Ex Libris: 100+ Books to Read and Reread

In the introduction to her new collection of essays,
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 (Elizabeth Kolbert's
, Margaret Atwood's
); classics of children's literature (the Harry Potter novels,
); and novels by acclaimed contemporary writers like Don DeLillo, William Gibson, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Ian McEwan.
With richly detailed illustrations by lettering artist Dana Tanamachi that evoke vintage bookplates,
is an impassioned reminder of why reading matters more than ever.