Read Harder Archive

Getting Meta With It: Books About Books

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If there is one thing that nearly every reader can agree with, it’s this: reading books about books is a given. Whether those books about books are fiction or nonfiction, a reader can appreciate a good story or deep dive set in or about the vast world of books. Nerding out or falling in love with something you already know you love via an activity you love is hard to beat.

Books about books are relatable. You don’t need a whole lot of backstory nor context to understand why bookish books have appeal. It is a given that if you’re reading a book, you understand the power that books hold.

Let’s dive into the world of books about books. Some of these will be romantic, others will be informative, and still others will be the kinds of fun romps perfect to pick up year-round. Any of these books will tick the box for Read Harder’s Task 20, but chances are, you’ll be seeing where and how you can slide some of these books about books into other categories (and, of course, beyond!). These are all books published for adults, but there are also so many excellent books about books for YA readers, middle grade readers, and picture book readers, too. Obviously, this is far from comprehensive but rather a sampling platter.

book lovers book cover

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Nora is a literary agent, and her life is books. She’s not a cute or plucky character but she is passionate about her job, her clients, and her little sister Libby. Nora agrees to take a month-long sister trip with Libby to a small town in North Carolina. While Libby has dreams of giving Nora a small-town romance story setup, Nora has the unfortunate experience of continuing to run into Charlie. She knows him from back in the city, as he’s an editor she has worked with many times.

But as they run into each other again and again, perhaps it’s not the meet-cute either Nora nor Charlie envisioned. It might instead be the love story they refuse to let themselves have.

the borrower book cover

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

Lucy is a children’s librarian in Hannibal, Missouri. Her favorite patron, a 10-year-old boy named Ian Drake, has always needed her help to borrow books that his mother wouldn’t want him to get his hands on. Ian’s mother has enrolled him in an anti-gay camp and he’s had to deal with listening to celebrity Pastor Bob talk about how terrible he is.

When Lucy stumbles upon Ian hiding in the library after it’s closed for the day with a bag full of provisions, she’s unsure what to do. Ian, however, has a plan and he convinces Lucy to take him on a road trip from Missouri to Vermont. What unravels is a wild road trip that has Lucy concerned she’s not only doing the wrong thing—even if Ian seems to have a solid plan—but worried that there are people on their tails when she has no idea what awaits at their destination.

Kelly Jensen

Editor

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She’s the editor/author of (DON’T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen.

the cat who saved books book cover

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai

Rintaro Natsuki is a high schooler who inherited an old bookstore from his grandfather. Unfortunately, the bookstore isn’t doing great and he’s going to have to shut it down.

But then a mysterious cat appears. That mysterious cat talks, and he tells Rintaro that they need to go on a mission together. The strange and enchanting duo are embarking on a journey to rescue books throughout the land. This is a charming and light read about the power of words and stories, as well as the power of magic and friendship—even unlikely ones between a talking cat and a teenager.

The Cat Who Saved Books is in translation from Japanese.

erotic stories for punjabi widows book cover

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

It is books that help a community of London’s Sikh women find one another and build powerful, meaningful relationships.

When Nikki loses her father, she finds herself in a financial pickle. She’s a law school dropout who has been making as much of a Western life for herself in London. She takes a job teaching creative writing in a particularly vibrant Punjabi community in the city, but when several Sikh widows show up expecting a basic English literacy class, everyone is surprised. One of the widows finds a collection of short stories and brings it to class. It’s not an ordinary short story collection, though. It’s a collection of sexy stories, and Nikki begins to see the women before her in an entirely new light as they express desires and memories she never anticipated hearing. The class begins to attract more and more women as Nikki encourages them to express themselves—there’s just one (big) problem. No one can know because there’s a dangerous group of conservative men who would shut everything down in a heartbeat.

Of course word gets out. But the results are not what Nikki nor any of her class anticipate. The gossip getting around might unravel the truth behind a local murder.

the neighbor favor book cover

The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

Lily’s feeling adrift in her life in New York City. Her career began in a bookstore, where she found a children’s fantasy novel featuring Black elves that led her to want to get into publishing in order to put more books like that one on shelves. Now, she’s working as an assistant to a demanding editor working in adult nonfiction, and it is not at all what she wants…but she knows she needs to do it to get a leg into the industry.

