As Nelson Mandela stated in a 1997 address, “When we read we are able to travel to many places, meet many people and understand the world. We can also learn how to deal with problems we are having by learning from the lessons of the past.” The books illustrated here represent this sentiment. Students, staff, and lecturers responding to an invitation to propose and motivate for books along the following themes selected them from almost 100 submissions:

• important ‘must’ reads;
• books you enjoy reading;
• books you wish were published;
• books you believe should have been published but were not due to the injustices of the past.

Suggestions were reviewed and voted upon by a committee. This book mural is part of the visual redressing of Stellenbosch University’s landscape to provide spaces that acknowledge and represent the multitude of stories and identities in our shared history.