Uri Bram

Some books frighten and thrill us in equal measure. If that sounds good to you, you will love novelist Aliya Whiteley’s recommendations: five outstanding sci-fi horror books that, like the original Frankenstein, use dread and disgust to raise fascinating questions about science and what it means to be human.

Transforming a graphic novel into a movie might seem straightforward, but not everything that works on the page makes sense on the screen. Walt Hickey, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for illustrated reporting, recommends five outstanding comics that were turned into films—with varying degrees of fidelity, and varying degrees of success.

From lesbian necromancers in space to a magical send-up of the classic high school romance, there is a queer science fiction or fantasy book to suit everyone’s taste, says the bestselling author Everina Maxwell. Here, she selects five cracking reads with queer protagonists.

The best fiction doesn’t have to be straightforward, and some novels contain clever devices to make the reader complicit in the story itself. Arianna Reiche, lecturer in metafiction at City, University of London, recommends five gamified novels that subvert our ideas of how fiction works.

The long-term interests of business often coincide with the long-term interests of nature and society but the short-term interests are a different story, says Vincent Stanley of Patagonia, a multi-billion dollar apparel company owned by a non-profit trust. He recommends five books on sustainable, ethical business, showing that a stock price needn’t be a company’s primary product.

Many works of science fiction and fantasy involve a character changed forever after they meet a powerful being—sometimes a god, sometimes a not-quite-god. Karen Lord, an award-winning sci-fi author whose latest novel combines the seductive powers of celebrity and alien contact, recommends five books where gods or god-like beings turn the hero’s world upside down.

Communicating clearly about complex issues is somewhere between an enviable talent and a workplace necessity. For those teaching STEM subjects, it’s absolutely critical. Programmer and maths author Kalid Azad recommends five useful books for communicating technical subjects effectively.

Humans have mapped only 25 percent of the seafloor, so the ocean is ripe for exploration and investigation. Environmental journalist and author Laura Trethewey recommends five books by ‘ocean journalists’ that explore the life, crime and science of the seas.

The best kind of love involves supporting each other in battle with magical beings, says bestselling fantasy author Valerie Valdes. She recommends the five best fantasies where the couples that spar together star together.

The craze of the 1930s and 1940s was for beautifully illustrated editions of the great Victorian novels, affordably priced to take pride of place in a middle-class home. Lecturer and author Rosalind Parry recommends five outstanding editions whose illustrations are as striking as their stories.