As she’s on the subway heading home after a long, hot day, she decides to send an email to the author of this children’s book. The author had never had a website before—she’s checked—but now he does, and it has a contact email. She sends a message, with half of the words being cut off after she passes out. She doesn’t think she sent the overly flattering, fan-girly message, but she did. Over the course of several months, Lily and the author, who goes by Strick, have a budding relationship over email. He travels the world, and the book she found is one that was not his end goal in a career. The book was a flop by all measures, but her interest in it helps him develop an interest in her, too. It’s sweet…until he disappears off the planet days before the two planned to have a date via video.

The next few months are a blur for Lily as she’s feeling pressured to find a date for the wedding of one of her sisters. She’s had to move in with the other sister, too, since she could no longer afford to live on her own and she was not loving her roommate situation. So when a very cute new guy shows up in the apartment complex, she’s smitten….even if she is tongue-tied. He seems to love fantasy books, and she hopes to find the nerve to talk to him. Then they begin to talk…which leads him to her apartment…and him realizing that Lily is the girl he ghosted via email. The girl who loved his book. The girl who he can’t be with.

But she’s now asking him a favor: can he help her find a date for her sister’s wedding? And no, it doesn’t need to be him.

long live evil book cover

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

Rae’s life is in shambles. A rabid book lover, she makes a magical bargain. Now, she’s able to have a second life inside the world of her favorite fantasy book series.

But as she begins to engage with the Once and Forever Emperor, her favorite fictional character, Rae makes a huge discovery. Turns out she’s not the heroine in this story. She’s the villain, and honestly? She’s not mad about it.

As Rae steps into the role and builds an allyship to take down a kingdom, things aren’t going well. The body count is growing and the anger of the Emperor might bring the end of Rae’s life in the story. Then what?

This is the first in a series and is the debut adult novel of Sarah Rees Brennan.

read dangerously book cover

Read Dangerously by Azar Nafisi

It would be disingenuous to not discuss book censorship in this roundup of books about books. This is the first of two books that take on the importance of books to a functioning democracy.

Nafisi writes from her experience as an immigrant to the US from the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as a professor in both countries. The book explores the ways books are essential to understanding political realities and how literature is not only resistance but can be a tool for healing trauma, pain, and more.

If you like this book, you’ll want to pick up Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran as well.

the sentence book cover

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Set over the course of one year, from All Saints’ Day 2019 to All Saints’ Day in 2020, this story follows the haunting of a Minnesota independent bookstore by one of its most frustrating customers named Flora. She died on All Saints’ Day in 2019, and now, Tookie—a new bookseller in the store who spent the last several years incarcerated and cites reading as what helped her through that experience—is going to get to the bottom of why Flora’s there and what it is she wants.

that librarian book cover

That Librarian by Amanda Jones

Amanda Jones, a decorated Louisiana school librarian, stood up against book banning in her local public library and what transpired has been several years of litigation against extremists who began to harass her and begin a campaign calling her a groomer (and more). This book is both her story and experience being put through hell over doing the right thing. It’s also a call for other people to step up, recognize, and act on behalf of the marginalized folks whose stories are being banned nationwide.

As much as we can emphasize what is happening in libraries and schools, it is sometimes the personal narrative like this that makes the pieces connect.

welcome to the hyunam-dong bookshop

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum, translated by Shanna Tan

This hugely popular cozy release in Korea has finally been translated and published in the US.

Yeongju has done everything she was supposed to, from going to school, marrying the right person, and getting a good job. But she is burned out and her life is falling apart. She does what anyone in that position might dream of: she walks away and instead, opens up a bookstore in a Seoul neighborhood.

The bookstore is special for every reason bookstores are special, of course, but Yeongju and her customers have found this place to be a particularly importance place of refuge. Yeongju’s bookstore is where those people can come and discover the paths they’re truly meant to follow.

when books went to war book cover

When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning

Did you know that paperback books were developed and became popular because of World War II? While Nazis were burning books by the truckload, American troops were being supplied with books from home that were collected and donated. But as the war developed, publishers worked with the War Department to create a lightweight, portable solution to keep soldiers entertained and educated in the form of paperback books.

This is a book about the Armed Services Editions, as well as the impact that access to books had in the war. Titles that may have never reached the levels of popularity have become classics, thanks in part to getting into the hands of the troops.

Need more books about books? Have we ever got you covered!

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