RECOMMENDED BY Steve Lawton: The author's grandfather tells the story of a week in 1942 during the Siege of Leningrad, when he and a fellow young 'criminal' are forced by a Colonel to cross German lines to find a dozen eggs for a wedding cake. Now, here is the best I can explain why this was a thorough joy to read: having likable but flawed human characters striving and wittily bantering, back-dropped by the horror of the Siege, creates an existential joy reminiscent of Catch 22, Dr. Zhivago, and Saving Private Ryan.

RECOMMENDED BY Karen Joy Fowler: Short stories from one of the most careful and meticulous craftsman in the game. Ted Chiang's fans are mighty passionate about his work and I am one of the earliest and most passonate. Every story here will enthrall and amaze. This book has aliens and robots, but also ordinary mothers and children. The prose is perfect and the ideas mind-blowing.