Audible Plus is an affordable audiobook subscription which lets you access, stream and download original audio productions, popular podcasts, documentaries, and full-length audiobooks.

For $7.95 per month, you get full and unlimited access to a special catalog of eligible audiobooks, called Plus Catalog, opposite to Premium Catalog which includes all other audiobooks that you can either buy or exchange for credits.

How many audiobooks are included in the Audible Plus subscription? At the launch of the service, some 11,000 titles were listed, but new audiobooks are added every week.

What’s good to keep in mind is that most bestselling audiobooks are not a part of Audible Plus. If you are a Plus member, and wanted to get one of the bestsellers or hot new releases, you would need to buy it – as credits do not come with this subscription. See a comparison of Audible subscriptions if you want to pick up the one that suits your needs the most.

If you want to quickly check out how good are the titles included in Audible Plus, we’ve prepared a list of Top 20 most interesting titles you can get right now, grouped into popular categories: biographies & memoirs, children’s books, health & self-help guides, mystery & thrillers, and classic novels.

On this list, you’ll find Scarlett Johansson’s brilliantly expressive reading of an all-time children’s classic, one quirky satirical story about a 100-year-old man who hopped out of his old people’s home window to embark on an unbelievable journey, a bold investigative piece that reveals that foods rich in saturated fats are not as bad for you as you’d think, and many more.

Our personal favorite is a short thriller about a man who, due to an extremely rare sleeping disorder, is awake for only one hour, from 3AM until 4AM, every day. And so when he hears a woman scream and just a second later sees the President of the United States quickly fleeing the house, he has no time to spare.

Top 20 Audible Plus audiobooks in 2023-24 season

Biographies & memoirs

Twelve Years a Slave

Written by Solomon Northup, narrated by Hugh Quarshie

Twelve Years a Slave tells the story of Solomon Northup, an educated, free black man living with his wife and kids in New York, whose life takes a drastic turn when he’s kidnapped and sold as a slave.

With the documents proving his freedom stolen and his identity snatched away, Solomon spends twelve years in bondage, experiencing inhumane cruelty every single day.

But, above all, Twelve Years a Slave is a story of the unfathomable atrocities of institutional racism in 19th-century America.

• What it’s like: From a respectable carpenter and father of two, Solomon becomes a nameless slave in Georgia in this brutally thought-provoking account of what it was like to be a slave in America.
• Length: 7 hours and 22 minutes

The Hiding Place

Written by Corrie ten Boom, John and Elizabeth Sherrill, narrated by Wanda McCaddon

Corrie ten Boom has lived a completely normal life – as a spinster living with her family in the tiny house over their shop in Haarlem, she’d spend her days making watches and learning from his wise, devout father.

When the Nazis invade and occupy Holland, the ten Boom family takes it upon themselves as Christians to save their neighbors, hiding Jewish people in their home and aiding their escape from the Nazis.

The Hiding Place tells the story of a courageous family who risked their very lives to save others.

• What it’s like: The Hiding Place is a story about selfless sacrifice and remaining forgiving, even in the face of unspeakable cruelty.
• Length: 8 hours and 14 minutes

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter

Written by Kate Clifford Larson, narrated by Bernadette Dunne

The third child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy has long been treated as an afterthought – but now, the strikingly beautiful Rosemary takes center stage in this heartbreaking account of her tragic life.

Just like her siblings, she attended exclusive schools and traveled the world. But unlike her brothers and sisters, she was intellectually disabled – a fact kept secret by her ambitious family.

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter takes a peek through the fiercely guarded façade, and reveals the tragic story of a family that cared for Rosemary but feared about their reputation, all against a backdrop of a stigma attached to mental illness in the 20th century.

• What it’s like: Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter is a carefully researched account, with fascinating new details into Rosemary’s life.
• Length: 7 hours and 44 minutes

Guides

The Compound Effect: Multiply Your Success One Simple Step at a Time

Written and narrated by Darren Hardy

Lose 30 pounds in a week! Fix your love life in a week! Rub 20 years off your face with a cream! Every day, we are bombarded with a plethora of marketing claims that promise to change our lives in the blink of an eye.

But change is a slow, habitual process, where even the smallest, seemingly insignificant everyday decisions snowball into long-lasting effects in your life, Darren Hardy argues in The Compound Effect. In this extremely practical, sobering guide, Hardy reveals the essence of success that has guided the most phenomenal achievements in business, relationships, and beyond.

Make sure, however, to listen to a sample of the audiobook before buying it because while the majority of listeners love Hardy’s energetic tone, it might not be for everyone.

• What it’s like: The Compound Effect is a major kick in the butt and a highly pragmatic, straight to the point must-have for those looking to improve themselves.
• Length: 4 hours and 44 minutes

Children’s books

Tales of Beatrix Potter

Written by Beatrix Potter, narrated by Nadia May

This brilliant collection features eighteen of Beatrix Potter’s most charming stories, narrated by the wonderful Nadia May. Run through the garden of Mr. McGregor with the mischievous and reckless Peter Rabbit, have a cup of tea with Tom the Kitten, and follow Mrs. Tittlemouse as she tries to keep her dwelling tidy, and many more – all in this short, but incredible audiobook.

Nadia May’s excellent narration brings the characters to life in a way that makes you want to snuggle by a fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa and just listen.

Keep in mind, however, that this audiobook does not allow skipping from one story to another.

• What it’s like: Tales of Beatrix Potter prove that these classic stories really do stand the test of time.
• Length: 3 hours and 11 minutes

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Signature Performance by Elijah Wood

Written by Mark Twain, narrated by Elijah Wood

“All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn”, Ernest Hemingway famously declared.

One hundred years after its author’s death, this classic really does remain as relevant as ever – and in this brand-new edition, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is rediscovered in a refreshingly energetic performance by Elijah Wood.

Filled with narrative nuances and read in a youthful voice, it’s guaranteed to be one of the most enjoyable audiobooks you’ll ever listen to.

• What it’s like: A fresh new take on the all-time classic.
• Length: 10 hours and 10 minutes

The Secret Garden

Written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, narrated by Carrie Hope Fletcher

Even though published over a century ago, The Secret Garden is still considered a classic in the genre of children’s literature up to this day.

It tells the story of Mary Lennox, a petulant, neglected and unloved girl born in India to a wealthy British family, who returns to England having suffered the immense trauma by losing both her parents in a cholera epidemic.

