Celebrate Libraries: Books for Adults

In honor of Library Card Sign-up Month, we've gathered some of our favorite works of fiction and nonfiction that celebrate libraries.

Updated September 1, 2025
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The reading list : a novel
Adams, Sara Nisha
Paper Book
NOW A LILLY'S LIBRARY PICK! "The most heartfelt read...a surprising delight of a novel."--Shondaland 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...
The last chance library /
Sampson, Freya.
Paper Book
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. Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she...
The library : a fragile history
Pettegree, Andrew
Paper Book
Perfect for book lovers, this is a fascinating exploration of the history of libraries and the people who built them, from the ancient world to the digital age.   Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over...
The little village of book lovers : a novel
George, Nina
Paper Book
A young woman with the extraordinary power to bring soulmates together searches for her own true love in this tender, lyrical standalone novel inspired by the "bona fide international hit" (The New York Times Book Review) The Little Paris Bookshop In Nina George's...
The bodies in the library
Wingate, Marty
Paper Book
Hayley Burke has landed a dream job as the curator of Lady Georgiana Fowling's First Edition library, in Bath. The only downside is working alongside the finicky Glynis Woolgar, Lady Fowling's former secretary who does not like Hayley's ideas to modernise the library's Society. When one of her plans...
The underground library : a novel
Ryan, Jennifer
Paper Book
When the Blitz imperils the heart of a London neighborhood, three young women must use their fighting spirit to save the community's beloved library in this novel based on true events from the author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir. When the new deputy...
The library of the unwritten
Hackwith, A. J.
Paper Book
In the first book in a brilliant new fantasy series, books that aren't finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, and it is up to the Librarian to track down any restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories.
The memory library
Storey, Kate
Paper Book
'A gorgeous story full of emotion and a very special library.' - Evie Woods, bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop Some stories stay with us forever... For forty-two years, Sally Harrison has been building a library. Each year, on her daughter's birthday,...
The secret lives of booksellers and librarians : true stories of the magic of reading
Patterson, James
Paper Book
This "celebration of the world of books" (Kirkus) from New York Times bestselling author James Patterson explores the inner lives of the people who kindle our passion for reading.​ "When the pandemic started, Patterson launched a movement,...
Why we read : on bookworms, libraries and just one more page before lights out
Reed, Shannon
Paper Book
*NATIONAL BESTSELLER* *A WGN Radio Best Book of 2024* *A Good Housekeeping Reads pick* A hilarious and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a "beloved and wonderful writer" (George Saunders), teacher, bibliophile, and Thurber...

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