Books about Libraries and Librarians for National Library Week

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians

True Stories of the Magic of Reading

Heroes Among Us: Book #4

By: James Patterson & Matt Eversmann
Narrated by: Tom Force, Nancy Peterson, Jenn Lee, Jennifer Pickens, Amy Jensen, Deanna Anthony, Jane Oppenheimer, Susan Hanfield, Marni Penning, Daniel Henning & Rob Reider
Length: 7 hours 55 minutes

This “celebration of the world of books” (Kirkus) from New York Times bestselling author James Patterson is a collection of riveting stories celebrating the heroic efforts of the people who are on the front lines getting our books into the world.​

To be a bookseller or librarian…
 
You have to play detective. 
 
Be a treasure hunter. A... Read more

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books

A Novel

By: Kirsten Miller
Narrated by: January LaVoy
Length: 10 hours 13 minutes

“I just finished this book and loved it! It is so timely; it is brave and funny and sad and uplifting all at the same time. Read more

The Next Best Fling

Librarians in Love

By: Gabriella Gamez
Narrated by: Ruby Corazon
Length: 10 hours 13 minutes

“Fake dating your best friend's brother...while secretly trying to not be in love with your best friend, sign me up! This book was a fun read, with tension and banter. I'm going to miss these two crazy kids. Read more

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu

And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts

By: Joshua Hammer
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
Length: 9 hours 2 minutes

In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that were crumbling in the trunks of desert farmers. His goal was to preserve this crucial part of the... Read more

The Boxcar Librarian

A Novel

By: Brianna Labuskes
Narrated by: Amy Melissa Bentley
Length: 13 hours 19 minutes

Inspired by true events, a thrilling Depression-era novel from the author of The Librarian of Burned Books about a woman’s quest to uncover a mystery surrounding a local librarian and the Boxcar Library—a converted mining train that brought books to isolated rural towns in Montana.When Works Progress Administration (WPA) editor Millie Lang finds... Read more

The Librarian of Burned Books

A Novel

By: Brianna Labuskes
Narrated by: Caroline Hewitt, Eleanor Caudill & Karissa Vacker
Length: 10 hours 49 minutes

“Once I started listening to the three intertwined storylines of Brianna Labuskes' latest historical novel, it was hard to stop. As a retired AP history teacher, I was impressed not only with the depth of research that went into this novel but also by the introduction of Armed Services Editions of books sent to World War II soldiers and the... Read more

The Booklover's Library

By: Madeline Martin
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
Length: 10 hours

“A must-read for booklovers.” —Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of Next Year in Havana

A heartwarming story about a mother and daughter in wartime England and the power of books that bring them together, by the bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London.

In Nottingham, England, widow Emma Taylor finds herself in desperate... Read more

The Librarians of Lisbon

A WWII Story of Love and Espionage

By: Suzanne Nelson
Narrated by: Alex Picard
Length: 10 hours 53 minutes

“A fast-paced roller-coaster ride of deceit, espionage, danger, and?above all?the unbreakable bonds of friendship. This tense page-turner peels back new layers in the complexities of World War II espionage as it hurtles toward its satisfying finish.” ?New York Times bestselling author Kristin Harmel Lisbon 1943. As two American librarians are... Read more

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library

A Novel

By: Michiko Aoyama
Narrated by: Hanako Footman, Susan Momoko Hingley, Kenichiro Thomson, Winson Ting & Shiro Kawai
Length: 7 hours 18 minutes

“ If you're in the mood for a light read, this book won't stress you out. Every character finds themselves at a crossroads and each of them end up meeting the same mysterious librarian who gives them the book they ask for, but, more importantly, the book they need. Read more

Dark Archives

A Librarian's Investigation Into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin

By: Megan Rosenbloom
Narrated by: Justis Bolding
Length: 6 hours 58 minutes

On bookshelves around the world, surrounded by ordinary books bound in paper and leather, rest other volumes of a distinctly strange and grisly sort: those bound in human skin. Would you know one if you held it in your hand? In Dark Archives, Megan Rosenbloom seeks out the historic and scientific truths behind anthropodermic bibliopegy—the... Read more

