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Pulitzer Prize–winning literary critic Michiko Kakutani shares her enthusiasm for more than 100 books in a series of succinct, thought-provoking essays. “Books can connect people across time zones and zip codes, across cultures, national boundaries, and historical eras,” Kakutani writes in her introduction to Ex Libris . Here 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 ( The Federalist Papers, The Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. ); books that address timely cultural dynamics (Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction, Daniel J. Boorstin's The Image, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale ); classics of children's literature (the Harry Potter novels, Where the Wild Things Are ); and novels by acclaimed contemporary writers like Don DeLillo, William Gibson, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Ian McEwan. With Dana Tanamachi’s richly detailed illustrations that evoke vintage bookplates, Ex Libris is an impassioned reminder of why reading matters more than ever.
Report
Former New York Times book critic Kakutani delivers an ebullient celebration of books and reading. She comes up with an eclectic list of titles that have shaped her life, including classics (Shakespeare, Frankenstein, Moby-Dick), biography and memoir . . . and contemporary fiction (Zadie Smith s White Teeth, Donna Tartt s The Goldfinch, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie s Americanah). Each selection is accompanied by a brief, elegant essay explaining her connection to the work. . . . Kakutani s recommendations and her sense of the shared joys and losses of human experience are revelations. Publishers Weekly (starred review)
