Classic Fantasy Books, recommended by Matthew Sangster
A fantasy ‘classic’ is a book that enables a new kind of story to be written, says fantasy scholar Matthew Sangster. He introduces five classics, and explains how they both build on and subvert our shared stock of stories to create wonderful new worlds – worlds that are not made to be admired from a distance, but rather to be lived inside, and shared.
FANTASY Babel by R.F. Kuang
“Set in an alternate 1830s Oxford, it tracks several real historical events, but makes one elegant magical substitution: the source of the British Empire’s economic power”—Sylvia Bishop, Science Fiction & Fantasy editor, Five Books
READING GADGETS Which Kindle to get?
“That’s an easy question for me, Kindle Paperwhite is the most popular Kindle by far…It has all the best features that you would want”—Maneetpaul Singh, Kindle reviewer and author of Kindle Bookworm
NONFICTION BOOKS On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
“He says…that it is a short book because most books are filled with bullshit and he is determined not to offer bullshit but to tell it like it is”—Andrew Cowan, novelist and creative writing professor
HISTORICAL FICTION Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
“It was fascinating because it was a window onto a world that I knew absolutely nothing about. She made me care. I wanted to know what happens to the characters. When someone dies, it’s so heartrending”—Jane Johnson, historical novelist
NONFICTION BOOKS A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion by Tom Segev
“This book is non-partisan and straightforward. It tells you everything about Ben-Gurion and the title expresses the theme of his life, which was to secure a Jewish state no matter what had to be done”—Michael Mandelbaum, political scientist, Johns Hopkins SAIS
SCIENCE FICTION Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
🏆 Winner of the 2025 Arthur C Clarke Prize
“Annie is a companion, a manufactured housewife who is programmed to keep her husband happy. The husband’s best friend is a jerk and mistreats Annie, whilst the husband gets more and more unpleasant”—Andrew M. Butler, prize judge
HISTORY BOOKS The Price of Glory by Alastair Horne
“I was hugely influenced both by the book and by actually visiting Verdun…it was the most unbelievably destructive battle ever fought on the European continent, west of the old Soviet Union. It had an enormous symbolic significance”—David Marquand, 1934-2024
THRILLERS The Invitation by Lucy Foley
There’s a bit of Sleeping with the Enemy in there, the film with Julia Roberts. A haunting, unsettling vibe. It’s very glamorous, and I love the location. Lucy’s such a beautiful writer.”—Rachel Wolf, thriller writer
CLASSIC LITERATURE King Lear by William Shakespeare “King Lear is a play that changes your life. How could it not? It asks fundamental questions about who we are”—René Weis, Shakespeare scholar
FICTION Circe by Madeline Miller
“It’s about a goddess and witch from the Odyssey. She’s best-remembered as the witch who turned Odysseus’s men into pigs. But what Miller does so cleverly is that she reframes Circe’s story”—Flora Carr, historical novelist
MYSTERIES The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola
🏆 Winner of the 2025 CWA KAA Gold Dagger
“Based on a real bout of poisonings that took place in Rome in the mid-17th century. The so-called ‘Aqua Tofana’ could not be detected and was used by women to get rid of abusive husbands”
FICTION
🏆 Winner of the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse
“There’s the ideas of mathematics, of philosophy, of music all brought together…When I read that book I thought, ‘Yes, this is the game I want to play’”—Marcus du Sautoy, mathematician, University of Oxford
FUNNIEST BOOKS OF 2024 Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
“If you can take something like the failed invasion of Sicily in 412BC, and make a buddy comedy out of it—well, you’ve got something very unique.”—Justin Albert, judge, Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction
THE BEST BOOKS FOR KIDS Mythos by Stephen Fry
“Mythos by Stephen Fry is a humorous retelling of the Greek myths…after listening to it one time, my children (aged 12, 11 and 10) insisted on listening to it again”—Sophie Roell, editor of Five Books
Best Beach Reads 2025
“Looking for the perfect books to escape with whilst you’re on holiday? From thrillers to romances and fantasy to cottage core, these are our top page-turners”—Francesca Martin, journalist
HISTORY BOOKS This Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust
“I have seen one estimate that if we were to have the same number of people killed today, as a percentage of the American population, we would have lost six million people”—Brent Glass, public historian
AI BOOKS ChatGPT-4 offers its own opinions on artificial intelligence “These books offer valuable insights into the development, challenges, and future prospects of AI”—ChatGPT-4, AI chatbot
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