Obnoxious, spoiled, and short-tempered, she dislikes her new home and the people living it. But everything changes when Mary discovers a secret garden, and is determined to revitalize it.

• What it’s like: Narrated by the wonderfully soothing Carrie Hope Fletcher, The Secret Garden is a coming-of-age children’s classic.
• Length: 7 hours and 38 minutes

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Written by Lewis Carroll, narrated by Scarlett Johansson

Take a trip down the rabbit hole with this brilliantly unique reading of an all-time classic that has inspired both children and adults for over 150 years.

Scarlett Johansson brings a unique voice to each and every character, from curious Alice, through the frantic White Rabbit, to the mischievous Cheshire Cat, creating an arsenal of memorable voices and an incredible listening experience.

With perfect pacing and wonderful expression, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a definitive tour de force of the Academy Award-nominated actress.

• What it’s like: Whimsical, curious, and wonderfully narrated, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is perfect for a bedtime story.
• Length: 2 hours and 44 minutes

Health

The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet

Written by Nina Teicholz, narrated by Erin Bennett

Yes, you read the title right. In this captivating narrative based on a nine-year-long investigation, journalist Nina Teicholz reveals how the misinformation about saturated fats took hold in the scientific community and the public imagination, and how recent findings have overturned these beliefs.

Above all, she exposes how ego, bias, and premature institutional consensus of the researchers have allowed dangerous misrepresentations to become dietary dogma.

She debunks the “commonsensical” beliefs of what constitutes a healthy diet, explains why the Mediterranean Diet might not be the healthiest and reveals how avoiding meat, cheese, and whole milk might do more damage than good – all exceptionally well-researched and comprehensive.

• What it’s like: Bold and thought-provoking, The Big Fat Surprise will make you re-evaluate of what a healthy diet means.
• Length: 13 hours and 26 minutes

Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Written by Thich Nhat Hanh, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini

In this simple but powerful audiobook, world-renowned Zen master and spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh demonstrates how to approach everyday situations that usually pressure us – dirty dishes, traffic jams – and make positive use of them.

As one reviewer notes, Peace Is Every Step is an absolute must-have in this hectic, anxiety-inducing world of work and responsibility. What’s even more, the audiobook is narrated by the excellent Edoardo Ballerini, who gives it a uniquely soothing tone.

• What it’s like: Peace Is Every Step is a wonderful guide to healthy living that will teach you how to achieve peace within yourself.
• Length: 3 hours 29 minutes

History

A Higher Call: The Incredible True Story of Heroism and Chivalry During World War Two

Written by Adam Makos and Larry Alexander, narrated by Robertson Dean

When Charlie’s B-17 is riddled with bullets and half his crew lays wounded or dead after an unsuccessful first mission, Charlie thinks nothing could possibly make the situation worse.

So when a German Messerschmitt pulls up on the bomber’s tail with one of their best pilots on board, Franz Stigler, Charlie Brown believes he’s met his end. But Franz, instead of shooting him down, does the unthinkable – and what happens next defies imagination up to this day.

In this wonderful story of two war veterans, Makos provides all the descriptions of battle and heroism you’d expect in a historical book – but what he really focuses on is the human side of the conflict and demonstrates that some soldiers remained chivalrous and honorable, even during wartime.

• What it’s like: A Higher Call grips you like a movie from the very beginning up to the very end.
• Length: 13 hours and 21 minutes

Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West

Written and narrated by Blaine Harden

As a child, Shin Dong-hyuk knew nothing of civilized existence. Born in Camp 14 as a son to two political prisoners, he was condemned to a life of hunger and misery in forced labor.

Locked away in the hidden dystopia, he was taught to inform on his closest friends with no remorse and saw his mother as nothing but a competitor for food. Very few born in these camps have escaped. But Shin Donghyuk did.

A New York Times bestseller, Escape from Camp 14 is a harrowing story about one of the very few people born inside a North Korean prison to have escaped, meticulously chronicled and narrated by the brilliant Blaine Harden.

• What it’s like: Heart-wrenching and eye-opening, Escape from Camp 14 is a true story that reads like fiction.
• Length: 5 hours and 31 minutes

Mystery, thrillers & suspense

CyberStorm

Written by Matthew Mather, narrated by Tom Taylorson

Mike Mitchell is an upper-middle class businessman struggling to keep his family together and living the life of your everyday New Yorker when a bizarre string of disasters come crashing down on the City that Never Sleeps.

With blizzards cutting New York off from the rest of the world, both the real and the cyber begin to collapse, and the cracks in civilization start to show.

CyberStorm is a brilliant techno-thriller that asks an incredibly fascinating question: Are we capable of living without technology? As one reviewer notes, CyberStorm will definitely appeal to fans of Michael Chichton and Tom Clancy – it’s an incredibly fast-paced, cutting-edge dystopian read, impeccably narrated by Tom Taylorson.

• What it’s like: A gripping novel with an intriguing premise, especially in today’s world.
• Length: 11 hours and 15 minutes

The Stranger

Written by Harlan Coben, narrated by Eric Meyers

A big house, a good job, a beautiful wife and two wonderful sons – Adam Price has it all, or so he thinks. That is, until he runs into the Stranger – a mysterious individual who seems to know everyone’s dark secrets. Including that of Adam’s wife, Corinne.

When he confronts her, the mirage of perfection disappears as if it had never existed at all. But the Stranger is not yet done exposing dark secrets and ruining lives.

Only start listening to this audiobook if you have a bit of time on your hands – because once you start, it’s extremely difficult to put down. Packed with twists and turns, The Stranger is guaranteed to suck you in from the very first sentence.

• What it’s like: Intricate, fast-paced and engaging.
• Length: 10 hours and 21 minutes

3:00 a.m. (Henry Bins, Book 1)

Written by Nick Pirog, narrated by Jamie Renell

Henry Bins has Henry Bins.

A sleeping disorder, named after him.

He is awake for one hour a day.

He wakes up at 3 a.m. then falls asleep at 4 a.m.

Life is simple.

Until he hears the woman scream.

And sees the man leave the house across the street.

But not just any man.

The president of the United States.

• What it’s like: A brilliant short thriller with a refreshingly unique premise.
• Length: 2 hours and 31 minutes

Classics

1984: New Classic Edition

Written by George Orwell, narrated by Simon Prebble

“Big Brother is watching you,” the citizens of Airstrip One are reminded at every step. Big Brother stares out from every poster, peeks through every hidden camera, and controls everything you do – what you know, how you speak, what you want and what you believe.

