Children

The Chronicles of Narnia
$$$

Hardcover set of C S Lewis's classic fantasy series, with original interior art by Pauline Baynes.

The World of Peter Rabbit
$$$

All 23 original tales by Beatrix Potter in an attractive presentation box, with full colour artwork.

Puffin Classics
$$$$

Deluxe set of 8 children's novels including The Secret Garden, A Little Princess and Peter Pan.

The Little House on the Prairie
$$

Full nine-book set from Laura Ingalls Wilder's timeless stories featuring the original illustrations.

Adventure Collection
$$

Nicely packaged collection including Robin Hood, White Fang, The Jungle Book and Treasure Island.

Recent Reader Lists

Our aim is to make Five Books the place to go to on the web for book recommendations, arranged by topic. Help us achieve our goal by making a reading list on a subject you know a lot about. These lists have been created by our readers using our new interactive tool. Browse them all, or make your own.

Philosophy of Law, recommended by gigi gogelia

Natural Law and Natural Rights (Clarendon Law Series)
by John Finnis

Pure Theory of Law
by Hans Kelsen

Institutions of Law: An Essay in Legal Theory (Law, State, and Practical Reason)
by Neil MacCormick

Legality
by Scott J. Shapiro

The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law Series)
by HLA Hart

Best Books on Sapphic Modernism, recommended by Anna Hill

Sapphic Modernities: Sexuality, Women and National Culture
by Edited by Laura Doan and Jane Garrity

Ladies Almanack (The Cutting Edge: Lesbian Life and Literature Series)
by Djuna Barnes

Women Lovers, or The Third Woman
by Natalie Clifford Barney

Paris Was a Woman: Portraits from the Left Bank
by Andrea Weiss

The Well of Loneliness (Wordsworth Classics)
by Radclyffe Hall

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