Crime
Nele Neuhaus: Snow White Must Die
This fairy tale is definitely not for children. Don’t be fooled: this book has very little in common with the tale of the beautiful Snow White. Intrigue, murders, twists. All of which makes it a must-have for every lover of crime fiction.
Freida McFadden: Never Lie
Two can keep a secret… if one of them is dead. If you think you have already worked it out, believe me, you are only at the beginning of unravelling the mystery of a renowned psychiatrist’s disappearance. Don’t try to guess. You won’t manage.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes: The Inheritance Games
She has nothing. They have everything… Imagine suddenly inheriting a huge fortune – from someone you have never heard of. And imagine that others have had their eye on that same fortune all their lives and have now, so to speak, been left empty-handed. Now that is what you call a game of life and death… Or is it?
History
Sun Tzu: The Art of War
The best war is the one that never began. Do not enter into alliances until you know your neighbours’ designs. Do not repeat the tactics that have already won you one victory. A wise leader takes his supplies from the enemy… These and dozens of other pieces of advice are to be found in a timeless handbook you can use in business and in life.
Yuval Noah Harari: Sapiens
A hundred thousand years ago, at least six human species inhabited the Earth. Today there is just one. Accessible answers to questions your history lessons never managed to answer. How did we evolve as a species? Why are we the only humans left on Earth? Why did we create religion? And where are we actually heading?
Vaclav Smil: How the World Really Works
A guide to our past, present and future. A matter-of-fact, critical look at topics ranging from energy and food production through our material world and its globalisation to risks, our environment and its future.
Romance
Lucinda Riley: The Seven Sisters
Six adopted sisters, one mysterious father and clues that lead halfway round the world. After the death of Pa Salt, Maia, the eldest, is given a hint about where she came from. It takes her to Rio de Janeiro and to a great love story from the 1920s, when the statue of Christ the Redeemer was rising above the city. The first volume of a saga that is hard to put down.
T. I. Lowe: Lulu’s Café
Some scars never heal, however badly we want them to. The heroine finds herself in the small town of Rivertown, South Carolina. Running from her past, she ends up in a cosy little café. Its owner, Lulu, offers her a job, a roof over her head and a chance to start again…
Colleen Hoover: It Ends with Us
Sometimes the person who hurts us most is the one we love most. Lily is living her dream of opening her own flower shop in Boston and falls for Ryle, a charming neurosurgeon. But when her first love, Atlas, reappears in her life, everything starts to get complicated. A novel about hard choices that is not an easy read, yet stays with you for a long time.
Fantasy
Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Don’t panic! Even if you remember nothing else from this series (which I doubt), it will not be time wasted. The utterly unique and funny journey of Arthur Dent, from the moment the Earth is destroyed all the way to…
J. R. R. Tolkien: The Hobbit
Even the most devoted homebody can discover an adventurer inside. Bilbo Baggins loves his comfortable hole, a full pantry and a quiet life. Then the wizard Gandalf knocks on his door with thirteen dwarves, and the hobbit finds himself on the road to a treasure guarded by a dragon. The classic where it all began.
Sangu Mandanna: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Magic is not the only danger in the world. Mika Moon, one of the few witches in Britain, knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down and stay away from other witches so that they don’t attract unwanted attention.
A better me
James Clear: Atomic Habits
Even an elephant can be eaten one slice at a time. And a new habit can be built step by step. A detailed guide takes you through building better habits and getting rid of the bad ones. So if you want to change anything at all, this is a good place to start.
Thomas Erikson: Surrounded by Idiots
A handbook that will change the way you communicate with your boss. If you feel you literally attract idiots, you are not alone. And psst… the people who meet you think exactly the same. That hurt, didn’t it? We are all different, we communicate in different ways and react to different things. If you want to get better at communicating with other types of people, you will find this book very useful.
James Nestor: Breath
Breathing is so natural that we have quite forgotten how to do it properly. From our first breath to our last, we breathe in about 25,000 times a day on average. It is an absolutely vital part of our health. Yet breathing correctly does not come naturally to everyone. Believe it or not, there is room for improvement here too.
Business
Dan Ariely: Predictably Irrational
The hidden forces that shape our decisions. We feel a more expensive medicine works better, we pinch pennies on trifles and splash out on important purchases. A behavioural economist reveals where the catch is. And why we often act differently from the way we think we do.
Jim Collins: Good to Great
Why some companies make the leap… and others don’t. Good to Great is based on a five-year research project and looks for what the companies that broke through and truly made their mark have in common.
Rory Sutherland: Alchemy
Not only for marketing wizards. Marketing is like alchemy. Most people who don’t work in it have no real idea what it involves. Many strike it from their budgets as soon as harder times arrive. And then they are surprised that the hard times really have arrived. How do you build a successful brand, and what should you keep an eye on?
