Latest Book Recommendations

The best books on Minimalism, recommended by Kyle Chayka

©Gregory Gentert

In times of political or personal turmoil, there's a tendency to seek solace in stripping back life to its bare essentials. Minimalist thought is threaded through Stoicism and Zen Buddhism; absence and space became major preoccupations of 1960s US art. Kyle Chayka, the art critic and author of The Longing for Less, recommends five books on the philosophy that underpins the present fad for minimalist self-help.

Recent Recommendations

The best books on The Dark Side of the Olympics, recommended by Helen J Lenskyj

The Best Books on the Big Bang, recommended by Dan Hooper

The 2020 Audie Awards: Best Multi-Voiced Performance, recommended by Mary Burkey & Robin Whitten

Most Popular Expert Interviews

Books to Read in Quarantine by Jenny Davidson

The best books on Pandemics

The best books on World War II, recommended by Antony Beevor

The best books on Sex, recommended by Susan Quilliam

The best books on Critical Thinking, recommended by Nigel Warburton

The best books on Historical Change and Economic Ideology, recommended by Thomas Piketty

Most Recommended Books

The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
wealth of nations
Plato's Republic
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Here comes everyone by Clay Shirky

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.

Mrs. Silver’s Top Psych Picks, recommended by Jennifer Silver

NeuroLogic: The Brain's Hidden Rationale Behind Our Irrational Behavior
by Eliezer Sternberg

Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior
by Leonard Mlodinow

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
by Lori Gottlieb

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry
by Jon Ronson

A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness
by Nassir Ghaemi

A Selection of My Favourite Poetry Books, recommended by Martin Mares

An African Elegy
by Ben Okri

The Gift
by Hafiz

Pushkin Poems: A Russian Dual Language Book
by Alexander Pushkin, Sean Harrison & Sergei Shatskiy

José de Espronceda : Poesía, Romances y Sonetos ( Clásicos de la literatura ) ( A to Z classics)
by José de Espronceda

The Works of Wilfred Owen (Wordsworth Poetry Library)
by Wilfred Owen

Support Five Books

Five Books interviews are expensive to produce, please support us by .