Books About Books
Books About Books
By: Brittany Shields
We love books, so why not read books about books?!
I included this category in my Spring/Summer Reading Challenge and realized there are a lot of books that fit this category.
Here are a few to get you started.
Let me know what books about books YOU’VE read that I should check out!
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Genre: Fiction
“We need James Bond with a library science degree.”
Their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to smuggle out ‘the book’ that’s locked in a guarded subterranean chamber, decode the encryption, and discover the key to immortality. (I know this is more Mission Impossible than Die Another Day- so sue me.)
The scene: A skinny little mysterious bookstore with the ‘Waybacklist’—the back shelves containing thick, old, encrypted books only “members” (who are all weird, old people) can reserve.
The caveat: These books are not ordinary books. They hold secrets. They are part of a historic and elaborate puzzle that is thought to hold the key to immortality.
See the full review for a cast of characters and my five nitpicky things I have to say about this.
2. The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
Genre: Historical Fiction
A beautiful story set in France, WWII, following a network of forgers helping smuggle people to safety.
The people they are smuggling out of Nazi-occupied areas must assume new identities for their own safety. Eva has coded a book with each person’s previous name to preserve the memory and part of themselves they are forced to forget.
It’s a journey through danger, love, and betrayal and a new take on your typical WWII books.
3. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
“It’s hard to predict, isn’t it? The things that will make us happy?”
This book was a Goodreads’ 2020 Choice Award Winner for Fiction and a generally well-liked book.
A suicidal girl gets infinite chances to find ‘the perfect life’ by perusing the magical library between life and death. Much to be gleaned from these pages about depression, happiness, and what success really means.
I make a few stipulations in my review, but generally speaking, I would recommend this book as I feel we live in a time where we would do anything to find what we think will make us the happiest.
4. The Book Thief by Mark Zusak
Genre: Historical Fiction
"I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sand castles, houses of cards, that's where they begin. Their great skill is their capacity to escalate."
A struggling girl in Germany, no stranger to pain and destruction, recognizes and is strengthened by the power of words. Yes, words can hoist an executioner to rule, but they can also heal, sustain, warm, and tear us apart in the best way.
There is one ‘character’ of the story I didn’t like (explained in my full review) but I would still highly recommend this long, yet fast read.
5. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Genre: Mystery/Crime
This is bookception! A book within a book.
An author has supposedly committed suicide and left behind a whodunit manuscript.
So we have two mysteries— the suicide and the crime within the manuscript.
In the vein of Agatha Christie books, there are a host of suspects for both crimes, all with motive, and true to form- several red herrings.
It takes a bit to get accustomed to the dual storyline, but it’s a clever book!
6. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Genre: Historical Fiction
The setting is Depression-era rural Kentucky. Our protagonist is a librarian delivering books and literacy by horseback to people of rural Appalachia.
It’s not your typical plot and definitely not a juicy storyline, but a noble undertaking and brings this setting during this particular era.
There is controversy with this book being possibly plagiarized from The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (which I have not read.) Though not an intense book, still a dramatic read.
7. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
Genre: Historical Fiction
“Libraries are lungs. Books the fresh air breathed in to keep the heart beating, to keep the brain imagining, to keep hope alive.”
“Words are worth fighting for, they are worth the risk.”
This is your classic historical fiction that jumps back and forth from past (1940s) and the present (1980s). It follows the life of Odile Souchet in Paris as a young librarian at The American Library, and then as an older woman living in rural Montana, befriending the teenager girl next door, Lily.
Almost all the characters (not Odile or Lily) are based on real life people working at this library in Paris during the Nazi occupation in WWII.
Book lovers, especially those familiar with classic literature, will enjoy this book.
Having read a lot of historical fiction, this one didn’t rank high up on my list for that genre and my full review explains why!
8. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Genre: Fiction
“A book is a resting place for the memories of people who have lived before. A way for the memory to stay fixed after the soul has traveled on.”
Following five characters across various times and places, the thread that links them altogether is the story of Cloud Cuckoo Land. This story has survived weather, wars, and wear and traveled the world giving every character something to hope for.
This book requires some patience as it is a story within a story and can take a bit to get into.
It’s a contemplative book that incorporates Greek mythology, history, libraries, climate change, the preservation of memories, technological advancements, loss, hope, and the impact of our stories on other people.
This book was a finalist in the Fiction category for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards.
My review gives more of the plot, a cast of characters, and a section of book club discussion questions!
9. Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Genre: Rom-Com
This one is called Book Lovers, so you can believe there are some books in there!
This is an enemies-to-lovers-almost-Hallmark-movie humorous love story.
A big city literary agent, Nora, and an editor, Charlie, have a less than ideal encounter. Two years later they both find themselves in small town Sunshine Falls for a few weeks— the inspiration for Nora’s client’s latest successful book. Which was also the topic of said ‘less than ideal encounter.’
Their passive-aggressive banter turns into flirting and possibly something more.
As they co-edit a book together, they have to figure out if their love is just the small-town-Hallmark-movie magic or if they can survive back in New York City, Nora’s home.
This book is more than just a romance— it is about family, sister bonds, and grief.
It was the winner in the Romance category for the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards.
Read my review to see what I liked and what I didn’t like, and a few fun references from the book!
Check out these other reading lists!