In this reality, two plus two equals five and independent thinking is considered one of the most serious felonies.

As one of the most fascinating novels of all time, 1984 continues to shock, haunt, and force to reflect readers from all around the world.

And this time, it’s elevated even more with the incredible narration by Simon Prebble.

• What it’s like: An unforgettable, bone-chilling timeless classic everyone needs to listen to.
• Length: 11 hours and 22 minutes

Pride and Prejudice

Written by Jane Austen, narrated by Emma Messenger

Set in rural England in the early 19th century, where both expectations and reputation matter, Pride and Prejudice is a timeless tale about the turbulent relationship between Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter of a country gentleman, and Fitzwilliam Darcy, a rich aristocratic landowner, both of whom have to learn to overcome their biases and unlearn the titular pride and prejudice.

And this time, Emma Messenger’s brilliant interpretation of the timeless classic makes Pride and Prejudice not just thoroughly entertaining, but also straight up hilarious. Her shrill, loud Mrs. Bennet, combined with a lovely voice and dramatic inflection, makes listening to this version an experience unlike any other.

• What it’s like: A hilarious, enthusiastic and theatrical narration of an all-time classic.
• Length: 14 hours and 12 minutes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Written by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Derek Jacobi

Everyone knows Sherlock Holmes. The world’s most famous consulting detective has been reborn in popular culture time and time again: from Benedict Cumberbatch’s wonderfully clever arrogant prick with no social skills, through Robert Downey, Jr.’s goofy but charming eccentric.

But not many people have had the chance to get to know the original Sherlock – and this audiobook is the perfect place to start.

Derek Jacobi seems like he was made to narrate Arthur Conan Doyle’s books – his performance is fresh and entertaining, and he manages to squeeze out every ounce of emotion from the text.

• What it’s like: Derek Jacobi’s narration is truly one of a kind.
• Length: 11 hours and 4 minutes

Other

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

Written by Jonas Jonasson, narrated by Peter Kenny

Allan Karlsson’s birthday is right around the corner (a one-hundredth birthday party, to be precise) and Allan could not be any less excited. The Mayor will be there. The press will be there. But, as it turns out, Allan will not. Instead, he hops out of his old people’s home and make his getaway…

In this extremely charming audiobook, the down right ridiculous plot, charismatic characters and quirky style are guaranteed to make you smile all the way through.

And, above all, Peter Kenny’s brilliant narration and skillful vocal jumping (from Einstein to an angry female Swede) will keep you wanting to hear more.

• What it’s like: This laugh-out-loud funny satire is a bit like Forrest Gump (in the best way possible).
• Length: 10 hours and 59 minutes

So You Want to Talk About Race

Written by Ijeoma Oluo, narrated by Bahni Turpin

In So You Want to Talk About Race, Oluo answers all the questions listeners don’t dare to ask to inspire better, more productive conversations on race.

She tackles all the most important contemporary issues: privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, the “N” word – in a way that’s raw and brutally honest, but also with a great deal of compassion and humor.

So You Want to Talk About Race is further complemented by Bahni Turpin’s wonderfully deep, slightly raspy voice, makes you feel like you’re listening to a friend while having a cup of tea.

• What it’s like: A current and constructive inquiry into today’s racial landscape, and a must-read for every American.
• Length: 7 hours and 41 minutes

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Children’s books are all about drawing attention – and this is precisely why an iPad is the perfect medium to read them on.

Unlike traditional books, it offers way more than just colorful illustrations – it gives you the possibility to listen to a narrator read it out loud, to interact with animated characters, to look up difficult new words, and to test your knowledge in fun mini-games.

And the best part? There are plenty of free iPad books available as well.

In this list, we decided to include a variety of different apps for kids of all ages – classic fairytale collections (think: the Grimm Brothers), Dr. Seuss stories, but also some incredibly inventive choose-your-own adventure books.

Our personal favorite is Wonderscope – an app that lets your little one interact with AR characters to come up with a highly personalized, engaging story.

Read on to find out which apps made the cut.

If you to take reading experience on your iPad and iPhone to a whole new level, make sure to check out the best book apps, as well as top audiobook player apps.

The Best iPad book apps for kids

1. The Cat in the Hat

Delightfully interactive, with stunning animations and endless learning activities, “The Cat in the Hat” is not just a fun storybook app, but an educational one as well. Designed specifically for beginning readers, it has plenty of hidden features guaranteed to surprise your little one all the way through – animations, interactions, rhyming and spelling exercises, individual word pronunciation, trivia games, and many, many more.

“The Cat in the Hat” can be viewed in three different ways: “Read it Myself”, in which you can read the book in its traditional form; “Read to Me”, in which you can listen to the narrated story with words highlighted as they are read; and “Auto Play”, which plays just like a movie – with automatic reading and turning pages.

And here comes the best part – once your kids have found all the hidden easter eggs in “The Cat in the Hat”, they can keep on reading “The Lorax”, “Green Eggs and Ham”, “Horton Hears a Who!” and many other Dr. Seuss classics, which can be purchased on Oceanhouse Media’s App Store page separately or in bundles.

Benefits: “The Cat in the Hat” is packed with easter eggs, making it an incredibly engaging and interactive reading experience.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: $0.99

2. Fairy Tales Bedtime Stories

Best for toddlers and pre-schoolers, “Fairy Tales – Bedtime Stories” is a marvelous collection of story books to read your kids to bed with. It offers plenty of all-time classics – “Puss in Boots”, “The Beauty and the Beast”, “Cinderella”, and many, many more – but also some less-known, but still incredibly engaging, stories, such as “The Enormous Turnip” or “Aesop’s Fables”.

What’s more, you can download every book to your device and read it anytime, anywhere, in offline mode – a perfect solution for long car rides, doctor’s appointments, and restaurants.

Every bedtime story contains exciting pop-up games – labyrinths, cards matching games, jigsaw puzzles, hidden easter eggs – that make reading even more entertaining and educative. You can also collect daily bonuses to unlock more interactive books for free.

Benefits: “Fairy Tales Bedtime Stories” is the perfect choice if you’re looking for an app with a vast selection of classic bedtime stories, all in one place.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free to download with one free book as a gift (“Puss in Boots”). Other books need to be purchased within the app (but worry not – it’s perfectly safe and kid-friendly, so your child will not make any unintentional in-app purchases without your knowledge).

