Ex Libris

Pulitzer PrizeΓÇôwinning 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 todayΓÇöwith beautiful illustrations throughout. ΓÇ£A book tailormade for bibliophiles.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöOprah Winfrey ΓÇ£An ebullient celebration of books and reading.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöPublishers Weekly (starred review) In the introduction to her new collection of essaysEx Libris: 100+ Books to Read and RereadMichiko Kakutani writes: ΓÇ£In a world riven by political and social divisionsliterature can connect people across time zones and zip codesacross cultures and religionsnational boundaries and historical eras. It can give us an understanding of lives very different from our ownand a sense of the shared joys and losses of human experience.ΓÇ¥ Readers will discover novels and memoirs by some of the most gifted writers working today; favorite classics worth reading or rereading; and nonfiction worksboth old and newthat illuminate our social and political landscape and some of todayΓÇÖs most pressing issuesfrom climate change to medicine to the consequences of digital innovation. There are essential works in American history (The Federalist PapersThe Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther KingJr.); books that address timely cultural dynamics (Elizabeth KolbertΓÇÖs The Sixth ExtinctionDaniel J. BoorstinΓÇÖs The ImageMargaret AtwoodΓÇÖs The HandmaidΓÇÖs Tale); classics of childrenΓÇÖs literature (the Harry Potter novelsWhere the Wild Things Are); and novels by acclaimed contemporary writers like Don DeLilloWilliam GibsonChimamanda Ngozi Adichieand Ian McEwan. With richly detailed illustrations by lettering artist Dana Tanamachi that evoke vintage bookplatesEx Libris is an impassioned reminder of why reading matters more than ever.