Health
Ladislav Kužela, Zuzana Čižmáriková: Zdravie bez liekov (in Slovak)
How choosing the right food can save our lives. I know this likeable Slovak gastroenterologist mainly from the podcast Búrači gastromýtov (‘Gastro-myth Busters’). And since he talks in such an engaging way that even a layperson can follow, it goes without saying that his book could not possibly be missing from my shelves.
Giulia Enders: Gut
About an organ nobody mentions at the dinner table, though it deserves a round of applause. The young German doctor Giulia Enders explains, with humour and without any unnecessary embarrassment, how digestion works, what our intestines are in charge of and what tiny inhabitants live inside them. A read that teaches you a lot and makes you laugh as well.
Diana Mozoláková: Liečivá sila divokých byliniek (in Slovak)
The perfect guide – from camomile to nettle. A home pharmacy stocked with herbal teas, tinctures and ointments is within easy reach. This book can serve as the foundation, full of great ideas on what to do with herbs – and how to tell them apart in the first place.
For children
Astrid Lindgren: Do You Know Pippi Longstocking? (Slovak edition)
The strongest girl in the world is moving into your street. Pippi Longstocking arrives at Villa Villekulla with her monkey, Mr Nilsson, and a horse, and suddenly Tommy and Annika are never bored for a moment. A picture book that introduces Pippi even to the very youngest.
One Thousand and One Nights
When Scheherazade whizzed in on a flying carpet and rubbed the magic lamp. Almost everyone knows the tales of the Orient. They have inspired thousands of other stories, films and fairy tales, and they are a classic that not only children but undoubtedly adults will enjoy too.
Michael Bond: A Bear Called Paddington
Every little bear needs someone to look after him. At a London railway station the Browns find a small bear from faraway Peru. They take him home – and from then on something is always happening at their house. A sweet story about how a stranger becomes one of the family.
Cooking
Joanna Farrow: The Official Harry Potter Cookbook
A feast worthy of Hogwarts. I would like it best if the house-elves prepared the feast, but we haven’t got that far yet. If, however, you fancy tucking into magic wands, a cheesy Whomping Willow or a gingerbread Hogwarts, now is your chance. So, accio goodies!
Jamie Oliver: 5 Ingredients Mediterranean
Extremely simple cooking with five ingredients, Mediterranean style. Mediterranean cuisine is well known for its simplicity and its feeling for quality ingredients. Add Jamie Oliver’s charm and you have a guarantee of quick cooking you are sure to manage.
Zdeněk Pohlreich: Super jednoduše bez masa (in Czech)
Simple recipes from a well-known Czech chef. A great cookbook, and not only for vegetarians. It suits anyone who wants to lighten their diet a little. Meat-free recipes work on weekdays and on special occasions alike. And everyone will enjoy it, without exception.
Hobbies
Filip Kulisev: Moje Slovensko (in Slovak)
The Slovakia you know, and yet you will see it as if for the first time. Photographer and traveller Filip Kulisev, known for his images of natural scenery from around the world, has this time turned his gaze on his own country. A picture book that will make you want to lace up your hiking boots.
Yuki Hattori: What Cats Want
Because life with a cat is a one-of-a-kind adventure. I should know. One adopted me. Why do cats love tight spaces? Why do they sleep so much? The Japanese cat expert Yuki Hattori answers in an illustrated guide that will help you understand your furry flatmate a little better.
David Bowden: Great Railway Journeys in Europe (Slovak edition)
A must for anyone who loves travelling with their nose pressed to the window. More than forty railway routes in sixteen European countries, from north to south. For each you will find a little history as well as practical information – all you have to do is choose one and buy a ticket.
Art
Ronald Bergan: Isms: Understanding Cinema
From the first film illusions of the silent era to special effects. Ronald Bergan takes the reader through the history of cinema movement by movement, and for each ‘ism’ recalls the key films, directors and actors. For when you simply want to know a little more about film, rather than just enjoy it with a bucket of popcorn.
Debra N. Mancoff: The Secrets of Art
New meanings in famous masterpieces. What secret messages, symbols and meanings did artists encode in their works? Uncover the secrets hidden in the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci and other greats throughout history.
Edward Hollis: Skrytý život budov (Czech edition)
Buildings are not unchanging; they live lives of their own. The Parthenon and other famous structures tell how the centuries rebuilt them, tore them down and reinvented them.
Books in English
Richard Osman: The Thursday Murder Club
A peaceful retirement village. Four friends meet here every Thursday to puzzle over old unsolved murders – until a real one turns up.
Kai Bird & Martin J. Sherwin: American Prometheus
The biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer – the brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb and later had to confront the moral consequences of scientific progress.
Jo Nesbo: The Snowman
The first snow has fallen in Oslo. A boy wakes in the night, his mother is gone, and in the garden stands a snowman wearing her scarf. A case for Detective Harry Hole.
Julie Smith: Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
A clinical psychologist shares the tools from her therapy room that help us get through life’s ups and downs.
Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté: The Myth of Normal
Western countries invest billions in healthcare, yet mental illness and chronic disease keep rising. The book asks why.
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