There is a large subset of the readerly community that tremendously enjoys stories set in the publishing world, in bookstores, about authors, or about other devoted readers. In short, these readers love books about books.
Admittedly, not everyone who loves to read books will also like to read about them. But if you are one of the many readers who enjoy this sub-genre, then this list of books about books is for you. Keep scrolling for an embarrassment of literary riches as characters read and write their way across the pages!
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18 Books About Books
In this story, Rosemary Gresham, former street urchin, is asked to pose as a personal librarian in order to spy on Peter Holstein. Because of his German heritage, he is suspected of colluding with the wrong side as World War I is beginning in 1914 England. There is a love story, bookish references galore, and Peter is an author who writes anonymously under a pen name.
Read my full review of this book here.
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
It’s difficult to categorize this book about a young man who takes a job at a bookstore that is far from ‘normal’. The owner is eccentric, the hours are strange, and there are peculiar visitors that all seem to be taking part in a mysterious quest. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this story, but it was funny and entertaining all the way through.
This is an epistolary novel, filled with letters exchanged between a writer and book collector in New York and a used-book dealer in London. The first letter arrives in 1949 and the two share a sweet friendship over the following 20 years, connecting over a love of books despite being thousands of miles apart.
When Madeline inherits her aunt’s bookstore, she has plans to sell it quickly and go back to the career to worked hard to pursue. She doesn’t intend to get attached to the store, find friends in the employees, and she certainly doesn’t mean to fall in love with a handsome gardener. This is book focuses on how messy families can be, but how valuable they are anyway.
Read my full review of this book here.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
Cussy Mary is unique in her community for several reasons. She is both a traveling librarian for the Kentucky Pack Horse Library Service and one of the last of a family of blue-skinned people. She faces many abuses and prejudices as she tries to carry out her duties, but I will go ahead and assure you that this book does have a hopeful ending.
This story is best described as a cozy mystery with hints of magical realism. It follows soft-spoken librarian Martha as her world is turned upside down when a mysterious book of fairy tales is left on her doorstep – with a dedication written to her by her deceased grandmother, Zelda. Now convinced that Zelda is alive, Martha sets off on a quest to find her, unearthing family secrets and finding herself along the way.
Read my full review of this book here.
After a bestselling debut novel, Tenley Roth is chagrined to find herself in a sophomore slump. Despite her imposter syndrome and quickly approaching deadline, she packs up and moves to Florida to care for her mother after a cancer diagnosis, and finds herself entwined in a story that speaks to her. One hundred years earlier, Birdie longs to be a writer, and get out from under her mother’s thumb. Will she have what it takes to make her own path? This is a book about writing and how dedication is better than talent.
In Regency England, female authors are viewed with suspicion at best. After a scandal sends her into hiding, Mariah Aubrey writes in secret to support herself without further damaging her reputation. When Captain Matthew Bryant leases a manor house, he is immediately intrigued by the lovely occupant of the gatehouse. Will they be able to overcome the challenges that lay between them and solve the mysteries the old estate presents to them?
After her mother’s death, Sophie found herself responsible for her two younger siblings, but now they are both on their own and it’s time for her to follow her dream of opening a bookshop. The only thing that can stand in her way? A hurricane that traps her in a guest house with the man who broke her heart years earlier. The forced proximity dredges up old feelings, and Aiden understands that this is his chance to make things right, if he can be courageous enough to risk his heart.
Short and sweet at only 98 pages, this is the story of a middle-aged woman in the early 1900’s who tires of caring for her curmudgeonly bachelor brother and impulsively purchases a traveling bookshop. She takes off on the adventure of a lifetime, driving her wagon full of books across the countryside and meeting many interesting folks along the way, some friendly and some not. This is a charming story of a woman reinventing herself with books at the center of it all.
The only other nonfiction title on this list, The Library Book is a surprisingly fascinating look at the history of the Los Angeles Public Library, building up to the fire that took place there in 1986 and damaged hundreds of thousands of books. Was the fire set on purpose? If so, who was at fault? While the main focus is on the Los Angelos Public Library, the author presents myriad research that highlights the evolution of libraries in America and the important role they played in history and in the present day.
A young woman working in her family’s bookshop uncovers a hundred-year-old set of letters that point to mysterious romance and a lost inheritance that could keep the struggling shop afloat. Dual-timelines follow Clara as she digs into family secrets and Sadie as she crosses social lines in order to be with the man she loves.
The Librarian of Boone’s Hollow
When Addie learns that she will no longer be able to attend college after her father joins the ranks of the unemployed during the Great Depression, she knows she will have to pay her own way. She is excited to take on a new challenge as a packhorse librarian, a job that seems suited to her love of books and aspirations as an author. But adjusting to life in this tight knit community won’t be easy since most everyone is superstitious and highly suspicious of outsiders.
This is such a fun book! It’s a rom-com with You’ve Got Mail vibes as a young author tries to figure out who is leaving notes on the manuscript she left in what she thought was a secret hideaway in the publishing office where she works. The two develop an affection for each other as they go back and forth in the margins while opposing each other in real life.
Written nearly seventy years ago, this classic about a dystopian future where books are illegal is unsettling and certainly stands the test of time. In this world, firemen start fires as they burn piles of confiscated books, with the title of the book describing the temperature of the fires. In the story, we see one fireman begin to question what he thinks he knows about books and their significance when he meets a girl whose family is different from everyone else he knows.
When quiet, organized Mary accepts a surprise invitation from her childhood friend Isabel to spend a two-week historical vacation in Jane Austen’ bath, she never expects that Isabel will lose her memories. Now Isabel believes she is really living in Regency England, leaving Mary to unravel the mystery of what happened to Isabel and figure out what to do next. This story is funny and poignant by turns, and a perfect fit for Austen fans.
Read my full review of this book here.
Eager to help provide for her family during the Great Depression, Tansy Calhoun accepts a job as a packhorse librarian. This puts her in contact with the many isolated families spread out in her territory in the Appalachian mountains, including Perdita Sweet, an old woman whose grouchy exterior hides a kind heart. As Tansy gets to know a handsome author who is doing research in the area, she thinks she might have found a husband, but Perdita knows better.
The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck
When Sarah Hollenbeck finds Jesus she also finds herself in a mess since she no longer feels she can write the steamy romances that made her famous and she still has a contract with her publisher. As she tries to figure out a better way to use her talent for writing, things are made more complicated when she begins falling in love with the pastor at the church she starts attending. When he and his parishioners learn of her sordid past, will they cast her out? This a rom-com with a serious side and an imperfect heroine you can’t help but root for.
