Friday, December 16, 2016

5 Books to Read if You Love Books About Books (AND INKHEART)

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Yesterday, I posted a review for The Book Jumper talking about my disappointment because I am really into books about books and thought I’d do a follow-up today recommending some A+ books about books (most I’ve read and others come highly recommended by friends.)

1. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Whenever I make recommendation lists, I don’t have any particular order in which I list the books in but The Invisible Library is #1 on this list because it was one of my fav books of 2016 and I didn’t have a lot of favs. IT IS ULTIMATE BOOK PORN. Blurb in a sentence: Detective Librarians who venture into alternate universes to find and protect different versions of books or find new ones that only exist in that universe.

2. Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

You may have seen this one roaming around the blogosphere last year when it came out and I am here to tell you it is more than just a book that exists to look pretty on your shelves. I will be the first to admit this might not be everyone’s cup of tea because it is very slow but it is SO WORTH IT. Blurb in a sentence: A reality in which the Library of Alexandria survived the tests of time and is now a VILLAIN. EVIL LIBRARIES FTW.

3. Libromancer by Jim C. Hines

DONT JUDGE THIS BOOK BY ITS UGLY-ASS COVER. I read this one because my friend forced me to recommended it to me and I AM GLAD I DID because holy wow. Also definitely book porn for readers. It is very much adult fic but so so good. Blurb in a sentence(ish): Libromancers are readers with powers. They can draw objects from books to help aid them in the fight to evil. All Libromancers tend to have gigantic personal libraries they can access too. Like I said, book porn for readers.

4. The Reader by Traci Chee

While I have not read this book, it has come highly recommended from friends and has a gorgeous cover. I cannot fangirl about it as much since I OBVIOUSLY HAVENT READ IT but here is the blurb in a sentence: In a world where reading (seems to be) outlawed, a girl discovers a book and slowly discovers all the secrets its been hiding. DUN DUN DUN DUN.

5. The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

This one is a short story I only recently discovered (aka while I was doing a little research for this post) but IT SOUNDS SO GOOD. Blurb in a sentence: “The story of a lonely boy, a mysterious girl, and a tormented sheep man plotting their escape from a nightmarish library.” (Actually taken from GR blurb because I don’t think I could make it sound any better than that.)

BONUS

If you read mangas, you may want to add this one on your list because it sounds so GOOD.

Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 1 by Kiiro Yumi, Hiro Arikawa

My friend and I were having a discussion about books about books and how a+ they are and he recommended me this manga which sounded A+. Blurb in a sentence(ish): A government that created a committee to get rid of unsuitable books & a Library Defense Force that will fight against the government to protect those books = war. Very reminiscent of our fight against banned books if I do say so.

Any other books about books you would recommend? TELL ME ALL ABOUT THEM.

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Rashika has been tired since 2013. There are very few things that spark joy for her besides a nice cup of tea, warm, baked goods, good books and good TV shows. She is here to pile onto your giant TBRs and to-watch lists. Offer her a cookie and she might be nice to you.

11 Responses to “5 Books to Read if You Love Books About Books (AND INKHEART)”

  1. chelsea w

    Have you read a book called The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon? I always think of it when I feel guilty about being online too much haha, but it is a good book about a dictionary and libraries and such!

  2. Jordan

    I loved The Invisible Library so much! It was honestly so much fun and definitely ultimate book porn. I’ve heard good things about Libriomancer, and I really hope to pick it up soon. I’m also a huge Murakami fan, but haven’t gotten around to The Strange Library – but I’m planning to read it sometime this winter break (hopefully)! Awesome list, thanks for the recommendations! 🙂

  3. Sarah

    If you like books about books – you should really check out Michelle Harrison’s “The Other Alice” – it was one of my favourite books this year and very ink-heart-esk in how characters came to life. Otherwise thanks for the recommendations… thats more books added to my wishlist lol

  4. Vickie

    I loved the Murakami book too – I have written down the ones I haven’t read because I love books about books. My personal favorite is The Shadow in The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Thanks for this list

  5. Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight

    Gah, I NEED to read these. Especially since.. well, you and I had the feelings about Book Jumper 😉 I own three of them (Invisible Library, Ink and Bone, and The Reader) and REALLY want to read them allllll. We should read The Reader together! Also, I was totally judging Ugly Cover. That was wrong. I shall try to give him a chance 😉 Thanks for sharing these, this is a great list!