Books about Libraries
Celebrate Canadian Library Month with these books about libraries
The binding
Collins, Bridget, author
2019
Young Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a strange letter arrives summoning him away from his family. He is to begin an apprenticeship as a Bookbinder--a vocation that arouses fear, superstition, and prejudice among their small community but one neither he nor his parents can afford to refuse. For as long as he can recall, Emmett has been drawn to books, even though they are strictly forbidden. Bookbinding is a sacred calling, Seredith informs her new apprentice, and he is a binder born. Under the old woman's watchful eye, Emmett learns to hand-craft the elegant leather-bound volumes. Within each one they will capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there's something you want to forget, a binder can help. If there's something you need to erase, they can assist. Within the pages of the books they create, secrets are concealed and the past is locked away. In a vault under his mentor's workshop, rows upon rows of books are meticulously stored. But while Seredith is an artisan, there are others of their kind, avaricious and amoral tradesman who use their talents for dark ends--and just as Emmett begins to settle into his new circumstances, he makes an astonishing discovery: one of the books has his name on it. Soon, everything he thought he understood about his life will be dramatically rewritten.--Provided by publisher.
The book of doors : a novel
Brown, Gareth, author
2024
Cassie Andrews works in a bookshop living an unassuming, ordinary life. When one of her favourite customers dies right in front of her, she is left with the last book he was reading. But this is no ordinary book. It's a book that promises Cassie that "any door is every door." You just need to know how to open them. The tome, now in Cassie's possession, is not the only book with great power, but it is the one most coveted by those who collect them. There are those willing to kill to obtain those secrets. And a dark force - in the form of a shadowy, sadistic woman - is at the very top of that list
The book that wouldn't burn
Lawrence, Mark, 1966-, author
2023
The boy has lived his whole life trapped within a book-choked chamber older than empires and larger than cities. The girl has spent hers in a tiny settlement out on the Dust, where nightmares stalk and no one goes. The world has never even noticed them. That's about to change. Their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another. A journey on which knowledge erodes certainty and on which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned.
The bookbinder : a novel
Williams, Pip, 1969-, author
2023
It is 1914, and as the war draws the young men of Britain away to fight, women must keep the nation running. Two of those women are Peggy and Maude, twin sisters who live on a narrowboat in Oxford and work in the bindery at the university press. Then refugees arrive from the war-torn cities of Belgium, sending ripples through the Oxford community and the sisters' lives. Peggy begins to see the possibility of another future where she can educate herself and use her intellect, not just her hands. But as war and illness reshape her world, her love for a Belgian soldier-and the responsibility that comes with it-threaten to hold her back.
The library : a fragile history
Pettegree, Andrew, author
2021
In this meticulously written and deeply researched book, this history of the library, from the ancient world to the digital age, introduces readers to the antiquarians and the philanthropists who shaped the world's great collections.
The library : an illustrated history
Murray, Stuart, 1948-
2009
The history of libraries from ancient to modern times is presented through a review of the types of documents stored, the structures themselves, the way they have been managed, and the important part they have played in every culture around the world.
The library book
Orlean, Susan, author
2018
The morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As one fireman recounted, "Once that first stack got going, it was 'Goodbye, Charlie.' Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, reporter and bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.
Library books are not for eating!
Tarpley, Todd, author
2020
"Ms. Bronte loves being a teacher, but she has one small problem . . . she also really loves eating books. Did I mention she's also a dinosaur?"-- Provided by publisher.
The lost bookshop
Woods, Evie, author
2023
On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found... For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives. But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder... where nothing is as it seems.
The lost library
McGeachin, Jess, author, illustrator.
2022
"When Oliver finds a lost library book fluttering behind a secret door in his bedroom, he knows he must return it. But when he does, a mysterious world opens up beneath his feet, taking Oliver, his new friend Rosie, and the book in tow. What--or who--will they find waiting in this strange new place? And how will they escape?"-- Provided by publisher.
The midnight library
Haig, Matt, 1975- author
2020
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop
Hwang, Po-rŭm author
2024
With her high-flying career, demanding marriage, and busy life in Seoul, Yeongju knows she should feel successful, but all she feels is drained. In a leap of faith, she leaves her old life behind. Quitting her job and divorcing her husband, Yeongju moves to a small residential neighbourhood outside the city, where she opens the Hyunam-dong Bookshop. Surrounded by friends, writers, and the books that connect them all, she finds her new story as the Hyunam-dong Bookshop transforms into an inviting space for lost souls to rest, heal, and remember that it's never too late to scrap the plot and start again.
Why we read : on bookworms, libraries and just one more page before lights out
Reed, Shannon, author
2024
In this uproarious exploration of the joys of reading, a long-time teacher, lifelong reader and The New Yorker contributor shares surprising stories from her life and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students and shows us how literature can transform us for the better.