If you’re in the mood for a little lateral thinking, consider the popular informal genre known as “books about books.”
 
This particular designation is extremely expanisve, and that’s part of the fun. Books about books might include self-referential metafiction, stories with bookish protagonists (authors, librarians, bookstore owners), or stories where books play a pretty major role. In nonfiction, books about books might address literacy, the history of publishing, or famous historical manuscripts. Author biographies and memoirs are another subset to consider.  
 
In this collection, we’ve sorted out 144 books about books published in or after 2020. Some are brand-new—for instance, Jennifer N. Brown’s intriguing historical mystery The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton, which hit U.S. shelves in April.
 
Since books about books include all kinds of books, you’ll find a broad range of genres and topics here. Existential horror featuring lethal MFA programs? Try Mona Awad’s really dark academia classic We Love You, Bunny. Ghosts both traditional and sociohistorical haunt a Minneapolis bookstore in Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence. Hernan Diaz won a Pulitzer for his metafictional literary puzzler Trust. Or might we interest you in some print shop lust? Careful with that ink!
 
In the nonfiction stacks, look for some genuinely fascinating topics concerning literary espionage in the Cold War, the history of Black-owned bookstores, and the straight-up heroism of today’s librarians.
 
Click on the book cover images for more information about each title. You can also use the Want to Read button to add interesting leads to your digital shelf.