• The best books about the Mongol conquest of Western Eurasia
• The best books that were banned, or based on stories forbidden to be told
• The best book on how the nomadic peoples enriched and shaped civilizations across Eurasia (from their perspective)
• The best books about war beyond the state
• The funniest travel books
• The best true crime memoirs written by actual participants in the story
• The best realist novels that take place in China
• The best books with realistic fight scenes
• The best books about China’s Cultural Revolution
• The best historical fiction novels depicting premodern battle
• The best books to experience the ancient worlds and civilizations
• The best seriously historical historical fiction novels