Speaking volumes

Zara walks into the bookshop and looks around. There are books in the window; books on tables; books on shelves. How can anyone possibly choose?

To help, here is a list of eight books everyone should read this year:

Captivating creatures: Katherine Rundell's The Golden Mole looks at 22 extraordinary animal species facing extinctionCompletely dying out. and evokes the wonderful weirdness of the natural world.

Weathering war: Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie follows the fortunes of five people trying to find safety during BiafraA partially recognised state that declared independence from Nigeria. It existed between 1967 and 1970.'s war against Nigeria in the 1960s.

Helter-skelter satire: Evelyn Waugh's hilarious Vile Bodies focuses on a love affair among the party-loving Bright Young Things of the 1920s.

Dark dystopia: Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale imagines the US as a horrifying state in which women have been stripped of their rights.

Delightful diary: Cassandra Mortmain, the teenage narrator of Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle, chronicles life in a run-down castle. The arrival of rich Americans as neighbours stirs intrigueSomething which causes interest or is a source of mystery. and romance.

Environmental enchantment: Set in 1880s Ireland, Lord Dunsany's The Curse of the Wise Woman is a compelling eco-thriller. When his father disappears, Charles Peridore finds solaceComfort in times of sadness or worry. in exploring a neighbouring bog.

Rhapsodic romance: So beautifully written that it is almost a prose poem, F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby scrutinises 1920s American high society. Obsessed by the idea that the past can be recaptured, mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby sets out to win back a woman he loved in his youth.

Imagining marvels: John Wyndham's futuristic story The Chrysalids is set in a world devastated by nuclear war. When David Strorm and several other children discover they are telepathicAble to read the thoughts of another person. , they are forced to leave their families and flee.

Is reading the deepest intellectual experience? 

Yes: As Johann Hari writes on Literary Hub: "You dedicate many hours of your life, coolly, calmly, to one topic, and allow it to marinate in your mind." This has led to many of humanity's deepest advances.

No: When you read you are simply taking in the author's ideas. The deepest intellectual experience is debating with someone else, which forces both of you to develop your thoughts and consider others'.

Or... It is also the most enjoyable experience that life offers. There is nothing better than picking up a book which draws you so deep into another world that you forget what is happening around you.