If magic is what you want in this world, then libraries are the best places to find it. After all, what are books but repositories of knowledge, portals to other worlds, and artifacts of power?
Even librarians seem magical themselves—being guardians of a haven full of stories that can enthrall you the way that spells do. It’s no wonder magical libraries are a thing in works of fiction.
Books with Magical Libraries
While mostly seen in fantasy, many fiction genres have embraced the magical aspect of libraries and run with it. In these places, you’ll find tomes that come alive, pull readers into their pages, or contain lost knowledge.
A lot of authors play fast and loose with the definition of a library. You’ll likely find places in these books that work more like an archive, a specimen lab, or something even weirder.
Below are books that feature magical libraries, ranging from the cozy and comforting to the sinister and forbidden.
1. The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
Dream of the Endless has been imprisoned for much of the 20th century. Finally free, he sets about getting revenge, reclaiming his stuff, and fixing up his crumbling realm—The Dreaming.
The only servant of his not to abandon his post is Lucien, his chief librarian. Though the library disappeared along with its master, Dream’s reemergence has brought it back. With the realm stable again, they work to fill the library with every book ever imagined, even if those books were never published or even written.
2. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
Together with her assistant Kai, Irene is sent to an alternative London and tasked to secure a particularly dangerous book. But when they arrive, it’s already gone.
The Library they serve brings back all sorts of books from all sorts of worlds, by any means necessary. Because failing to do so means the destruction of reality itself.
3. Discworld by Terry Pratchett
The Discworld series features two magical libraries for your perusal. First is the library at the Unseen University, where the books willingly and enthusiastically cause chaos whenever they can. Really, they’re chained to their shelves more for the protection of the students than to discourage theft.
Second is Death’s own library—a collection of all the Disc’s living and non-living population. Those for the dead are silent while those for the living are still writing themselves.
4. The Wild Book by Juan Villoro
Thirteen-year-old Juan is sent to Uncle Tito’s house—crammed with all sorts of books—during the summer. Initially bummed, he soon enjoys his stay, especially when he discovers that these books move on their own.
Uncle Tito tells him a secret: Juan is a Princeps Reader, someone that books magically respond to. He’s also the only one who can find the never-before-read Wild Book. But can he do so before the Pirate Book steals it?
5. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Raised as an orphan in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth grew up to respect and be wary of the magical tomes on its shelves. Because these tools of sorcery can often transform into something monstrous.
And then sabotage sees the release of the Library’s most dangerous grimoire. Implicated in the crime, Elisabeth is suddenly thrust into a centuries-old conspiracy that threatens to burn down the Great Libraries and the world.
6. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Somewhere, in the furthest corners of the universe, lies a library containing stories about every life from every possible reality.
When Nora travels to the Midnight Library, she finds a book about her life. And then more books about how her life could have gone had she made different choices. Faced with the possibility of changing her life, she must find what is important to her and what life she truly wants to live.
7. The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
Claire is the head of the Unwritten Wing—a space in Hell created to hold unfinished stories. Though most of her job is taking care of the place, she also needs to keep an eye on stories that come alive and try to escape.
When one such story does succeed, she must track it down and bring it home. Things get complicated when the angel Ramiel suspects her of having the Devil’s Bible, a key weapon in the struggle between Heaven and Hell.
8. Lirael by Garth Nix
Abandoned by her mother and ignorant of her father’s identity, the only thing Lirael has is the Clayr. And yet, even to these clairvoyant women, she still feels like an outsider.
And so she embraces her task as a librarian within the mountain-bound library she calls home. But fate has another plan for her, one that will put her against an evil threatening Life and Death.
9. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Thursday Next is a special operative in literary detection, meaning she’s the one the authorities call when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature.
When someone plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of her book, Thursday is faced with the biggest challenge of her career yet. In a world where people can enter books and create mayhem, finding the culprit might well be impossible—for anyone else than Thursday, that is.
10. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Zachary finds a mysterious book and reads something bewildering from its pages—a story about his own childhood. He follows a set of clues that bring him to an ancient library deep within the earth.
It is a world of stories, its guardians, and those who seek to destroy it. Together with new friends, Zachary explores this new world in hopes of finding his own purpose.
11. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Carolyn was a normal American once until she and others were taken in and raised by the man they only knew as Father. Since then they’ve studied at his Library, learning much and gaining powers as a result.
Now, Father’s gone missing; his Library standing open for anyone to claim. Carolyn must prepare for the battles to come, and the changes that will come with them.
12. Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Tom Sweterlitsch
Pittsburgh is gone, wiped out by a terrorist bombing a decade before. What replaces it is the Archive, an immense virtual reconstruction of the city, along with its deceased inhabitants—Dominic’s wife and unborn child among them.
When he’s not drowning himself in despair, Dominic works as a detective, solving the deaths preserved in the simulation before the city’s destruction. One woman’s systematic deletion catches his eye, drawing him deep into unimaginable danger.
Magical Library Books
Certain tropes tend to stick around for a while, and magical libraries seem to be one of literature’s current ones. People are enthralled by a place where knowledge and power combine, forming a well of wonders into which their imaginations can dip into.
There are a lot more books out there that feature magical libraries. Some touch upon the idea lightly while others make it part of their core plot. Make use of this list as a starting point as you narrow down what kind of books you’d like to read.
What’s your favorite book about magical libraries? Share them in the comments below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
