Books About Books
Over here at Times Reads, we absolutely love our books. So it goes without saying that when we encounter books that are about books, we get extremely excited! For those of you who share our passion for books, here are some titles that you have to check out—thank us later.
When bookish young American Sylvia Beach opens Shakespeare and Company on a quiet street in Paris in 1919, the store becomes a second home to some of the most important literary figures—this is where friendships of the twentieth century are forged. The Paris Bookseller is the dramatic story of how Sylvia published James Joyce's controversial novel Ulysses and changed the course of literature itself. The perfect blend of history and books!
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When everything is lost, it’s our stories that survive. Cloud Cuckoo Land brings together an unforgettable cast of dreamers and outsiders from past, present and future to offer a vision of survival against all odds. Bound together by a single ancient text, these tales interweave to form a tapestry of solace and resilience and a celebration of storytelling itself. Like its predecessor All the Light We Cannot See, this novel is a tale of hope and of profound human connection.
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A small independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted by the store's most annoying customer. Flora dies on All Souls' Day, but she simply won't leave the store. Tookie, who has landed a job selling books after years of incarceration that she survived by reading "with murderous attention," must solve the mystery of this haunting while at the same time try to understand all that occurs in Minneapolis during a year of grief, astonishment, isolation, and furious reckoning.
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52 Award-Winning Titles Every Book Lover Should Read
Calling all book lovers! Expand your reading list with a one-year reading challenge from the American Library Association (ALA). Including the ALA's insights into each title, notes on the awards they've won, and prompts for further reflection, this journal is a must-have for all bibliophiles and library regulars. Includes pages for your personal reading log—perfect for sharing on social media!
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Library of Misremembered Books
How do you find a book when you can't recall the title…or the author? Readers know all too well the comedy and tragedy of forgetting the name of a must-find book. Inspired by this torturous predicament, artist Marina Luz creates paintings of books based on the descriptions we use when we can't remember their titles. This homage to a common reader's dilemma is a gift the book lover in your life won't soon forget!
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Inspired by Jules Verne's hero Phileas Fogg, this book sets out to counter a pandemic's restrictions on travel by exploring eighty exceptional books from around the globe! The eighty titles featured in the book offer us fresh perspective on perennial problems, from the work of Murasaki Shikibu a millennium ago to that of Margaret Atwood today. Around the World in 80 Books is a global invitation to look beyond ourselves and our surroundings, and to see our world and its literature in new ways.
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For legendary literary critic Michiko Kakutani, books have always been an escape and a sanctuary, the characters of some novels feeling so real to her childhood self that she worried they might leap out of the pages at night if she left the book cover open. With gorgeous illustrations by lettering artist Dana Tanamachi leafed between inspiring essays, Ex Libris offers Kakutani's personal selection of over 100 works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, with passionate essays on why each has had a profound effect on her life. She points us to our next great read—and provides an unmissable reminder of why we fell in love with reading in the first place.
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1,000 Books to Read Before You Die
Covering fiction, poetry, science and science fiction, memoir, travel writing, biography, children’s books, history, and more, 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die ranges across cultures and through time to offer an eclectic collection of works that each deserve to come with the recommendation. You have to read this!
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Books are the medium through which scientists, storytellers, and philosophers introduce their ideas. Discover seminal religious and political titles, cornerstones of science such as On the Origin of Species, and ancient texts such as the I Ching, which is still used today to answer fundamental questions about human existence. This book features 75 of the world's most momentous titles—from The Art of War to Anne Frank's Diary—and reveals their far-ranging impact.
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When Nora Hughes landed an editorial assistant position at Parsons Press, it was her first step towards The Dream Job. But after five years of lunch orders, finicky authors, and per my last emails, Nora has come to one grand conclusion: Dream Jobs do not exist. Unable to afford her rent and without even the novels she once loved as a comfort, Nora decides to moonlight for a rival publisher to make ends meet...and maybe poach some Parsons' authors along the way. But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling Parsons author no one can afford to lose is thrown into the mix, Nora has to decide where her loyalties lie. Her new Dream Job, ever-optimistic Andrew, or...herself and her future.
