Books, And How To Get Them

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  1. Walk into a bookshop OR go to a bookshop website
  2. Choose you book
  3. Hand over your money
The challenge is step 2, always step 2, the choosing of the book that fits the mood of the moment.


10 Fantasy Books With The Best Lore

by Tom Russell, Jul 20, 2026
While there are countless incredible literary fantasy worlds waiting to be discovered, some authors stand apart because of the sheer depth of the histories and mythologies they have created. For readers searching for a world they can truly lose themselves in, these books are some of the most immersive and lore-heavy experiences fantasy has to offer.
  1. Worldbreaker Saga by Kameron Hurley (2015-2020)
  2. Between Earth And Sky Trilogy by Rebecca Roanhorse (2020-2024)
  3. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series by George R.R. Martin (1996-Present)
  4. Realm Of The Elderlings Series by Robin Hobb (1995-2017)
  5. War Of Light And Shadow Series by Janny Wurts (1993-2024)
  6. Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett (1983-2015)
  7. Stormlight Archive Series by Brandon Sanderson (2010-Present)
  8. Wheel Of Time Series by Robert Jordan (1990-2013)
  9. Malazan Book Of The Fallen by Steven Erikson (1999-2011)
  10. Middle-earth Series by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937-1996)
Step into the Golden Age of Crime with our [British Library] Crime Classics series. Each month we release a new gripping novel or anthology from our archives. Explore tales of intrigue, suspense, and detective brilliance, spanning forgotten gems and cult favourites.

 

Laugh-out-loud Lethal: 6 Comedic Crime Novels and Thrillers

by Mary Pauline Lowry, July 9, 2026
Comedy and crime go together like beans and rice.

Don’t believe me?

Then step into any cop shop, emergency room, or domestic violence shelter in the country. Listen and you’ll hear it: bleak jokes coming rapid-fire, humor dark and reinvigorating as a double shot of espresso.
  1. Carl Hiaasen, Skinny Dip
  2. Bella Mackie, What A Way To Go
  3. Kirstin Chen, Counterfeit
  4. Jesse Q. Sutanto, Dial A for Aunties
  5. Deanna Raybourn, Killers of a Certain Age
  6. Ariel Delgado Dixon, Sourland

Len Deighton’s Spy Novels:  A Personal Selection

by Paul Vidich, May 8, 2025
Paul Vidich chooses "six novels to highlight Deighton’s considerable talent."
  1. The Ipcress File (1962)
  2. Funeral in Berlin (1964)
  3. Bomber (1970)
  4. Berlin Game (1983)
  5. Mexico Set (1984)
  6. London Match (1985) 

5 books that changed the world for the better

by Jasna Hodžić, November 19, 2025
We asked five experts who attended Progress Conference 2025 to share one book they believe changed the world for the better. Their selections span science, philosophy, fiction, and more, but each shows how the dialogue between author and reader can have profound impacts across disciplines and generations — and how ideas shared in solitude can drive collective progress.
  1. Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter (1979)
  2. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl (1946)
  3. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1992)
  4. The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe by Roger Penrose (2004)
  5. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn (1962)

Cults, Magic, Dark Academia, Dragons: 9 Thrilling Novels About Secret Societies

by Gilly Macmillan, November 19, 2025
I don’t mind which genre I find my secret society fix in. This selection includes books that could be described as thrillers, dark academia, fantasy or literary novels. They are some of the most brilliant, most gripping, most compulsive and most fun novels I’ve read.
  1. Donna Tartt, The Secret History
  2. R.F. Kuang, Babel
  3. Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code
  4. Alex Michaelides, The Maidens
  5. Agatha Christie, The Seven Dials Mystery
  6. Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House
  7. Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum
  8. Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The Club Dumas
  9. Terry Pratchett, Guards, Guards

The Traveller by Andrea Wulf review

by Nick Bartlett, 4 Jun 2026
It is unusual to devote almost half a biography to only three years of a subject’s life. But the decision tells us something about the weight the author places on the time Forster spent travelling the world as the assistant naturalist on board Captain James Cook’s HMS Resolution, beginning when he was just 17. Unlike the ship’s crew, Forster was concerned by how the expedition’s presence in the Pacific islands would damage social relations and disrupt local economies. In his diary, he wrote that the people who received them had every right “to look on our men as a set of invaders”. He deplored the “vengeful” nature of his fellow sailors and spent his time with the Indigenous people they made contact with, among them the Māori, Easter Islanders and Tahitians. He admired the Tahitians’ unique conception of property and their absence of class distinctions. Towards the end of the journey a man from Bora Bora, named Hitihiti, voluntarily joined the crew, and he and Forster became close friends, teaching one another words from their respective mother tongues.

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