3. Little Stories – Bedtime Books

“Little Stories” is a brilliant collection of fairy tales in which your kid plays the main role. All you have to do is enter their name and gender and you can enjoy reading personalized fairy tales with your son or daughter cast as the hero. What’s even more is that it includes a recording button – making it possible for the parents to become the narrators of the story and the children to play it back anytime.

The app offers 21 original fairy tales (and the collection is growing!), each accompanied by enchanting music and beautiful illustrations, with some extremely valuable life lessons.

Benefits: Incredibly personalized in many different ways, “Little Stories” is one of the best bedtime apps there is.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free to download with 3 free books as a gift (“A Monkey Manners Tale”, “The Brave Eaglet”, “The Magic Christmas Tree”). Other books need to be purchased within the app.

4. Bedtime Stories – Read & Tell

This app is a bit different because it engages the young and the old to spend some family time together – and it bursts with opportunities for both the children and the parents to learn new things.

While kids can delve into the exciting library of Storyworlds, parents can practice their storytelling skills for free with exciting exercises and courses about story building and different storytelling techniques. The interactive Storybuilder helps generate millions of exciting storylines, and lets your family become heroes of the narrative.

Intuitively designed, the app includes series of reads for different age groups, of different formats and different lengths, providing a plethora of options depending on how much time and energy the readers have at any particular time.

New Storyworlds are added every two weeks – making it impossible to run out of content to read.

Benefits: “Bedtime Stories – Read & Tell” will awake the inner storyteller in parents and kids alike.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: $2.99

5. The Little Red Riding Hood

Grimm Brothers’ iconic fairy tale comes to life in this uniquely interactive reading experience for children from 3 to 8 years old.

Beautifully illustrated and animated in 3D, “The Little Red Riding Hood” is packed with engaging games and activities – the kids can now become part of the plot, by cooking a cake for granny, helping the woodcutter pass through a labyrinth, and teaching the wolf a lesson.

Benefits: This free app is the perfect way to get you started with reading to your kids on an iPad.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free

6. Bubuk – Your Personalized Book

This watercolor-illustrated book lets you customize everything: you can choose the name of the protagonist (and of other characters in the story as well!), customize their appearance, choose their fates, and create books that are a new magical adventure every time.

“Bubuk” is available in 5 different languages – English, Italian, French, Spanish, and German. But what makes the app stand out is the fact that if you create a story you really like, you can order the Bubuk and have a paper copy ($30) delivered directly at your doorstep with free shipping all over the world.

Benefits: You can purchase a paper copy of your custom book.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free (optional $30 to buy physical copy of book).

7. Nighty Night Forest

“Night Night Forest” is the perfect go-to-bed ritual for the little ones (especially for kids from 2 to 5 years old), packed with cute animals, sweet lullaby music, and great narration.

With illustrations by award-winning artist Jeremy Kool, the app combines 3D modeling and lighting with 2D textures, making it an incredible visual experience as well.

Set in a magical forest, the story features seven adorable animal protagonists – deer, skunk, woodpecker, chipmunk, mole, fox, and a bear – which the readers can bring to bed by switching off the lights.

The app offers autoplay-mode – perfect to slowly lull your child to sleep. It is also available in as many as 13 different languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Benefits: Created by parents for parents, “Nighty Night Forest” is the perfect way to slowly lull your child to sleep.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: $3.99

8. KidBook

“KidBook” offers plenty of stories for children from 2 to 10 years old all on one bookshelf – with the library constantly replenished with exciting new books and content.

Every story is completely different, beautifully illustrated by various professional graphic designers, voiced by actors, and packed with mini-games.

Benefits: “Kid Book” offers the most variety out of all bedtime apps – every story is illustrated and written by someone else.
Compatibility: iPad only
Price: Free to download, with 7-day free access to the entire library. Afterwards, you can choose either a monthly ($2) or weekly ($1) subscription.

9. Hippo Magic

Your kid’s beloved fairytale characters can now come to life with “Hippo Magic” – an app that reimagines traditional print books into interactive augmented reality experiences.

All you have to do is point your device at the pages of any Little Hippo Book marked with the Little Hippo logo at the bottom – and see the 4D Magic come to life.

Benefits: This app will leave the kids amazed and wishing every book had an AR version.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone (requires iOS 11.0 or later)
Price: The app is free to use with a paper copy of a Hippo Magic book.

10. Wonderscope

Similarly to “Hippo Magic”, “Wonderscope” is all about transforming ordinary spaces into extraordinary stories through augmented reality. Read your lines aloud to engage with and talk to characters, and help them solve problems along the way.

The Wonderscope library is constantly growing with a variety of eight incredibly engaging stories: “Sinclair Snake: Museum Mischief” transforms your little one into a junior detective and helps learn about dinosaurs, Egypt, medieval times, and gems; “A Brief History of Amazing Stunts by Astounding People”, a BAFTA Award-winning non-fiction series, invites children to take party in three of history’s most impossible stunts; “Little Red the Inventor” takes a different, EQ focused spin on the classic Grimm Brothers tale.

Benefits: You haven’t seen anything like this before – and this might be the future of storytelling.
Compatibility: iPad (2017 and Pro), iPhone 6S and newer (requires iOS 11.0 or later)
Price: The app itself free to download, stories can be unlocked for around $5 each.

11. Rivet: Better Reading Practice

With a whopping 3,500+ free books across eight different reading levels (and available in English, Spanish, German and Polish), Rivet is an absolute must-have for both beginning and advanced young readers.

The users can choose from a wide variety of categories – adventure, animals, arts and crafts, learning, sports, and many, many more – but also access fun books from some of the most popular YouTube creators, such as Troom Troom or Oddbods.

The intuitive, kid-friendly interface makes it even easier for the little ones to fall in love with reading – readers can tap on tricky words for help, track their reading practice, receive personalized recommendations, set daily reading goals, and earn badges and rewards by achieving milestones.

Benefits: Rivet has one of the biggest available high-quality story collections – and it’s 100% free.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone (requires iOS 11.0 or later)
Price: Free.

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With Bookly, you’ll be able to keep track of all your books, rate them, set reading goals, and more.

If you’re just getting into the habit of reading, chances are you sometimes find it hard to keep yourself motivated and stick to a routine.

On the other hand, if you’re an avid reader, you might be in desperate need of a good app that would keep up with your readathons. Well, your prayers have been answered – with Bookly, you’ll be able to do all that (and even more).

