Set in the desert following a plane crash, this is the charming, hallucinatory account of a man considering his own place in the world. Long-recognised as a short work of philosophy on the nature of man’s desires, and our propensity to focus on petty or material things. A pleasure to read.

The front cover sells itself as an insight into the modern day desire to compete with our neighbours, but the book spends most time focused on what triggered our developing obsession with status in our ancestry. The cultural need for status and items is intelligently dealt with, although it leans too heavily on organised religion as a possible antidote to rampant consumerism.

Written by an investigative journalist whose reputation precedes him, this is his second report into the Wahhabi-dominated world of Saudi Arabia. Detailed explanations of life under Monarchist rule for the past 150 years are coloured by personal accounts from people involved or on the periphery of key events. Read for a stronger understanding of this opaque culture.

Set in 19th Century rural England, the twisting psychological tale of an outsider who settles on the outskirts of a small village. Written with a convincing moral conviction on the perils of loneliness and the emptiness of money, it is well conceived as a philosophical allegory.

Crichton is a master at building tension into what could be a dry, methodical scientific report. Set in 20th Century America, he takes another hypothetical horror – this time biochemical – and stretches it into a taut thriller. Runs with Crichton’s ongoing theme that when science is dominated by a callous and inhuman approach to discovery, bad things happen.

Written in 1922, this is an exceptionally prescient conception of the world we live in now. Russell calls for more scepticism towards our financial and governmental institutions, school lessons on understanding and evaluating opinions rather than just digesting knowledge,  and explains why our unconscious is more rational than our conscious being (and why we should listen to it more). Wise philosophy.

The basic premise of The Dip is that there are some things worth sticking at and some that are better just to quit – Godin provides insights into how to decide whether to stick it out or not. It’s a light, easy read (only 76 pages), but he tends to repeat his arguments a few times. It’s motivational.

Once the story is set, the action gathers a quick pace and doesn’t slow. Action splits between Japan and London, and includes scenes towards the end that ache for the cinematic treatment. This is an entertaining, at times fantastical, financial thriller, written with an easy nature and lighthearted manner to keep the story ticking over.

Shteyngart creates a world in which the vain preoccupations of Western life are amplified into a terrifying dystopia. The cruel joke is how recognisable it is, with smart phones, status anxiety and credit card debt, as well as its increasingly implausible demands for connectedness and eternal youth.

Witty writing and a sharp, provocative story. Set entirely in a grimy London basement, the characters are dark, cruel and intense. There’s still time to catch the performance in London right now.

On a small, hidden island off the coast of Costa Rica, a billionaire businessman tests the power of genetic technology. This book is so much more than the film, as it delves into Chaos Theory and the irresponsible nature of progress, and questions whether science allows us to do too much, and whether scientists lack the necessary maturity to understand its power.

Although a well-written translation, Saramago’s style of layering descriptions and diverting the flow of the story to focus on obscure historical subjects is troubling. It sounds crazy for a book that’s over 300 pages long, but you really do read this book for the final paragraph – it suddenly becomes an exceptionally poignant love story.