Ex Libris

SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020

From renowned, Pulitzer Prize-winning literary critic, Michiko Kakutani, comes an inspiring and gorgeously illustrated selection of the life-changing books that none of us should miss.

‘Why do we love books so much?’

For legendary literary critic Michiko Kakutani, books have always been an escape and a sanctuary. The characters of some novels felt so real to her childhood self that she worried they might leap out of the pages at night if she left the book cover open. In Ex Libris, she offers a personal selection of over 100 works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, accompanied by passionate essays on why each has had a profound effect on her life.

From Homer’s The Odyssey to The Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale to Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, Ex Libris covers a rich and vast range of classics, old and new, that will help build a well-rounded reader and citizen of the world.

With gorgeous illustrations by lettering artist Dana Tanamachi that evoke vintage bookplates leafed between Kakutani’s inspiring essays, Ex Libris points us to our next great read—and serves as an unmissable reminder of why we fell in love with reading in the first place.