Bookly is a bit like a mix between a workout-tracking app and Goodreads – it records the time spent while reading, analyzes it, and gives away suggestions on how to improve your reading routine, keeping you motivated all the way through.

How Bookly works

Whenever you start a new book, you can add it by scanning the ISBN code or finding it via the app’s database.

Then, you’re good to go – all you have to do is start a timer every time you read with a simple tap, and Bookly will record and analyze your reading progress over time.

While reading, you can also add quotes and thoughts about the book, set a countdown, or even play relaxing ambient sounds (such as light rain, flowing river, crowded café, and more) to help you focus on reading even better.

After you’re done reading for the day, you can simply press “Stop” and enter the number of pages (or, if reading an ebook, the %) you got to, and Bookly will accumulate the data over time, analyzing your reading habits, speed and progress.

If you’re just getting into the habit of reading, there’s also a number of features to keep you motivated – you can set reading goals and reminders to maintain your reading routine, receive personalized tips on how to improve reading skills, or make reading even more fun with game-like features like levels, rewards and achievements.

The app also automatically generates a neat infographic with all the reading stats for each book you complete, perfect to share on social media.

What’s even more, Bookly also lets you mark a book as lent or borrowed – so that you never lose a book to a forgetful bookish friend again.

Bookly pricing

Bookly is free to download on App Store and Google Play with all the basic features free to use on without an online account or sign up needed.

The Pro version is free with a 7-day trial, after which there are three subscription packages available: a one-month subscription ($4.99), a six-month subscription ($19.99), and a one-year subscription ($29.99).

⇢ Bookly

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Say goodbye to pinching and scrolling around – with Adobe Liquid Mode, you’ll be able to read PDF documents in mobile-friendly formats.

If you’ve ever tried to read a long PDF document on your phone, you know that constantly having to zoom in and pinch the screen is extremely frustrating. Not to mention, it’s virtually impossible to mark and copy lines, or skip back and forth between sections.

But not anymore. Adobe has finally introduced Liquid Mode, a feature that automatically reformats text, images, and tables to make PDF documents easier to read on smaller screens.

All you need to do is press the Liquid Mode button in your Acrobat Reader app – the file is then sent to Adobe’s Document Cloud for processing and, once complete, you’ll be able to enjoy a compact, readable, and hassle-free version of your PDF document.

Powered by Sensei – Adobe’s artificial intelligence engine – Liquid Mode uses AI to automatically analyze and identify parts of a PDF document, such as headings, paragraphs, bullet lists, tables, and images, and convert them into mobile-friendly formats (all, of course, without changing the file itself).

Simultaneously, it creates an “intelligent outline”, with collapsible and expendable sections, searchable text, resizable words, tappable images, and more. Liquid Mode also enables a fair share of customization – readers can tailor font size and spacing between words, characters and lines.

Liquid Mode is available in the free Adobe Acrobat reader app for iOS and Android, including Google Play Store-compatible Chromebooks. Unfortunately, since it is still a developing technology, Liquid Mode is currently limited to PDF documents under 10MB and less than 200 pages long.

⇢ Adobe Liquid Mode

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With Spreed, you’ll be able to double your normal reading speed – all without sacrificing comprehension.

It is estimated that the average person reads at around 200-300 words per minute, with anything quicker than that resulting in loss of comprehension.

Through habits like subvocalizing (sounding each word out in our heads), unconscious re-reading chunks of text and unnecessary eye movements, combined with constantly getting distracted by pop-up videos and ads, we are slowing our reading speed significantly without even knowing it.

But Spreed, the highest rated and most popular Chrome extension of its kind, helps eliminate these hindrances – and lets us enjoy reading news articles, blog posts, emails, Amazon Kindle Cloud Reader books, PDFs and ePUBs twice as fast without sacrificing comprehension.

How Spreed works

After installing Spreed Chrome extension, all you have to do is highlight the passage you want to speed read in Chrome and press Alt+V (or right-click and select Spreed selected text). A pop-up window will appear and immediately start “cleaning out” the text of the article for you.

Spreed displays the article word-by-word in a fixed position, highlighting one letter of each word in orange font to lock your eyes on.

The extension lets you adjust the words per minute, font size, number of words displayed at a time and display colors. You can also track your speed improvement and time saved while using Spreed.

Pro tip! If the WPM seems way too fast, try reading the text at a higher speed and then bring it back down.

Spreed utilizes a visual technique popular among the world’s fastest speed readers called Rapid Serial Visual Presentation. Through displaying the article one word at a time with a fixed focal point for us to focus on, Spreed eliminates eye movement and utilizes peripheral reading to speed up the process even more.

Chances are, it took you around 1.5-2 minutes to read this article. With Spreed, you’d need half as much time.

⇢ Spreed

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Audiobook sales in the US totaled 1.2 billion dollars in 2019 alone – that’s 16% more than the previous year.

According to recently released results from the Audio Publishers Association’s annual sales survey, Americans are listening to more audiobooks than ever, continuing the eight-year trend of double-digit revenue growth.

“Eight straight years of double-digit revenue growth is simply phenomenal,” concludes Chris Lynch, co-chair of the APA’s Research Committee. “Even more encouraging are the continued upward trends in consumer listening behavior – both in how many titles they listen to per year and in their finding more time in their day to listen.”

What’s more, Edison Research’s national survey found that the average number of audiobooks listened to per year jumped to 8.1 in 2020 – a 1.3 increase compared to last year.

Audiobooks continue to rise in popularity among younger generations, with a little over half of all frequent audiobook listeners being under the age of 45. Quality of narration plays a key role – both non-fiction and fiction lovers prefer professional voice actors to the author as a narrator.

In terms of the most popular audiobook genre, Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense takes the crown third year in a row, with almost four out of ten respondents saying they listen to books of this genre the most.

Interestingly, 60% of respondents own a smart speaker, but less than half of them use their devices to listen to audiobooks. Nevertheless, the share of audiobook listeners among smart speaker owners increased to 46% from 31% in 2019.

⇢ Full report

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Rumor has it that Kindle Paperwhite 5 will feature the same warm light system as Oasis 3, Amazon’s most luxurious e-reader to date.

Amazon is reportedly working on a fifth-generation Kindle Paperwhite that would feature amber LED lights and a color temperature system designed to make reading easier on the eyes, according to a report from Good e-Reader.

Similarly to your phone’s night mode, the new Kindle would cut down on harsher blue light and replace it with a warmer, yellower tone, reducing eye strain and minimizing the negative effects bedtime light-exposure has on sleep quality.

As per the report, the new Kindle Paperwhite will feature a similar warm light system as Kindle Oasis 3, Amazon’s most advanced e-reader to date, described by The Guardian as “the most paper-like reader yet”.

The company has been reportedly designing and testing the new Kindle Paperwhite for most of the year, with manufacturing scheduled to begin somewhere in the second quarter of 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the product got pushed back.

The upstream supply chain has confirmed with Good e-Reader that Amazon has been designing and testing a warm light Kindle Paperwhite for most of the year, it was supposed to be manufactured in the second quarter, but got pushed back, due to Foxconn only operating at less than 30% efficiency since April, due to COVID.

– Good e-Reader

According to Good e-Reader, Amazon is likely to announce Kindle Paperwhite 5 before Prime Day 2020 (expected to take place sometime in October). However, due to supply chain constraints, the launch might be pushed back into early 2021.

Kindle Paperwhite 5 with warm light – visualizations

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The eight-part miniseries will cover Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents,” with the premiere episode now available for free on Apple Podcasts.

Oprah Winfrey has started a brand-new chapter of her ongoing partnership with Apple, launching the first episode of Oprah’s Book Club on Apple Podcasts on September 8. The podcast is an extension of the Apple TV+ series of the same title.

Over a series of eight episodes, the podcast will provide listeners with an in-depth discussion over New York Times nonfiction bestseller “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. Published on August 4, the book delves into the structure and origins of racial injustice in the United States, with Oprah describing it as a “must-read for humanity” packed with “so many Aha! moments your highlighter will run out of ink.”

New episodes will be released every Tuesday and Thursday, with the trailer and 35-minute-long premiere episode already available to listen to via the Podcasts app.

Every episode will focus specifically on each “pillar” as outlined in the book. Hosted by Winfrey and the author Isabel Wilkerson herself, the podcast will also feature a diverse group of guests to discuss each of the eight pillars, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.

I am honored and thrilled that ‘Caste’ has been chosen for Oprah’s Book Club and that its humanitarian insights will now reach a wider audience,” Wilkerson says in a statement. “This work shows that the term racism may be insufficient in our current era. We need new language, a new framework for understanding our divisions and how we got to where we are (and) ‘Caste’ gives us this language.

A condensed interview between Winfrey and Wilkerson will be available to stream on Apple Music. Oprah will also curate a collection of articles related to “Caste” on Apple News as the app’s first-ever guest editor.

Oprah’s Book Club was first launched as a segment of The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996 and has since recommended seventy books, many of which have become bestsellers due to the club’s widespread popularity.

Listen to the premiere episode of Oprah’s Book Club here.

⇢ Oprah’s Book Club

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Staying organized as a student is not easy, especially now. With classes taking place mostly online, it’s becoming more and more tempting to miss just one more Zoom lecture, blaming it on “poor Internet connection”.

Setting your own study hours and actually sticking to them all by yourself can be overwhelming – and that’s why it’s good to use all the help you can get. And there are plenty of iPad resources out there that can prove extremely helpful.

In this list, we selected our favorite picks from a variety of different categories: there are productivity apps that’ll help you with staying focused and distraction-free; to-do list makers guaranteed to help declutter your desk (and your mind, too!); there are some brilliant note-taking workspaces and book scanners; revision and education apps; and an app that’ll help you take a break, too.

Discover our picks for the best iPad apps for students below, or jump to one of the following sections:

Best iPad apps for students who…

…want to stay organized & distraction-free
…want to bring note-taking to a whole new level
…want to practice what they’ve learned or learn even more
…want to make incredible presentations
…want to take a break

Make sure to check out our other app roundups. We highly recommend taking a look at the best iPad reference apps – these apps will keep you in the learning mood. Use them to learn a bit more and improve a bit faster.

If English is not your mother tongue, make sure to explore the list of lesser-known iPad apps to learn English.

Best iPad apps for students…

…who want to stay organized & distraction-free

1. Todoist

With over 10 million users and a 4.8 rating on App Store, Todoist has earned a reputation for being the simplest, most user-friendly and flexible to-do list app on the market.

Thanks to keyboard shortcuts, language processing and predictive language, adding tasks with dates, comments, priorities, tags and attachments is an extremely quick process – for example, if you type “Essay deadline Tuesday”, Todoist will automatically add the task “Essay deadline” with the next Tuesday set as due date.

What also makes the app stand out is the fact that it can be integrated with other popular apps, such as Google Calendar, Dropbox, or Zapier. Todoist has also been praised for syncing seamlessly across all devices.

However, as most reviewers underline, the free version is a little limited – you can’t access completed to-do lists and there’s a project limit, for example – so if you’re looking for a free substitute, Google Tasks is a great pick.

The good: Simple, user-friendly, and quick-to-use.
The bad: The free version is quite limited.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone.
Price: Free – with limited features; Premium – targeted at individuals or teams up to 25 people ($3 a month billed annually or $4 a month billed monthly); Business – targeted at teams of 25+ people ($5 per user a month billed annually or $6 per user a month billed monthly).

2. Freedom – Block Distractions

Procrastination is a student’s worst enemy – and Freedom might be just the weapon to fight it. Used by over one million people worldwide, the app temporarily blocks time-wasting apps and websites so you can be more focused (and, as the users report, gain an average of 2.5 hours of productive time each day).

Freedom lets you choose a timeframe during which select devices, apps or even the entire Internet will be completely locked for up to 8 hours at a time. It enables you to customize blocklists (you can, for example, choose to mute all chat apps only), schedule distraction-free sessions for later or as recurring events (for example, if you want to avoid Facebook or Twitter between 7AM and noon every day), and even offers a locked mode for extreme procrastinators that brutally prevents you from changing the settings in the middle of the session.

Freedom also syncs across all your devices – no matter if you’re using a computer, tablet, or phone (and there’s no limit to the number of devices you can use!).

However, keep in mind that Freedom has a rather bare-bones approach – it does not reward you for a successful distraction-free session, nor does it come with any incentives or goals – so if you’re looking for a more motivation-based distraction blocker, make sure to check out the app below.

If you want to try it out, Freedom offers a no-obligation, no-credit-card-required free trial with up to 7 distraction-free blocking sessions on all your devices.

The good: Blocks all distractions across chosen devices and offers quite a wide array of customization features.
The bad: Freedom will not motivate or reward you for successful sessions.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone.
Price: Free – with all Premium features available, up to 7 distraction-free blocking sessions on all your devices; Premium – $6.99 per month or $29.99 per year.

