I love books with bookish themes. Whether it's a fiction novel with a character who loves to read or a non fiction account on one's life surrounding reading, I love them all. Here are just some of the books that I personally have read and own.
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- The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
FictionThis book is set in an English town, featuring colorful characters. The main character's father owns a bookshop, and that is also where she likes to spend most of her time. The overall feel and the Gothic atmosphere this book has is so great. It also has some of the best quotes related to books and reading. - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
FictionI would only give this novel a 3 star rating, but I have to add this to this list because The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is every bookish person's dream; each chapter contains quotes from several books written by authors we love from Roald Dahl to Flannery O' Connor to F. Scott Fitzgerald. It also features a character who owns a bookstore! - The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
FictionI highly recommend this book full of various fairy tale retellings especially if you love dark and grim (that pun) stories. The stories here are twisted, and appropriately so, as they were originally told that way by the Grimm brothers. - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Historical FictionEven though this novel has a lot of themes and story lines not related to books, books do play a big part, especially in the main character's life. - Where Books Fall Open
Non-FictionThis is a collection full of essays, prose, and poetry about books, literature, and reading. It also has various drawings and paintings that show readers. It's quite a lovely book to add to your collection! - The Library At Night by Alberto Manguel
Non-FictionThis book captured my interest from the very beginning. It is a must for any bibliophile! The author talks about the magic of libraries and their meanings in his own life. - A Gentle Madness by Nicholas A. Basbanes
Non-FictionThis is another non fiction book that is perfect for bibliophiles. It focuses on man's passion with books in history from the great library of Alexandria to the 20th Century. It's an interesting take, and if you like historical accounts and essays, I highly recommend this.
Do you know and love any bookish books? Let me know because I can't get enough of them.
My favorite bookish themed book would have to be Goodnight June. I still need to read Book Thief! I love when book stores or reading play a big part in a book.
ReplyDeleteI have to look at Goodnight June!
DeleteBooks about books are some of my very favorite :D Fikry is one of my recent favorite bookish reads but I'm always on the hunt for another!
ReplyDeleteWhere books fall open sounds really lovely, will have to track down a copy! xo
ReplyDeleteI've only read The Book of Lost Things from this list and it's one of my most favorite books. The non-fiction books on this list sound really fascinating, though.
ReplyDeleteThere's this book called Solitude by Anthony Storr. It's obvious about solitude, but the author talks a lot about literature and how it goes hand in hand with solitude for a lot of artists. It's a great read!
Hm, I like the idea behind Solitude. Thanks, I might have to check that one out.
DeleteMy favourite book about books is definitely The Reading Promise, by Alice Oseman. Loved it!
ReplyDeleteOhhh thank you so much for the recommendation!
DeleteI have a few of these on my tbr list.
ReplyDeleteAh, The Library At Night. Love. I'll have to try Where Books Fall Open :)
ReplyDeleteYes I recommend it! It's fun to read through.
DeleteWhat a great themed post! I may have to do one some day featuring the bookish books I've read. I recently finished AJ Fikry. I agree it's not the world's best book but it was so enjoyable. Loved the Book Thief. Thirteenth Tale has been on my TBR for ages.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alison! I agree, Fikry was enjoyable mainly because of its bookish charm!
DeleteThe Book Thief is one of my favorite books and I loved The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry too. I've heard good things about Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore but I haven't read it yet. I'll have to check out some of the other books on your shelf. I own a copy of The Heroine's Book Shelf (nonfiction essays about the heroines of various novels) and I like what I've read so far. There is a new book that we just got at the library called How to Be a Heroine which appears to be in the same vein. I am also anxiously awaiting Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Biography but I have to wait for the fourth printing to snag a copy. It is about Laura Ingalls Wilder, her daughter Rose and the writing of Little House on the Prairie. It has the real story (much darker) and notes made by Rose to improve it. There is even speculation that the real writer of the books is Rose who was an established writer already.
ReplyDeleteMr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore was great! I read it, but didn't include it because I didn't own a copy. I should have made a separate note for that! I highly recommend it.
DeleteI love reading books with bookish themes. I have only read the Fikry book (which I liked but didn't love) and have some of the others on my wishlist. Recently, I read Penelope Fitzgerald's The Bookshop and Haruki Murakami's the Strange Library - both were fun to read!
ReplyDeleteAh yes, The Bookshop! I totally forgot to add that here because I didn't own the book. And I haven't read The Strange Library. Maybe I'lll try it out.
DeleteI've read all of the fiction but some of the non-fiction books are new to me! What a great bunch!
ReplyDeleteI just finished How To Be A Heroine: Or What I've Learned From Reading Too Much. The author looks at her favorite heroines from a childhood perspective and from her adult point of view.
Interesting, thanks for that recommendation. I like that perspective.
DeleteI loved the Library at Night. It was so interesting and made me fall in love with libraries all over again.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I wanted to visit all the big libraries he mentioned.
DeleteGreat list. I haven't read any of these but I love books about books as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you Erin
DeleteI loved The Book of Lost Things and The Storied Life of A.J. Fiky (which I just finished - I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would!). A Gentle Madness has been on my TBR list for some time. I'll have to add Where Books Fall Open :)
ReplyDelete(Sorry for the double post, I hit enter too many times ^^;) My favourite book about books is Inkspell, the second book in the Inkheart trilogy (all three books are good but that's my favourite :P). It's about a man and his daughter who have the ability to 'read' characters out of (and into) books.
DeleteAw yay for Inkspell. Very bookish for sure!!
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