The best books can change the world. From the Bible to The Communist Manifesto, books have an enormous impact on how people think and live. And reading can expand our imaginations, stir our emotions and alter the way we see the world.

Here are six astonishing books to expand the mind this Non-Fiction NovemberAn annual event that encourages readers to focus on non-fiction books during the month of November..

The life of Olaudah Equiano: The true-life story of a man forced into slavery. Equiano describes how he was captured and passed between owners and countries before he could purchase his own freedom.¹ Equiano's memoir was a bestseller when published in 1789.² Its success inspired the abolitionistsPeople who sought to end slavery. .

Kaputt by Curzio Malaparte: A shocking report from World War Two written by an Italian journalist, soldier and secret agent.³ Malaparte offers an insider's view of the Axis leadership. Kaputt is full of unforgettable scenes, from a lake of frozen horses to a German officer battling a giant salmon.

Chernobyl Prayer by Svetlana Alexievich: Nobel PrizeOne of a set of prizes, laid out in the will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, given each year to people who "have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind". winner Alexievich creates books out of interviews. This book is a symphonic account of the 1986 ChernobylThe disaster, in 1986, involved a meltdown at a nuclear plant in Ukraine. disaster combining  eyewitness accounts with reflections from those living with the legacy of the nuclear accident.

Three-Month Fever by Gary Indiana: In 1997 Andrew Cunanan broke into the house of fashion designer Gianni Versace and shot him dead. It was one of five murders Cunanan committed over a few weeks. Gary Indiana's rip-roaring retelling transforms the news story into a thrilling tour through the mind of a serial killer and the society that made him.

The Years by Annie Ernaux: One of the world's greatest living writers looks back on her life in the form of short snippets. Nobel laureateSomebody who has been honoured for art or science. Ernaux turns her own biography into a sweeping story of modern French history, taking in music, politics, technology and changing values.

Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger: Kenneth Anger is best known as an experimental film director. But he was also an enormous gossip. Described by The New York Times critic Peter Andrews as a "306-page box of poisoned bon bons", Hollywood Babylon collects dozens of scandalous stories from Tinseltown.⁴ It reveals something about the darkness lurking beneath the Hollywood sign.

Yes: Books are magic. Reading them can transport us into the lives of others, to distant times and to far-flung corners of the world. Their ability to make us think, thrill and care is unparalleled.

No: We now have ways to tell stories that engage our senses as well as our imagination, such as comic strips, documentaries, films, television and video games. Books seem inefficient by comparison.

Or... To call books sacred is to say they are connected to the gods. And some claim to be. But many others are remarkable because they reveal the messy stories of real people and the wonder of the everyday.