15 Books about Books
Clock Tower Books, Hay-on-Wye, Wales
People who love reading usually also love a good book about books—stories about libraries, bookshops, or my favorite, inspired-by-a-classic-reads. Here are a few I’ve read in recent years (click on the links for a more thorough summary):
First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen* by Charlie Lovett
Mysterious, bookish, and Jane Austen ticks a lot of my boxes.
The Eyre Affair* by Jasper Fforde
This is the first Thursday Next novel, a quirky series that takes place in an alternate version of England in the 1980s. It is clever, nerdy, funny, and irreverent at times. But it also has time travel and traveling into books and a lot of grammar humor. I have a lot of affection for this series.
The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids* by Sarah Mackenzie
If you have kids in your life, this is a fabulous resource on the benefits of reading aloud to them. The high-quality book lists in the back are divided by age groups. Sarah gives recommendations I trust.
I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life* by Anne Bogel
A small book of essays for all who love reading, I read it on a plane.
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore* by Robin Sloane
This bookstore is more than at seems: secret societies, new technology, and reading. It has a weird vibe at times.
The Bookshop on the Shore* by Jenny Colgan
This is the second in a series of loosely connected novels. I haven’t read the first, and it didn’t affect my experience. A single mother in London finds a new life in Scotland as a nanny and part-time bookmobile driver around Loch Ness. Insert Jane Eyre references here.
Book Girl: A Journey through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life* by Sarah Clarkson
A book of essays and book lists upholding the value of beautiful and virtuous stories, it will inspire you to make a reading list.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library* by Chris Grabenstein
This is a fun middle-grade novel with lots of puzzles to solve and classic book references that inspires kids to go to the source material.
Some Writer!: The Story of E.B. White* by Melissa White
I loved this beautiful book composed of old photos and letters that tells the story of E.B. White’s life. Bonus points for the Charlotte’s Web reference in the title.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry* by Gabrielle Zevin
I’m looking forward to re-visiting this one I read several years ago. My Goodreads review tells me it’s a book for book-lovers, so I believe my past self.
Dear Mr. Knightley* by Katherine Reay
Maybe it was just the right book at the right time for me, but I remember loving this modern-day Daddy Longlegs when I read it several years ago. You can tell from the title it has a lot of Jane Austen overtones.
Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What my Favorite Book Taught Me about Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All* by Lorilee Craker
This is a lovely blend of literature, gospel, and memoir.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society* by Mary Ann Shaffer
Books bind a group of unlikely people together during WWII on German-occupied Guernsey.
The Neverending Story* by Michael Ende
I get a lot of pleasure by the author’s last name being “Ende,” since his story is neverending, but I digress. This fantasy novel is a story within a story.
The Dante Club* by Matthew Pearl
It has probably been a decade since I read this grisly mystery. I do remember the murders being gory, but I appreciated all the literary references and the detectives including Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Let me know about your favorite books about books! I did a quick Google search after making my list to see if there were any I’d read I missed and quickly jotted down 8 more books that caught my eye.
*I use affiliate links for Bookshop.org.