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A wry and bold debut novel about an aspiring novelist struggling to find a story to tell, until she meets Caleb—a perfectly nice guy with a Welsh accent and a unique patience for all her quirks. But soon she finds herself stalking—and writing about—her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend. As her lies and half-truths spiral out of control, and fact and fiction become increasingly difficult to untangle, Naomi must decide what—and who—she’s willing to sacrifice to write the perfect ending.
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When a young writer dies before completing his first novel, his teacher, Jake, (himself a failed novelist) helps himself to its plot. The resulting book is a phenomenal success. But what if somebody out there knows? Somebody does. And if Jake can't figure out who he's dealing with, he risks something far worse than the loss of his career.
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This richly illustrated and vastly inclusive collection uplifts the works of authors who are often underrepresented in the literary world. Using their keen knowledge and deep love for all things literary, coauthors Jamise Harper (founder of the Diverse Spines book community) and Jane Mount (author of Bibliophile) collaborated to create an essential volume filled with treasures for every reader!
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Bookworms rejoice! These charming comics capture exactly what it feels like to be head-over-heels for hardcovers. Book Love is tailor-made for tea-sipping, spine-sniffing, book-hoarding bibliophiles. Debbie Tung's comics are humorous and instantly recognizable—making us laugh while precisely conveying the thoughts and habits of book nerds. Definitely a must-read!
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I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf
It’s no secret, but we are judged by our bookshelves. In this lighthearted collection ofcomics, writer-artist Grant Snider explores bookishness in all its forms, and the love of writing and reading, building on the beloved literary comics featured on his website, Incidental Comics. With a striking package including a die-cut cover, I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf is the perfect gift for bookworms of all ages.
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Claire Donovan, editor-in-chief of the most successful romance imprint in the country, has requested to see the manuscript Savannah’s been secretly writing while working as editor herself—except at her publishing house, which frowns upon commercial fiction. But Savannah drops her manuscript and nearly exposes herself to the whole company—including William Pennington, new publisher and son of the romance-despising CEO herself—she races to hide her manuscript in the secret turret room of the old Victorian office. But someone has not only been in her hidden nook but has written notes in the margins—quite critical ones...
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Books Do Furnish a Life is divided by theme, including celebrating nature, exploring humanity, and interrogating faith. For the first time, it brings together Richard Dawkins' forewords, afterwords and introductions to the work of some of the leading thinkers of our age—Carl Sagan, Lawrence Krauss, Jacob Bronowski, Lewis Wolpert—with a selection of his reviews to provide an electrifying celebration of science writing, both fiction and non-fiction. It is also a sparkling addition to Dawkins' own remarkable canon of work!
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Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julián Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets—an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.
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England, late 1930s, and Alice Wright makes an impulsive decision to marry wealthy American Bennett van Cleve and leave her home and family behind. But stuffy, disapproving Baileyville, Kentucky is not the adventure—or the escape—that she hoped for. That is, until she meets Margery O’Hare—a troublesome woman the town wishes to forget. Margery’s on a mission to spread the wonder of books and reading to the poor and lost—and she needs Alice’s help. But when Baileyville turns against them, will their belief in one another—and the power of the written word—be enough to save them?
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Three years ago, Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen were the brightest literary stars on the horizon, their cowritten book topping bestseller lists. But on the heels of their greatest success, they ended their partnership on bad terms, for reasons neither would divulge to the public. They haven’t spoken since—except they have one final book due on contract. Facing crossroads in their personal and professional lives, they’re forced to reunite. While passion and prose push them closer together in the Florida heat, Katrina and Nathan will learn that relationships, like writing, sometimes take a few rough drafts before they get it right.
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