A Library Reading List

Library stacks with a book in the foreground
Type
Staff Picks

We love books set in libraries because, quite simply, libraries are the best.

Enjoy this list of library-themed books. From thrillers to historical fiction, they will keep you reading (and loving libraries).

  1. The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson

June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way.

  1. The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict

A remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation

  1. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Between life and death there is a library. 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.

  1. The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

A series of book thefts roils the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces.

  1. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Collecting books can be a dangerous prospect in this fun, time-traveling, fantasy adventure.

  1. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

An unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.

  1. The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb.

  1. The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick

A Librarian receives a fairy tale book from her deceased grandmother. When she discovers a clue in the book's pages that indicates her grandmother may in fact still be alive, she delves into her grandmother's past and discovers a life changing family secret.

  1. The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

With its blend of sympathetic characters, riveting plot, and vibrant engagement with everything from jazz, to climate change, to our attachment to material possession, to libraries. This book has it all.

  1. The Librarian Spy: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin

Posing as a librarian in Lisbon while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence during WWII, Ava, as the battle in Europe rages, connects with a woman who runs a printing press in occupied France through coded messages that bring hope in the face of war.

  1. The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Ending this list with a nonfiction option with this detailed account of the investigation into a fire that consumed the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986. This thrilling journey through the stacks, reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books--and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our community.