3. Forest – Stay Focused

If Freedom is a bit too straightforward for you, Forest is a must-have. With its unique approach, the app plants a seed every time you start a new distraction-free session – and as time goes by, this seed will gradually grow into a tree.

If you cannot resist the temptation of using your phone and leave the app, however, your tree will wither. Over time, all your focused moments create a lush forest, reminding you just how easy and rewarding it can be to stay off your phone for a while.

What’s more, you can earn rewards and unlock plenty of different tree species to plant. There are also plenty of small details like alternating messages (Don’t look at me! Hang in there!) that make going off-the-grid even more fun.

And the best part? In collaboration with tree-planting organization Trees for the Future, Forest plants real trees on Earth too.

The good: A unique distraction-blocking app that is not just extremely rewarding, but also has planted over 855,000 real trees (to date).
The bad: None. It’s absolutely incredible.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone.
Price: With a one-time purchase ($1.99), you can download Forest and use it across all iOS devices.

4. Google Calendar

With the wide array of calendar apps available, Google Calendar is the undisputed leader. Not only does it work with nearly everything else on the market, but is also almost always compatible with timetable applications that universities use – making it possible to import your timetable into your calendar with the class number, location, professor name, and many more (synced automatically).

Like other Google apps, it’s effortless to get familiar with, and lets you create multiple color-coded calendars in a matter of seconds. Plus, it can automatically create events based on emails you receive – such as flights or concert tickets.

As a cloud-based app, it also syncs through all of your devices once you log in to your Google account – so no matter whether you’re on a desktop or on the go with a smartphone, you can still access the same calendar.

The only downside is that currently there is no macOS desktop version, and so Mac users can only access Google Calendar via browser. It is possible, however, to sync Google Calendar with the built-in Mac Calendar app – and it works flawlessly.

The good: Google Calendar is the standard go-to calendar app that works with nearly everything else on the market, making sticking to a schedule easier than it’s ever been before.
The bad: Does not offer a macOS desktop version.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone.
Price: Free (with a Google account).

…who want to bring note-taking to a whole new level

5. Notion

Whenever I was about to start making notes during a lecture, first thing I’d focus on was the formatting. Should I use Helvetica? Times New Roman? Arial? Smaller? Bigger? In Italics? In Bold?

But just after I’d think I was satisfied with the way my notes look, the lecture would be halfway through, and I’d have absolutely no clue what was going on, and so I’d spent the latter half playing free online games or watching dog videos on mute. But that was before I was introduced to Notion.

Notion’s strength lies in the fact that it does all the formatting for you – with font customization reduced to the absolute minimum, it lets you focus on what matters most – the content.

It’s also an “all-in-one workspace”: what means you can make calendars, task lists, notes, financials, pages and subpages (that you can personalize with emoji icons!), toggle lists, and plenty more – all without having to open multiple tabs or switch windows every time.

So if, for example, you were to make notes for a particular course, you can make separate subpages for each covered topic or lecture under one collective page, add a list of deadlines, and even your timetable. Notion also has some great collaboration features.

And it’s actually free for students – all you have to do is sign up with a school email address.

Notion’s only downside is that it might take a while to get used to, but once you do – it’ll be extremely rewarding and change the way you think about note-taking forever. Oh, and this article was written in Notion, too.

The good: A decluttered and distraction-free all-in-one workspace perfect for note-taking, project management, collaboration and staying organized.
The bad: Takes a while to get used to.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone.
Price: Personal – with sharing limited to up to 5 guests (free); Personal Pro – with unlimited guests and file uploads (free for students, educators, as well as first responders, researchers, and non-profits fighting COVID-19, and for everyone else – $4 per month billed annually or $5 per month billed monthly); Team – made for teams ($8 per member per month billed annually or $10 per member per month billed monthly); Enterprise – made to control and support your company (for pricing, you need to contact sales).

6. Highlighted: Book Highlighter

Say goodbye to having to rewrite chunks of quotes from physical books onto your computer – will do it for you.

The app captures quotes, organizes them, and makes highlighting book excerpts easier than it’s ever been before. The interface is sleek, distraction-free, and incredibly intuitive, and the design itself is reminiscent of Apple’s original apps. And, most importantly – Highlighted Book Scanner is extremely quick to set up and use.

It is, however, not yet compatible with books in languages other than English, but the developers are currently working on making the app work with books in different languages.

Make sure to read our full review here.

The good: Perfect for scanning physical book excerpts and organizing them in a matter of seconds.
The bad: As of today, Highlighted works only with English text (but the developers are currently working on making the app work with books in different languages).
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone.
Price: Free.

…who want to practice what they’ve learned or learn even more

7. Quizlet

With over 50 million students learning via Quizlet each month, the app is second to none when it comes to revision tools.

Quizlet lets you create your own flashcards (or choose from over 400 million user-generated sets) and practice your knowledge in a variety of different modes and fun games – such as Gravity, where correct answers prevent asteroids from hitting your planet, or Match, where you race against the clock to match terms and definitions, and compete against others to get the top score.

It is especially useful for those studying languages (or other courses that require a lot of memorizing).

The good: The ultimate iOS app for studying with flashcards.
The bad: The free version can be a little limited.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone.
Price: Free – supported by advertisements and with limited features; Quizlet Go – an ad-free version with some customization features ($1.99 per year); Quizlet Plus – with plenty of personalized progress-tracking options and advanced features ($19.99 per year).

8. Khan Academy

If you’re a student, chances are you’re already familiar with the vast variety of YouTube channels like CrashCourse or The School of Life that manage to explain months’ worth of lectures and tutorials in just one video.

But not many people know that one of the most popular channels, Khan Academy, has also released a brilliant revision app (awarded Editor’s Choice on App Store!).

With the Khan Academy app, you can practice everything you’ve learned with thousands of interactive exercises and quizzes, articles, and videos, ranging from math, natural sciences, economy and finance, grammar, history, politics, and many more fields.

The good: A wonderful free app that covers an extremely wide variety of topics, perfect for revisions.
The bad: While the content of the app is great, some users have reported issues with saving progress and other bugs.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone.
Price: Free.

…who want to make incredible presentations

9. Google Slides

Google Slides is the best free slideshow creation tool, period. It enables creating presentations anytime, anywhere (even offline), collaborating with others in real-time, and presenting from any device with Internet connection.

