Ex Libris

Pulitzer Prize-winning literary critic Michiko Kakutani shares 100 personal, thought-provoking essays about books that have mattered to her and that help illuminate the world we live in today, with beautiful illustrations throughout.

In the introduction to her new collection of essays, Ex Libris: 100+ Books to Read and Reread, Michiko Kakutani writes: "In a world riven by political and social divisions, literature can connect people across time zones and zip codes, across cultures and religions, national boundaries and historical eras. It can give us an understanding of lives very different from our own, and a sense of the shared joys and losses of human experience."

Readers will discover novels and memoirs by some of the most gifted writers working today, favorite classics worth reading or rereading, and nonfiction works, both old and new, that illuminate our social and political landscape and some of today's most pressing issues, from climate change to medicine to the consequences of digital innovation. There are essential works in American history, books that address timely cultural dynamics, classics of children's literature, and novels by acclaimed contemporary writers.

With richly detailed illustrations by lettering artist Dana Tanamachi that evoke vintage bookplates, Ex Libris is an impassioned reminder of why reading matters more than ever.