There are about 130 million books in the world – and they are being added to at a rate of 4 million a year or so. Which ones, therefore, should we really read? What are the books that count? Which ones are going to make a real difference to us in the limited time we have?

This is The School of Life’s answer: a definitive list of the 100 books that we feel should truly matter to anyone who cares about their development and growth, a 100 books that are guaranteed to inspire, console and uplift us. We find books from all over the world, some very well known, others fascinatingly unfamiliar, united by a common ability to help us grow into the best versions of ourselves and to combat anxiety, despair and loneliness.

This book answers one of the great questions we all face: how to assemble the perfect set of books with which we can acquire self-understanding, calm and emotional maturity; how to build ourselves a true library for happiness.

A Therapeutic Library is an extraordinary non-fiction book that is ideal for any book lover. The book features 100 novels that are therapeutic in some way or another.

The book begins with an introduction and a history of reading and why back in time different cultures read, such as Christians and Muslims had a goal which was the attainment of holiness. It then moves onto the 100 novels which are split into 12 different sections.

-Philosophy
-Politics
-History
-Religion
-Psychology
-Memoirs
-Nature and Science
-The Arts and Architecture
-Coffee Table Books
-Essays
-Fiction
-Poetry

There are also two intermezzos and an epilogue on the promise of a book.

Each double page is a different book beginning with Aristotle’s Poetics. Some of the books, and authors, I’d never heard of before others took me by surprise that they had made the cut, such as The Highway Code.

A Therapeutic Library is not a book you can sit and read from cover to cover. It requires your full attention. You can, however, dip in and out of it and choose which novel you want to read about and discover why it is good for your well-being. So whether you have five minutes or fifty minutes to read, A Therapeutic Library is something you can pick up and enjoy.

I have certainly gotten to know more books than ever before and I am now seeing them in a different light. This is an astonishingly enjoyable and entertaining book that will hopefully change your life, even if slightly, by the power of reading.

The School of Life is a groundbreaking enterprise which offers good ideas for everyday living. It address such issues as how to find fulfilling work, how to master the art of relationships and how better to understand, and as necessary change, the world – through classes, therapies, books and films. It is headquartered in London, with campuses in Melbourne, Paris, Amsterdam, Sao Paulo, Istanbul, Belgrade, Antwerp, Seoul, Tel Aviv.