The Personal Librarian: A GMA Book Club Pick

By: Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 12 hours 22 minutes

“I dearly loved this historical fiction based on the life of J.P. Morgan's personal librarian. My favorite combination of entertaining and educational! Read more

The Midnight Library

A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel)

By: Matt Haig
Narrated by: Carey Mulligan
Length: 8 hours 50 minutes

“I loved this book so much. The pacing is perfect, the character development just right and topics just heavy enough. I MUST point out that the narrator did an incredible job with accents and flipping characters so I'm really looking forward to listening to more of their narrations. Read more

The Book Censor's Library

A Novel

By: Bothayna Al-Essa
Narrated by: Cindy Kay
Length: 5 hours 25 minutes

FINALIST, National Book Award for Translated Literature, 2024



A perilous and fantastical satire of banned books, secret archives, and the looming eye of an all-powerful government.



The new book censor hasn't slept soundly in weeks. By day he combs through manuscripts at a government office, looking for anything that would make a book unfit to... Read more

The Cat Who Saved the Library

A Novel

By: Sosuke Natsukawa
Narrated by: Kevin Shen
Length: 5 hours 56 minutes

“Cats, books, young love, and adventure: catnip for a variety of readers!” —Kirkus Reviews“Whimsical and wise.”—Shelf AwarenessThe long-awaited sequel to the #1 international bestseller The Cat Who Saved Books—an uplifting tale from Japan about a talking cat, a book-loving girl and the power of books to make a difference in the world.A chronic... Read more

The Secret Library

By: Kekla Magoon
Narrated by: Nekia Renee Martin
Length: 9 hours 55 minutes

“Dally has an enormous secret—an entire library with books you can fall into, literally! Through the pages of a book, she experiences other people's lives and sometimes plays a pivotal role in their escapades. These delights, however, come at a price as the adventures get more perilous with each book. Full of excitement and intrigue, and a... Read more

The Legend of the Last Library

By: Frank L. Cole
Narrated by: Bailey Carr
Length: 8 hours 1 minute

In a world where paper is extremely scarce and books are priceless, Juni undertakes a dangerous quest to find a legendary lost treasure—the last library. Juni lives in a world without books. The Blight killed off all the trees, and since then, paper is worth more than just about anything else. Juni’s parents were killed in an archeological dig... Read more

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Mr. Lemoncello's Library: Book #1

By: Chris Grabenstein
Narrated by: Jesse Bernstein
Length: 6 hours 19 minutes

THE START OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES WITH MORE THAN TWO MILLION COPIES SOLD!

Can you escape from what James Patterson calls “the coolest library in the world”? Follow along and solve the clues in this interactive adventure! From the co-author of Murdle Jr.: Sleuths on the Loose…

“A worthy successor to the original madman... Read more

Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller

By: Breanna J. McDaniel
Narrated by: Janina Edwards
Length: 11 minutes

From an award-winning author comes this biography about beloved librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children’s services at all branches of the New York Public Library.

Before Augusta Braxton Baker became a storyteller, she was an excellent story listener. Her grandmother brought stories like Br’er... Read more

Jella Lepman and Her Library of Dreams

The Woman Who Rescued a Generation of Children and Founded the World’s Largest Children’s Library

By: Katherine Paterson
Narrated by: Libby McKnight
Length: 1 hour 28 minutes

The inspiring true story of how one visionary woman used children’s books to help heal a generation of Germany’s children after WWII and went on to set up the International Youth Library and International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). Written by Katherine Paterson, the beloved and award-winning author of Bridge to Terabithia and many... Read more

The Lost Library

By: Rebecca Stead & Wendy Mass
Narrated by: Christopher Gebauer, Jennifer Blom & Rob Dircks
Length: 4 hours 15 minutes

“A story about how books connect people and change lives. A former librarian erects a little free library, a cat guards it, and Evan a 6th grade boy takes a book that explains mysteries in his small town! Read more