Latest Book Recommendations

The best books on The Psychology of Killing, recommended by Gwen Adshead

Gwen Adshead

Does anyone have the capacity to commit homicide? Forensic psychiatrist and bestselling author Gwen Adshead raises the chilling possibility that maybe they do, as she recommends five of the best books on the psychology of killing.

Recent Recommendations

Adam P. Bronson

The best books on Japanese history, recommended by historian Adam P. Brosnan
“Japanese culture and the martial arts came to be associated throughout much of the world with a kind of spiritualism.”
Mutt-Lon

Cameroonian novelist Mutt-Lon selects five of the best recent novels from Francophone Africa
“Our colonial heritage has had clear and persistent consequences for the people of these countries, who bear the scars of a painful process of cultural and religious deculturation.”
A. J. Jacobs

The best puzzle books, as recommended by the bestselling author A. J. Jacobs
“In a world of greys and probabilities. puzzles present us with that Platonic ideal where you can say, ‘Okay, it all makes sense.'”

Most Popular Expert Interviews

Frank Wynne

The Best World Literature: The 2022 International Booker Prize Shortlist, recommended by translator Frank Wynne
“There’s a tendency to think of fiction in translation as some sort of cod liver oil, something ‘good for you’”
Elizabeth Laird

The Best Historical Fiction: The 2022 Walter Scott Prize Shortlist, recommended by Elizabeth Laird, one of the prize’s judges
“We’re finding now that many writers, some with long and distinguished careers behind them, are looking to the past for inspiration”
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"

Nietzsche expert Brian Leiter recommends the best Nietzsche books
“When he writes about suffering he’s not a tourist”
Michele Cobb

Michele Cobb, executive director of the Audio Publishers Association, talks us through the 2022 shortlist for ‘audiobook of the year’
“With audio, I’m more willing to give myself over to what the narrator’s doing”
Carole Hillenbrand

The best history books: the 2022 Wolfson Prize shortlist, recommended by Wolfson judge Carole Hillenbrand
“There is one book about God, one about Turkey, one about the United States, and then two about medieval England”
Brenna Hassett

The best books on Anthropology, recommended by biological anthropologist Brenna Hassett
“Very few people realize how interesting teeth are”
Noga Arikha

Books on Philosophy, Science and the Body, recommended by philosopher and historian of ideas Noga Arikha
“You really can’t understand humanity without understanding animals and their embodiment”
Jonathan Wolff

The best books on Political Philosophy, recommended by Jonathan Wolff

Most Recommended Books

Plato's Republic
The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
wealth of nations
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
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.

Best boat reads, recommended by Mollie Mackay

The Witches
by Roald Dahl

Experience
by Catherine Cotton

The Wind in the Willows (Candlewick Illustrated Classics)
by Kenneth Grahame & Inga Moore

They Both Die at the End
by Adam Silvera

Murder in Mesopotamia
by Agatha Christie

Personal Transformation for Business Leaders, recommended by Kristal James

The Eagle That Drank Hummingbird Nectar: A Novel About Personal Transformation In Business Leaders
by Aneace Haddad

Dual Transformation: How to Reposition Today's Business While Creating the Future
by Scott D. Anthony, Clark G. Gilbert & Mark W. Johnson

Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable...About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business (J-B Lenci
by Patrick M. Lencioni

The Girl He Used to Know: A Novel
by Tracey Garvis Graves

Getting the Job Done: Practical Advice and Real-World Anecdotes to Manage Successful P.R.O.J.E.C.T.S
by Kevin Torf

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