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2018 Editors' Picks

2018 Editors' Picks

Last updated: September 25, 2024

Five Books editors take the opportunity to reflect on the books they have most enjoyed in 2018.

Find a new collection of editors' picks from 2019 here.

    Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018, recommended by Sophie Roell

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018 - Be Like the Fox: Machiavelli's Lifelong Quest for Freedom by Erica Benner

    1

    Be Like the Fox: Machiavelli's Lifelong Quest for Freedom
    by Erica Benner

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018 - Talk on the Wild Side: The Untameable Nature of Language by Lane Greene

    2

    Talk on the Wild Side: The Untameable Nature of Language
    by Lane Greene

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018 - Beyond the Northlands: Viking Voyages and the Old Norse Sagas by Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough

    3

    Beyond the Northlands: Viking Voyages and the Old Norse Sagas
    by Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018 - Haig's Enemy: Crown Prince Rupprecht and Germany's War on the Western Front by Jonathan Boff

    4

    Haig's Enemy: Crown Prince Rupprecht and Germany's War on the Western Front
    by Jonathan Boff

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018 - Ottoman Odyssey: Travels through a Lost Empire by Alev Scott

    5

    Ottoman Odyssey: Travels through a Lost Empire
    by Alev Scott

  • Journalist and Five Books editor Sophie Roell looks back on her favourite nonfiction books read this year.

  • Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018 - Be Like the Fox: Machiavelli's Lifelong Quest for Freedom by Erica Benner
  • Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018 - Talk on the Wild Side: The Untameable Nature of Language by Lane Greene
  • Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018 - Beyond the Northlands: Viking Voyages and the Old Norse Sagas by Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough
  • Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018 - Haig's Enemy: Crown Prince Rupprecht and Germany's War on the Western Front by Jonathan Boff
  • Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018 - Ottoman Odyssey: Travels through a Lost Empire by Alev Scott

Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018, recommended by Sophie Roell

Journalist and Five Books editor Sophie Roell looks back on her favourite nonfiction books read this year.

Editors’ Picks: Favourite Nonfiction of 2018, recommended by Sophie Roell

    The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018, recommended by Zoe Greaves

  • Read
    The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018 - Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist, Scientist, Adventurer by Jeyaraney Kathirithamby & Sarah B Pomeroy

    1

    Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist, Scientist, Adventurer
    by Jeyaraney Kathirithamby & Sarah B Pomeroy

  • Read
    The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018 - Young Heroes by Lula Bridgeport

    2

    Young Heroes
    by Lula Bridgeport

  • Read
    The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018 - What We See in the Stars: An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky by Kelsey Oseid

    3

    What We See in the Stars: An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky
    by Kelsey Oseid

  • Read
    The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018 - Ocean by Emmanuelle Grundmann & Hélène Druvert

    4

    Ocean
    by Emmanuelle Grundmann & Hélène Druvert

  • Read
    The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018 - A History of Pictures for Children by David Hockney & Martin Gayford

    5

    A History of Pictures for Children
    by David Hockney & Martin Gayford

  • Author and Five Books children's editor Zoe Greaves selects the best nonfiction books for children published in 2018.

  • The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018 - Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist, Scientist, Adventurer by Jeyaraney Kathirithamby & Sarah B Pomeroy
  • The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018 - Young Heroes by Lula Bridgeport
  • The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018 - What We See in the Stars: An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky by Kelsey Oseid
  • The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018 - Ocean by Emmanuelle Grundmann & Hélène Druvert
  • The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018 - A History of Pictures for Children by David Hockney & Martin Gayford

The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018, recommended by Zoe Greaves

Author and Five Books children’s editor Zoe Greaves selects the best nonfiction books for children published in 2018.

The Best Children’s Nonfiction of 2018, recommended by Zoe Greaves

    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading, recommended by Cal Flyn

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd

    1

    The Living Mountain
    by Nan Shepherd

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

    2

    The Water Cure
    by Sophie Mackintosh

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Dark Stuff: Stories from the Peatlands by Donald S Murray

    3

    The Dark Stuff: Stories from the Peatlands
    by Donald S Murray

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature is Thriving in an Age of Extinction by Chris D Thomas

    4

    Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature is Thriving in an Age of Extinction
    by Chris D Thomas

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Kings of the Yukon: An Alaskan River Journey

    5

    Kings of the Yukon: An Alaskan River Journey

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Crudo: A Novel by Olivia Laing

    6

    Crudo: A Novel
    by Olivia Laing

  • Author, journalist and Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn looks back on her favourite books read this year.

  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd
  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh
  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - The Dark Stuff: Stories from the Peatlands by Donald S Murray
  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature is Thriving in an Age of Extinction by Chris D Thomas
  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Kings of the Yukon: An Alaskan River Journey
  • Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading - Crudo: A Novel by Olivia Laing

Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading, recommended by Cal Flyn

Author, journalist and Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn looks back on her favourite books read this year.

Editors’ Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading, recommended by Cal Flyn

    Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018, recommended by Zoe Greaves

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018 - The Way Past Winter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

    1

    The Way Past Winter
    by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018 - The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay

    2

    The Skylarks' War
    by Hilary McKay

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018 - Between Worlds: Folktales of Britain & Ireland Kevin Crossley-Holland (Author) and Frances Castle (illustrator)

    3

    Between Worlds: Folktales of Britain & Ireland
    Kevin Crossley-Holland (Author) and Frances Castle (illustrator)

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018 - The Afterwards AF Harrold (author) and Emily Gravett (illustrator)

    4

    The Afterwards
    AF Harrold (author) and Emily Gravett (illustrator)

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018 - The Train to Impossible Places PG Bell (author) and Flavia Sorrentino (illustrator)

    5

    The Train to Impossible Places
    PG Bell (author) and Flavia Sorrentino (illustrator)

  • From World War I to a book with a hint of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Five Books children's editor Zoe Greaves nominates her favourite children's fiction of 2018.

  • Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018 - The Way Past Winter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
  • Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018 - The Skylarks' War by Hilary McKay
  • Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018 - Between Worlds: Folktales of Britain & Ireland Kevin Crossley-Holland (Author) and Frances Castle (illustrator)
  • Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018 - The Afterwards AF Harrold (author) and Emily Gravett (illustrator)
  • Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018 - The Train to Impossible Places PG Bell (author) and Flavia Sorrentino (illustrator)

Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018, recommended by Zoe Greaves

From World War I to a book with a hint of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Five Books children’s editor Zoe Greaves nominates her favourite children’s fiction of 2018.

Editors’ Picks: The Best Children’s Fiction of 2018, recommended by Zoe Greaves

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We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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