Sophie Roell, Editor

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there,” wrote L.P. Hartley. The question is: in what ways? Historian Ian Mortimer talks us through five influential books that shed light on daily life in medieval England—from monastic communities and great households to the gruelling lives of the peasantry.

The best spy fiction combines the genre’s thrills and intrigue with profound moral and existential questions about what it means to be human, argues novelist Alex Preston. Here, he discusses five of his favourite literary spy novels, ranging from colonial Vietnam to contemporary London.

In order to have fewer failed projects, we need to address some of the deep structural incentives in the system, argues Jonathan Simcock, who spent 16 years leading and advising on large UK government projects. He talks us through books to read to understand more about big projects and why they go wrong, and how to do better in future.

In the 1980s ‘bonkbuster’ novels flourished. Authors like Jilly Cooper and Jackie Collins became household names, as readers couldn’t get enough of books with lots of sex that often told tales of revenge and women taking control. Melanie Blake, author of the Ruthless Women trilogy, talks us through her favorite novels in a genre that inspired her, both in her writing and in her life.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was set up after the fall of the Soviet Union to support countries in transition. The EBRD Literature Prize has been running since 2018 and can be won by any novel, translated into English, written by a living author from a country where the Bank invests. Literary critic Maya Jaggi, chair of the prize’s independent judging panel, talks us through the novels that won between 2021 and 2025, a wonderful introduction to some excellent contemporary novels from Central and Eastern Europe.

Since the 17th century, we’ve been aware that the force that causes apples to fall from a tree is the same force that holds the planets in the sky, but we still don’t know everything there is to know about gravity, says James Riordon, a science writer at NASA and author of Crush: Close Encounters with Gravity. He picks his favourite books on gravity—from the equations you need to understand it to a funny book about what it’s like to live without it.

2025 was another bumper year for spy novels, says Shane Whaley, host of Spybrary—the go-to podcast for lovers of spy books and movies. He talks us through his five favourite standalone books published this year, from a realistic novel about a duel between Mossad and Iran’s security apparatus, to a nonfiction book about a Cold War defector that reads like a thriller.

It’s been another big year for technology and AI, but books on geopolitics and global political rivalries are front and centre on the shortlist of the 2025 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award. FT journalist Andrew Hill, the prize’s organizer, talks us through the six books that made the cut—from the enigmatic founders of multi-billion- and trillion-dollar businesses to the challenges governments face in achieving growth and prosperity.

Apartheid ended more than three decades ago, but the trauma of the past continues to haunt South Africa, including in its novels. Andile Cele, author of Braids & Migraines, recommends five of her favourites, from a prize-winning literary work to a darkly humorous crime novel that shines a light on violence against women.

Horror is entertaining, but also a great way of shining a light on painful subjects people don’t want to talk about, says Mexican American horror writer V. Castro. As American horror has opened up to a much greater diversity of writers, she talks us through some of the classics—books that continue to inspire and form the bedrock of the genre.