For someone whose career has been built on topping global music charts, Dua Lipa has earned another reputation over the past few years: that of a serious reader. Through her editorial platform, Service95, the singer has interviewed Nobel laureates, hosted author conversations, curated monthly book recommendations and built a book club with readers across the world. Now, she’s taken that passion off the page and into one of Europe’s most iconic literary spaces!
Dua Lipa’s Love For Books Finds A Permanent Home
Inside Porto’s legendary Livraria Lello, often described as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, stands the newly opened Manifesto Library, a permanent collection dedicated to books that have been banned, censored, challenged or pushed to the margins. It’s not a celebrity vanity project or a pop-up installation, but a lasting home for stories that, at one point or another, someone believed people shouldn’t read.
The collection features 100 carefully chosen titles, but don’t mistake it for a shelf of controversial bestsellers. The books have been selected because they question authority, preserve forgotten histories, let silenced voices roar or confront uncomfortable truths. Some have been outlawed by governments, others removed from schools or libraries, while a few have never been officially banned at all.
Instead of organising the library alphabetically, the collection unfolds across four themes, Power, Control, Voice and Memory, almost inviting visitors to wander through the many faces of censorship.
Familiar classics like 1984 by George Orwell, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie sit alongside newer works such as The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, Patriot by Alexei Navalny, Free by Lea Ypi, Felon by Reginald Dwayne Betts and One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad. There’s also The Color Purple, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird, an anthology of stories by Afghan women whose voices have often been suppressed.
Also Read: Did You Know You Can Borrow Books For Free On WR? Churchgate Station Gets A Public Library!
Inside Porto’s Stunning New Literary Space
One of the library’s most fascinating decisions is what it doesn’t claim. Rather than presenting a definitive list of forbidden books, it asks every visitor a simple question: “What belongs on these shelves?” It’s an acknowledgement that censorship is never fixed. A book banned in one country may be celebrated in another, and a novel freely available today could disappear from classrooms tomorrow.
The numbers behind the project are just as stunning. While the library represents 100 unique works, the space reportedly houses around 5,000 physical books, transforming the collection into a living reading room rather than a museum display. Visitors can browse the shelves inside Livraria Lello’s newly built cultural auditorium, which has been designed as a permanent literary space instead of a temporary exhibition.
Lady Of The Hour: Dua Lipa’s Vision
The Manifesto Library opened during the inaugural BABELL – City of Books, Porto’s new international literary festival, which aims to transform the Portuguese city into a universe for readers through author talks, performances, exhibitions and public conversations. It feels like the perfect setting for a project that encourages people not just to read difficult books but also to discuss them.
Dua Lipa herself has described the library as “a shrine to books that have disappeared, to authors whose courage unmasks structures of power and control, and to readers who refuse to be told what they are allowed to read.” Another line from the launch has already become the project’s unofficial manifesto: “Sometimes the most subversive thing you can do is read a book and then talk about it.”
So, will you be visiting this censor-coded reading haven soon?
Cover Image Courtesy: dualipa/Instagram and livrarialello/Instagram
FAQs
What is Dua Lipa's Manifesto Library?
Manifesto Library is a permanent collection inside Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal, featuring 100 books that have been banned, censored, challenged or marginalized across different countries and time periods.
Where is Manifesto Library located?
The library is housed inside Livraria Lello, one of Porto's most famous bookstores, in its newly built cultural auditorium.
How many books are inside the library?
Although the collection consists of 100 unique titles, the space reportedly contains around 5,000 physical books for visitors to explore.
What are the four themes of the library?
The books are organised under Power, Control, Voice and Memory instead of alphabetical order, encouraging readers to explore censorship through different lenses.
