“It doesn’t look like anything special, like it contains an entire world, though the same could be said of any book.”
Is there anywhere more magical for a reader than a library? With aisles upon aisles of books from every genre imaginable, libraries serve as portals to other worlds as well as peaceful sanctuaries housing knowledge, tradition, imagination and discovery. It’s no wonder libraries have provided so much inspiration to fictional writers over the years, with the Fantasy genre in particular really taking the magic of the setting to an array of stunning new directions. To celebrate the magic of these books and their homes, join us at What We Reading for our favourite Fantasy books about libraries!
Babel: An Arcane History – R.F. Kuang
Nominated for Best Fantasy in the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards, Babel: An Arcane History is a Historical Fantasy novel that explores colonial resistance, student protests and how language translation was used as a tool for domination in the British Empire. Set in 1830s London, readers follow Robin, a Chinese boy brought to the city by the mysterious Professor Lovell.
There, he enrolled in the magical Royal Institute of Translation, also known as ‘Babel’. A huge tower dedicated to harnessing the magic of translating languages, Robin is soon forced to grapple with whether serving Babel and its magical power is actually the greatest betrayal of his roots.
The Strange Library – Haruki Murakami
A wonderfully illustrated piece of Japanese Literature from internationally acclaimed author Haruki Murakami, The Strange Library is a book about a young boy who is imprisoned in a hellish library. The pages of this quirky story reveal Murakami’s imagination being completely unleashed, with readers following the aforementioned young boy and his two companions, a young woman and a bizarre sheep man as they plot their escape. At just 96 pages for the paperback, this small-format tale is a wonderful dose of magical realism that readers of all ages can dive into and enjoy.
The Midnight Library – Matt Haig
What would you do if you had the chance of seeing how different your life could have been, had you made different choices? That is the stunning opportunity Nora Seed discovers when she arrives at The Midnight Library in Matt Haig’s acclaimed 2020 book.
One of the best books about libraries to capture the awe-inspiring feel of shelves and shelves of stories, The Midnight Library allows Nora to dive into the pages and experience her life based on some of the choices she wished she had made. Powerful and poignant just like every other Matt Haig book, The Midnight Library is an exploration into some of the biggest philosophical questions, ending with an uplifting message on living for the now.
Check Out Our The Midnight Library Book Review
The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library #1)
In the first entry in her The Invisible Library series, author Genevieve Cogman introduces Irene and her assistant Kai, two professional spies who work in the mysterious Library, a place which harvests fiction from different realities.
They are posted to an alternative London tasked with retrieving a dangerous book. However, upon their arrival, they discover that it has already been taken by someone. In this captivating page-turner, Irene soon finds herself embroiled in a world where the laws of reality are suspended, grappling with London’s various factions, supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic, all whilst trying to uncover the secrets her assistant is keeping from her.
The Starless Sea – Erin Morgenstern
Another Goodreads Nominee for Best Fantasy, The Starless Sea is one of the best Fantasy books about libraries from New York Times bestselling author, Erin Morgenstern. In it, readers follow Zachary Ezra Rawlins, a Vermont graduate student who discovers a strange book chronically wondrous tales and, bizarrely, one story from his own childhood.
Following a trail set up by the book, he discovers an ancient library filled with much more than just lost books and their ancient guardians. Together with his companions, The Starless Sea is the stunning journey following Zachary as he navigates the twisting tunnels, bustling ballrooms and stunning shoes of this magical world, uncovering his own purpose and identity in the process.
The Library At Mount Char – Scott Hawkins
A strange and somewhat chilling book about a library that blurs the lines between Horror, Sci-Fi and Urban Fantasy, The Library at Mount Char is a 2015 novel by Scott Hawkins. Carolyn and her eleven adopted siblings have been taken in by a man known as the Father. They have learned his ancient customs and studied the books in his library, being taken under his wing and taught his mysterious arts.
But, when the Father goes missing, Carolyn is forced to prepare for a battle that will see her go up against foes whose powers far outmatch her own. Themes of dark academia, magical realism and modern mythology all combine to make this one of the best books in libraries for those who love books by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett or Susanna Clarke.
The Library Of The Unwritten (Hell’s Library #1) – A.J. Hackwith
A.J. Hackwith’s first book in the Hell’s Library is a thrilling Fantasy novel from 2019. In it, readers are introduced to a world where books that aren’t finished by their authors wind up in The Library of the Unwritten in Hell.
There, it is up to Claire, Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing to repair and reorganise these works into their proper condition, whilst also retrieving any restless characters that escape from their pages. However, when one hero escapes their book in search of their author, a simple retrieval spirals into a nightmarish pursuit that could potentially redraw the boundaries between Hell, Heaven and Earth itself.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
