Obsessive personalities don’t do things by halves.
If they’re into a particular band, they’ll learn the lyrics to every song until we’re word-perfect. The same goes for TV series: the more intricate, the better. All waking hours will become dedicated to binge-watching every scene and consuming all character lore and wild online fan-fiction.
When it comes to literature, true bookworms get their kicks by exploring literature which is about the very concept of literature. Though the genre ‘metafiction’ is typically used to describe texts which self-consciously refer to their own fictional nature for satirical or parodic purposes, it’s also fitting when talking about books which are themselves about books.
We’re talking about fiction and non-fiction texts which are about everything from the act of storytelling, a sincere love of books, the power of reading, the nature of language, the upkeep of modern and historical libraries, the censorship of literature throughout time, and so much more.
Those who enjoy a literary yarn tend to find themselves in existential crises thinking about the sheer number of books in circulation, and the inability to read even a minute selection of them in a lifetime. Engaging in stories which reflect this unique anxiety, however, can offer up a sense of solidarity to those who have felt the transformative effects of reading.
For instance, budding bookworms may have recognised themselves in the nose-in-a-book Belle of Beauty and the Beast; ever-ambitious and wildly talented writer Jo March from Little Women; or the eponymous Harry Potter. While on the tempestuous journey into young adulthood, book lovers may then develop a literary itch which can only be scratched by texts which similarly reflect this rather wonderful hobby.
This may be achieved through a series of protagonists who bond over a love for reading, tales about inspiring authors, or historical novels which recount the horrors of literary censorship over the centuries and its impact on the lives and educations of populations across the globe.
We’ve curated a selection of the best books about books, from metafictional classics including burn-after-reading Fahrenheit 451 and stories that emphasise the consciousness-altering, life-affirming power of reading. Keep scrolling to dive in.
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Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
A masterful piece of dystopian fiction, Fahrenheit 451 is about a fireman whose job is to burn books, which are forbidden in this world.
An almost prophetic account of a conformist society enslaved to popular media and drugs, it is literature that is considered the source of the population’s failures and unhappiness – and therefore must be destroyed. Our book-burning fireman Guy Montag, however, begins to question the morality of destroying knowledge.
If you’re lucky, you might be able to find a limited edition copy of this book, which comes with matches and a striker attached to the spine.
Buy now £9.99, Waterstones
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
The Morisaki bookshop has been in 25-year-old Takako’s family for generations. Tucked away in a quiet street corner in Jimbocho, Tokyo, the book lover’s paradise seems to appeal to everyone but the heir apparent to the hidden second-hand institution.
That is, until Takako learns of her boyfriend’s desire to marry someone else. Heartbroken and with nowhere else to turn, she begrudgingly accepts her Uncle Satoru’s invitation to live rent-free in the room above his beloved bookshop.
A treatise on the healing power of literature, enjoy the rather meta-fictional journey of Takako as she attempts to mend a broken heart.
Buy now £9.49, Waterstones
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
A life-affirming tale narrated by Death himself, Zusak’s beloved novel takes place in Nazi Germany in 1939.
Through Death, we follow the story of a nine-year-old girl named Liesel who has developed a habit of stealing books. Liesel is living with a foster family on Himmel Street, for her parents have been taken to a concentration camp. The voice of Death frequently moves between first to third person throughout the novel, describing the thoughts, feelings and motivations of Liesel and her fellow companions on Himmel Street.
Buy now £6.29, Amazon
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
In this non-fiction story of a fire at Los Angeles Public Library in 1989, Susan Orleans discusses the devastating repercussions of the loss of community literature. Through her own love of reading, Orleans illustrates the wider importance of public libraries across the globe with regards to national identity, interpersonal relationships and global politics while delving into the history of libraries themselves.
Buy now £11.17, Amazon
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
A tale on the power of reading and its ability to forge lifelong friendships, The Reading List is about the nine beloved stories which draw two unlikely individuals together.
Eighty-year-old widower Mukesh Patel meets a local 17-year-old librarian named Aleisha, who is the keeper of a strange, faded reading list that she found hidden in the folds of a tattered copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Together, they endeavour to read all the stories on Aleisha’s mystery list and discover the magical, healing power of literature in the process.
Buy now £9.99, Waterstones
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
A marvellous tale of four ‘little women’ who come of age during Civil War New England, Louisa May Alcott’s novel has been enjoyed for generations. It follows the lives of the four March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy – and their unwavering bond as they navigate the winding road to womanhood.
Buy now £13.59, Amazon
Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
A collection of essays written by an author utterly obsessed with reading, Anne Fadiman’s Ex Libris is the perfect gift for any book lover.
Humorous and wonderfully erudite, we learn of how Fadiman’s first exposure to the concept of sex was through her father’s copy of Fanny Hill, and how she once read a manual for a 1974 Toyota Corolla cover-to-cover because she couldn’t find any new material.
Buy now £10.99, Waterstones
The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan
Released in March 2024, Jennifer Ryan writes of the importance of libraries in times of conflict. We follow the young librarians of Bethnal Green Library as they attempt to resuscitate the beating heart of their humble community in the wake of the Blitz and their troubles.
Buy now £22.00, Waterstones
The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft
Jennifer Croft’s fascinating read focuses on the power and influence of language itself, without which we’d have no stories to pass on.
The novel is about a group of eight translators who find themselves in the middle of a forest bordering Belarus. Inhabiting a small house within the trees is a preeminent author named Irena Rey, and the translators have arrived to translate her book Grey Eminence – that is, until Irena disappears without a trace.
Buy now £15.63, Amazon
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
The ever-curious young Esme spends her childhood watching and listening as her father and his team gather the words that will make-up the first ever Oxford English Dictionary. When Esme notices a slip of paper containing an unclaimed word, she begins to collect lost words for her very own, secret dictionary.
Buy now £8.99, Amazon
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
A moving, epistolary love story between a freelance writer living in New York City and a second-hand book dealer in London, 84, Charing Cross Road covers the intricacies of a long-distance twenty-year relationship which has been sustained by a mutual love for literature.
Buy now £8.25, Amazon
The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
Think of A.J. Hackwith’s Hell’s Library trilogy as a deeper, darker imagining of Cornelia Funke’s beloved Inkheart.
It takes place within the folds of the Devil’s library – a shadowy annexe which exists within the most cavernous circle of the inferno. Within its sprawling stacks exists the Unwritten Wing, a neutral space where unfinished novels are filed away. Presided over by a Librarian named Claire, our protagonist oversees many menial librarian tasks, including organising and cataloguing. However, she must also keep an eye on restless stories whose characters run the risk of escaping into the circles of hell.
When a tempestuous hero escapes a novel in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of some colleagues – a chase that, of course, goes horribly wrong.
Buy now £9.99, Waterstones
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Originally published in 2006, The Historian is a cult classic among lovers of the dark academia genre, which would’ve been referred to as gothic fantasy at the time.
Through the voice of an unnamed female narrator, we are plunged into a metaphysical, palimpsestic narrative which begins upon her discovery of an ancient book and collection of letters in her father’s library. Little does the teen protagonist know, she has stumbled upon a mystery which is her birthright to solve.
She must discover the truth behind Vlad the Impaler by the crossing barriers of time, geographical borders, and the line between fantasy and historical truth.
Buy now £7.99, Amazon
Babel by R.F. Kuang
If you’ve ever found yourself enraptured by the mythological concept of the Library of Alexandria, then R.F. Kuang’s Babel is for you.
The capital of all knowledge and progress in the world is an alternate, mythical re-imagining of Oxford, England. At its centre lies the Royal Institute of Translation (nicknamed Babel), and our orphaned protagonist Robin Swift can think of no better location to spend his days. Following themes of the power of language and imperialism, Swift quickly discovers he must do all he can to battle the systemic injustice brought about by the world's most prestigious institutions.
Buy now £7.99, Amazon
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
A fantasy novel written with romantics and dark academia enthusiasts in mind, A Discovery of Witches is about a centuries-old vampire, a reluctant witch and a mysterious alchemical manuscript hidden in the depths of Oxford’s Bodleian library. An object desperate to be discovered, Diana Bishop unwittingly comes across the ancient, bewitched text during the course of her research – and it changes her existence forever.
Buy now £8.09, Amazon
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
The first of the Inkheart trilogy, you may recall the Hollywood adaptation featuring Brendan Fraser. A fantasy series which chronicles the adventures of the young Meggie Folchart upon her discovery that both she and her bookbinder father, Mo, have the mysterious ability to read stories into existence – Funke’s beloved story is a tale of magic, mystery, mayhem and triumph. When her father accidentally reads to life the villainous Capricorn from the novel Inkheart, Mo and Meggie must work together to prevent evil from taking over the world.
Buy now £6.29, Amazon
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien
If you’ve already devoured The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit multiple times, The Silmarillion will simply astonish you.
Edited and featuring maps crafted by Tolkien's son, this novel is arguably one of his most complex works. It tells the tale of the Elder Days – the first age of Tolkien’s world. Providing immense detail on the ancient stories referred to throughout his later novels, The Silmarillion sheds light on all those questions and concerns fans of Tolkien’s work may have subconsciously raised.
While the book features several shorter works, each storyline takes place within the age of Morgoth, the first Dark Lord who dwelt in Middle Earth. The High Elves waged war on him to recover the Silmarils – the jewels which contain the pure light of Valinor. In many ways, it is a book about the Lord of the Rings series.
Buy now £9.19, Amazon
