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My Ideal Bookshelf is a new book by Jane Mount and Thessaly La Force, published this month by Little, Brown. 

The books that we choose to keep and display—let alone read—can say a lot about who we are and how we see ourselves. In My Ideal Bookshelf, one hundred leading cultural figures, including writers Chuck Klosterman, Jennifer Egan, and Michael Chabon, … reveal the books that matter to them most—books that reflect their obsessions and ambitions and in many cases helped them find their way in the world.

… This exquisite collection provides rare insight into the creative process and artistic development of today’s most intriguing writers, innovators, and visionaries.

Well, we couldn’t resist contributing our own ideal bookshelf to the project. There are two of us, so we each picked just 5 books. There were some nearly impossible decisions made, but we had a lot of fun putting the shelf together. Hope you get a kick out of it, too—and check out My Ideal Bookshelf’s website, where you can submit your own list.