Incredibly user-friendly and intuitive, Google Slides makes creating professional-looking slideshows easier than ever.

The good: Google Slides has all you need to create a professional-looking slideshow within seconds.
The bad: Transitions and effects are a bit limited compared to PowerPoint.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone.
Price: Free to use with a Google account.

…who want to take a break

10. Headscape: Meditation & Sleep

There’s nothing more important than taking a break while studying – and Headspace is a perfect tool for that. This powerful meditation & mindfulness app helps you feel less stressed, regain focus and help reset completely.

With hundreds of guided meditations on subjects like focus, exercise, and sleep, as well as mini-meditation sessions perfect for quick mental resets or long-term everyday mindful fitness courses (and a lot more), Headspace has everything you need to make meditation part of your daily routine.

And, according to their website, just 10 days of Headspace can increase happiness by 16%.

The app also offers a student discount on the annual price of the Headspace Paid Subscription from $69.99 to just $9.99 per year.

The good: A beautifully illustrated app that is guaranteed to make you love meditation.
The bad: Premium subscription is a bit pricey.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone.
Price: After a two-week free trial, Headspace offers two subscription options: $12.99 per month, or $69.99 per year (with a student discount that reduces the price to just $9.99 per year, or a family discount with up to six accounts for $99.99 a year).

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The new Penguin Classics Science Fiction collection comprises ten different authors – all united by wonderfully minimalist monochromatic cover design.

When we think of stereotypical mainstream science fiction, first thing that comes to mind is old-school pulp fiction magazines with bright covers and dashing space warriors saving damsels in distress from brutish aliens.

Or, maybe, wrinkled retro paperbacks in psychedelic color combinations and Dali-like surrealist scenes. Or, perhaps, a bit more modern cover styles, with the titles written in bold metallic font and manly figures heroically staring into space against a cosmic landscape.

All in all, regardless of the era, we tend to think of science fiction book covers as eye-catching, eccentric and fluorescent, with unfamiliar worlds, busy supernatural scenes and futuristic spaceships as their focal points.

But today, Penguin Random House decided to challenge this approach as it introduced a brand-new minimalist design for its 2020 Classics Science Fiction series.

The collection includes ten books written by authors from all around the world, all unified by refreshingly minimal line drawings, sparse designs, monochromatic color schemes, and purple spines. It brings together pioneers like Lovecraft and Zamyatin, New Wave classics by Lem and Vonnegut, and a plethora of different exciting subgenres, including dystopia, satire, slipstream, and speculative fiction. Some covers even feature works by line drawing virtuosos like Le Corbusier, Hans Arp, Picasso, and Saul Steinberg.

“There is perhaps a tradition for science fiction books to illustrate unfamiliar conceptualized worlds on their covers,” Penguin art director Jim Stoddart explains. “But when judging a book by its cover, even with all the best intentions, I really feel representational depiction often doesn’t do the writing justice, and perhaps unfairly ghettoises some amazing books which should have a much broader appeal.”

Refreshingly uncluttered, the covers give plenty of breathing space for the readers to dive deep into the depths of their imagination – after all, that’s what sci-fi’s for.

“These books are existentially mind-bending and the action best takes place in the imagination. It felt right to let the role of these covers be simply to allude to the pages held within, rather than illustrate them,” Stoddart explains.

Check out Penguin’s brilliant new minimalist science fiction collection below.

Penguin Classics Science Fiction collection

The Penguin Science Fiction series travels to the limits of the human imagination with a selection of visionary works from around the world. Here are pioneering works by Lovecraft and Zamyatin; New Wave classics by Lem and Vonnegut; and essential examples of space opera, dystopia, slipstream and speculative fiction from the great science fiction writers of Russia, Argentina, Germany and beyond.

1

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

This bitterly funny Cold War satire on the end of the world expresses our deepest fears of Armageddon, and has become a counter-culture classic.

2

Dimension of Miracles by Robert Sheckley

This madcap cosmic farce relates the adventures of the hapless human Carmody, as he attempts to make his way home to Earth after winning the grand prize in the Intergalactic Sweepstake, encountering parallel worlds, incompetent bureaucrats and talking dinosaurs on the way.

3

Flatland by Edwin Abbott

The book that influenced writers from Carl Sagan to Stephen Hawking, Flatland is set in a two-dimensional world where life exists only in lines and shapes – until one of its inhabitants, ‘A. Square’, has his perspective transformed forever. This brilliantly eccentric classic is an invitation to see beyond our own reality.

4

One Billion Years to the End of the World by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

This mordantly funny and provocative tale from Soviet Russia’s leading science fiction writers is the story of astrophysicist Dmitri Malianov.

As he reaches a major breakthrough, he finds himself plagued by interruptions, from a mysterious crate of vodka to a glamorous woman on his doorstep. Is the Universe trying to tell him something?

5

Ten Thousand Light-Years From Home by James Tiptree Jr.

Written under the pseudonym James Tiptree Jr., the pioneering and outlandish tales of Alice B. Sheldon are some of the greatest science fiction short stories of the twentieth century, telling of dystopian chases, alien sex and the loneliness of the universe.

6

The Colour Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft

The master of weird fiction, H. P. Lovecraft combines cosmic fantasy with creeping horror in these three tales of malevolent alien forces, body-switching and travel across the space-time continuum.

7

The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem

One of the world’s most beloved science fiction writers, Stanislaw Lem was famed for his wryly comic, outlandish imaginings of the relationship between humans and technology.

In this playful cosmic fantasia, two ‘constructors’ compete to dream up ever-more ingenious inventions in a universe beyond reality.

8

The Hair-Carpet Weavers by Andreas Eschbach

In a distant universe, since the beginning of time, workers have spent their lives weaving intricate carpets from the hair of women and girls. But why? Andreas Eschbach’s mysterious, poignant space opera explores the absurdity of work and of life itself.

9

Trafalgar by Angélica Gorodischer

Part pulp adventure, part otherworldly meditation, this is the story of Trafalgar Medrano: intergalactic trader and lover of bitter coffee and black cigarettes.

In the bars and cafés of Rosario, Argentina, he recounts tall tales of his space escapades – involving, among other things, time travel and dancing troglodytes.

10

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

The dystopian masterwork that inspired George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, We depicts a futuristic totalitarian society, ‘OneState’, where humans have become numbers. Suppressed in Russia for decades, it is a chilling vision of a world enslaved by technology.

Via Creative Review.

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