Chinese science fiction is increasingly available in English, and mirrors the country’s philosophical and historical developments. Chinese literature scholar Mingwei Song, a professor at Wellesley, talks us through his top five choices—from 1905 to the present day—and tells us about the ‘new wave’ taking the Chinese literary world by storm.

Since 2023, the Pulitzer Prize jury has awarded $15,000 annually to "a distinguished and factual memoir or autobiography by an American author." We've put together a list of the exceptional books that have received this honour since the prize's inauguration—plus the finalists who have been singled out for particular praise.

If you dream of reading Russian literature in the original, how do you get from the language of the textbook to the language of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky? Tom Besinger, who spent a year building a glossed reading room for the Russian classics, recommends five books for learning Russian, focusing on the difficult middle ground between finishing a textbook and being able to read confidently in the language. He also explains why the advice normally given—to start with something short—is wrong.

As summer winds up, it's time to plan our next season of reading. We asked Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn to offer a round-up of the notable new novels of fall 2026—including new writing from Marlon James and Emily St. John Mandel—to help you find a book to curl up with come autumn.

Sewing is a creative outlet, and gives you the freedom to create your own style. Alison Smith MBE gives her five top sewing books for a beginner, chosen from her collection of four- or five- hundred. With guidance on textiles, techniques, patterns and equipment, these provide a comprehensive guide for the new and not-so-new sewer.

Many people are leery of creepy crawlies—but insects are critical to the functioning of the planet, says Dino Martins, the entomologist, evolutionary biologist and author of Hidden Creatures. We asked him to recommend five entomology books that seek wonder in unexpected places, including bee colonies and termite mounds.

Psychological horror blurs the line between what is real and imagined, finding demons in the mind as often as in the outside world. Tabitha Potts, author of The House of Dust and Shadows, explores five of the best psychological horror novels, from Gothic classics to contemporary fiction.

Anthropologists look for cultural and political currents reflected in everyday behaviours, says Ruben Andersson, the Oxford academic and author of a new book about the contemporary obsession with self-protection, Age of Security. Here, he recommends five anthropology books that have influenced his work and writing—and reflects on the difficulties of recognising patterns in our own thinking.

If you enjoy crime fiction, there can be a bewildering array of books to choose from. Fortunately, the UK has the Dagger Awards, awarded by the Crime Writers' Association to standout books in the genre. The 'Gold Dagger' is given for the best crime novel by an author of any nationality, originally written in English and first published in the UK. Five Books editor Sophie Roell runs us through the six books that made this year's shortlist.

Adolescence is an "electrifying" time of self-definition, explains the award-winning novelist Tom Newlands. Here he recommends five of the best 'coming of age' novels that capture the porosity and potential of those vivid teenage years when everything, just everything, seems possible.