It's January and time for our annual interview with an AI chatbot. We asked ChatGPT for its latest recommendations for books on artificial intelligence.
SELF-HELP Self-Help Books for 2025
“We learn that no matter what you eat, no matter how you exercise, how wise you are—none of it really matters if you’re not breathing properly”—Luke O’Neill, immunologist, Trinity College Dublin
FICTION Award-Winning Novels of 2024
A concise rundown of the books that won big during the 2024 award season by Five Books deputy editor, Cal Flyn
ECONOMICS BOOKS
“If you read just one economics book in 2024—and perhaps if you just read one economics book in your life—it should be this book…How Economics Explains the World is a relatively short and easy read”—Jason Furman, economist, Harvard University
NONFICTION BOOKS
The Best Nonfiction Books of 2024: The Baillie Gifford Prize Shortlist, recommended by Isabel Hilton
“There’s a Zeitgeist feel to them. They’re very much about today, but each…is drawing threads from the past”
CRIME FICTION The best crime novels of 2024
From the latest detective novels and cozy crime to unsettling psychological thrillers
SPY THRILLERS Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway
“This is the book of the year for me, he’s knocked it out of the park”—Shane Whaley, host, Spybrary podcast
HISTORY BOOKS Books About African History by African Writers, recommended by Zeinab Badawi
“You need the African voice: African scholars, archaeologists, historians, anthropologists must tell their own story”
PHYSICS BOOKS
“Everybody knows Hawking’s greatest contributions…To hear him describe some of these things with his own word choices, his own phrasing—not to mention his own personal biography and his disability—there’s no other book like it”—Dan Hooper, Astrophysicist, University of Chicago
THE FUNNIEST BOOK OF 2024? NEWS: Glorious Exploits wins the Wodehouse Prize
A historical novel set in 412BCE Sicily by Ferdia Lennon has won the UK’s book prize for comedy.
FANTASY
The Best Fantasy Novels of the Last Decade
Our fantasy and sci-fi editor Sylvia Bishop looks at the fantasy books that won Hugo and Nebula Awards in the last ten years.
SCIENCE FICTION
Five of the best ‘hard’ sci-fi novels, as recommended by Adrian Tschaikovsky “If you’re writing with the left wall of actually fitting in with the science, then that pushes you into interesting territory.”
FICTION BOOKS
The Best Novels of 2024: The Booker Prize Shortlist, recommended by Nitin Sawhney
“I love this book so much, I ended up writing a piece of music around it”
SCIENCE FICTION
Award-Winning Sci-Fi of 2024
“The series has garnered awards galore…Network Effect won the 2021 Hugo, Nebula and Locus for best novel. Wells has turned down several further nominations.”
HISTORICAL FICTION The Funniest Historical Novels, recommended by Toby Clements
“I never ‘tell’ a joke, but I’m always alert for ironies; unexpected outcomes; unmet expectations”
FANTASY Award-Winning Fantasy Novels of 2024, a roundup by our SFF editor Sylvia Bishop
“This year’s award-winning fantasy books offer something for every taste, from melancholic fairy tales to gripping horror”
THE ROMAN EMPIRE Classic Historical Fiction Set in Ancient Rome
“When he went to Pompeii it was a ruin”
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.
