Riot Headline The Best Books of 2024
Libraries

32 Of Your Favorite Books Featuring Librarians

Jamie Canaves

Contributing Editor

Jamie Canavés is the Tailored Book Recommendations coordinator and Unusual Suspects mystery newsletter writer–in case you’re wondering what you do with a Liberal Arts degree. She’s never met a beach she didn’t like, always says yes to dessert, loves ‘80s nostalgia, all forms of entertainment, and can hold a conversation using only gifs. You can definitely talk books with her on Litsy and Goodreads. Depending on social media’s stability maybe also Twitter and Bluesky.

This Riot Recommendation with for your favorite books featuring librarians is sponsored by the audiobook edition of The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves.

The Girl He Used To Know cover imageJonathan and Annika first meet at chess club in college, where Jonathan loses his first game of chess, and his heart, Annika. Brilliant but shy, Annika prefers to be alone. But Jonathan accepts that about her, admiring Annika, quirks and all. Their relationship that follows is tumultuous, but strong, until an unforeseen tragedy forces them apart. A decade later, fate brings them back together… She’s a librarian and he’s a divorced Wall Street whiz seeking a fresh start. Their feelings are instantly rekindled, but until they confront the fears and anxieties that drove them apart, their second chance will end before it truly begins.


Let’s move far past the stereotype of librarians just shushing people—I mean, come on!—and talk about how awesome they are, in a difficult job that goes far beyond just loving books. We asked you for your fav books featuring librarians so we could check them out at the library—ha, sorry I took the low hanging fruit. But, seriously, we rounded up your responses into a list of books featuring librarians that you can check out…I’ll see myself out now.

Dig into these fabulous books about the wonderful folks who call themselves librarians. book lists | books about librarians | books about libraries | best books about librarians

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Grimm Legacy Series by Polly Shulman

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don’t) by Barbara Bottner, Michael Emberley

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Discworld series by Terry Pratchett

Aurora Teagarden series by Charlaine Harris

Library Lovers mysteries by Jenn McKinlay

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Cat in the Stack Mystery Series by: Miranda James

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

The Giants House by Elizabeth McCracken

Ophelia And Abby Literary series by Shirley Damsgaard

The Great Library series by Rachel Caine

Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde

Alcatraz Vs the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

The Loop by Joe Coomer

The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

All Of A Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

Property of the Rebel Librarian by Allison Varnes

Dewey Decimated by Charles A. Goodrum

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

Carbs and Cadavers by Ellery Adams

Among Others by Jo Walton

The Jacqueline Kirby series by Elizabeth Peters

Sabriel by Garth Nix

IT by Stephen King

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith