People who love books really take that love to another level, no? It always starts with the Scholastic Book Fair doesn’t it? You see all those shiny new books just waiting for a home and just have to have one, or several. We build our at-home libraries, keep our library membership active, hell some of us build our own Little Free Libraries to share with others.
Not only does this book blood run deep, but we even enjoy reading books about the importance of books. How meta is that? Books and stories are an incredible gift of insight into culture, ourselves and the human experience. With that in mind – here are ten books for people who love to read books about how great books are.
- The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin: This is the fictional story of Zofia, a young book-loving woman living through the Nazi occupation of Warsaw. She and her courageous friends take it upon themselves to preserve, lend, and hide books ordered destroyed by Hitler’s forces. Try not to cry as the importance of stories is on full display as people seek Zofia out – requesting any book that can transport them away from the hell they are living in.
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: A classic – yes, but if you haven’t read it yet there’s no time like the present. Set in a future American society where books have been completely outlawed and a fireman’s job is to burn any books he finds. Join Guy Montag as he becomes increasingly disillusioned with his role in a society that denies knowledge to its inhabitants.
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: A historical fiction novel set in Nazi Germany during WW2. Follow along with little Liesel as her foster father teaches her to read and she begins to share her (stolen) books with those in need, including someone hiding in her basement.
- Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi: A memoir about an inspiring teacher who secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. As Islamic morality squads staged arbitrary raids in Tehran, fundamentalists seized hold of the universities, and a blind censor stifled artistic expression, the girls in Azar Nafisi’s living room risked removing their veils and immersed themselves in the worlds of Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov.
- The Book Shop: A History of the American Book Store by Evan Friss: In nonfiction this history of bookshops draws on oral histories, archival collections, municipal records, diaries, letters, and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many. The story begins with Benjamin Franklin’s first bookstore in Philadelphia and takes us to a range of booksellers including the Strand, Chicago’s Marshall Field & Company, the Gotham Book Mart, specialty stores like Oscar Wilde and Drum and Spear, sidewalk sellers of used books, Barnes & Noble, Amazon Books, and Parnassus.
- Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman: This witty collection of essays recounts a lifelong love affair with books and language. For Fadiman, as for many passionate readers, the books she loves have become chapters in her own life story.
- The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett: This is the true story of a rare book thief, a detective, and a world of literary obsession. It’s a different, grittier take on the usual starry-eyed book love story that we’re used to. You’ve heard of art thieves, but there is just as much, if not more, call for stolen rare books. It’s a fascinating look at a journalist falling down the rabbit hole.
- The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page: When Janice starts cleaning for Mrs. B—a shrewd and prickly woman in her nineties—she finally meets someone who wants to hear her story. But Janice is clear: she is the keeper of stories, she doesn’t have a story to tell. At least, not one she can share. Mrs. B is no fool and knows there is more to Janice than meets the eye. What is she hiding? After all, doesn’t everyone have a story to tell?
- The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore: This cozy, romance mystery is on everyone’s TBR this Fall it seems. Hazel didn’t go looking for romance, but as the treasure hunt leads her and Noah around Dream Harbor, their undeniable chemistry might be just as hot as the fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns the bookstore sells…This is the perfect book for those wanting to enjoy a Hallmark-esque escape.
- 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff: This funny, poignant, classic love story unfolds through a series of letters between Helene Hanff, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a used-book dealer in London at 84, Charing Cross Road. Through the years, though never meeting and separated both geographically and culturally, they share a charming, sentimental friendship based on their common love for books.
I’d love to know your favorite book for people who love books. Leave a comment down below!
briennedaugherty.com 