Latest Book Recommendations

Favorite Books, recommended by Daniel Dennett

Daniel Dennett

©Susan Dennett

Daniel Dennett is not only one of the most distinguished philosophers of mind working today, he also writes great books. As he publishes his memoir, I’ve Been Thinking, he talks us through some of the books that most influenced him, including two by evolutionary biologists.

Recent Recommendations

Cal Flyn

Notable Memoirs of 2023, recommended by Cal Flyn
“I was…very excited to learn about a new book from the French Nobel Prize-winner Annie Ernaux.”
Lesley Thomson

The best historical fiction set in England, selected by the British novelist Lesley Thomson
“That’s what I want from books: that they take me into another world and immerse me in it.”
Elizabeth Cripps

The best books on the Ethics of Parenting, recommended by philosopher Elizabeth Cripps
“This has to be about having a dialogue with your children…we need a Socratic approach”

Most Popular Expert Interviews

Jane Johnson

Historical fiction set around the world, recommended by British novelist Jane Johnson
“We all read fiction because it’s a fantastic way to escape from our heads”
Andrew Roberts

The best books on Napoleon, recommended by British historian Andrew Roberts
“Napoleon was a dictator politically in that he dictated the laws of France and what happened. But I don’t think he has anything in common with the 20th-century dictators”
Cory Doctorow

The best noir crime thrillers, recommended by Canadian author and activist, Cory Doctorow
“The foundational building block of noir is that you have a protagonist who’s an unlicensed cop.”
Massimo Pigliucci

Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci recommends the best books on Stoicism
“One of the most rewarding things that has happened to me since I started writing about it is the constant flow of testimonies to the fact that it really helps people”
Tom Hunter

The best sci-fi of 2023: the Arthur C. Clarke Award
The prize’s director, Tom Hunter, talks us through the six books that made the shortlist
 
Antony Beevor

British military historian Sir Antony Beevor on the best books on World War II
“Goebbels was a diabolical genius. He saw that hatred was not enough and you had to combine hatred with fear if you were going to get the maximum killing potential out of your followers”
ChatGPT

The best books on Artificial Intelligence recommended by ChatGPT
Normally on Five Books we interview leading academics or novelists about the best books in their field. This week, we turned to ChatGPT for recommendations.

The best critical thinking books, recommended by British philosopher Nigel Warburton
“Pessimists tend not to notice changes for the better”
Karen Lord

The Best Speculative Fiction About Gods and Godlike Beings, recommended by novelist Karen Lord
“I’m fascinated by the ways people perceive their place in the universe—and that of things that are beyond and greater than them.”
Catherine Lacey

The Best Counterfactual Novels, recommended by American novelist Catherine Lacey
“The slippery nature of facts is very much a theme for our era”
Radhika Jha

The best Indian novels, recommended by novelist Radhika Jha
“I love to read not to learn about other cultures, but to feel what it means to be human”
Michele Cobb

The best audiobooks of 2023 (so far), recommended by Michele Cobb, publisher of AudioFile magazine
“If you asked me for my favorites of 2023, these are the ones that immediately come to mind”

Most Recommended Books

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Plato's Republic
The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
wealth of nations
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

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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.

The Top 5 Reads For Mastering The Essentials of Business Finance, recommended by Catrin Hadaway

SCORE: The fundamentals of building a financially successful business
by Amol Maheshwari & Shweta Jhajharia

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine
by Mike Michalowicz

The Finance Book: Understand the numbers even if you're not a finance professional
by Stuart Warner & Si Hussain

The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness
by Morgan Housel

What They Don't Teach You About Money: Seven Habits to Unlock Financial Independence
by Claer Barrett

The Best Books on Existentialism, recommended by Ellie House

The Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka

The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde

The Stranger
by Albert Camus

The Bell Jar
by Sylvia Plath

The Death of Ivan Ilyich
by Leo Tolstoy

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