What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
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Stories where the main character is a librarian
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Historic_Heroine
(last edited Jul 18, 2016 07:28PM)
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Jul 18, 2016 07:25PM
Preferably female librarian, but male librarians are okay too. I'm just looking for any interesting stories where the main character is a librarian and their work as a librarian is relevant to the plot. I tend to prefer speculative fiction so if there is some sort of science fiction or fantasy aspect to the story, even better.
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Cat in the Stacks series by Miranda James - cozy mysteries with the work of a librarian at its core.Library Lovers mystery series by Jenn McKinlay - also a cozy mystery series
Aurora Teagarden series by Charlaine Harris - cozy
Killer Librarian and series.
Librarians in Fiction: A Critical Bibliography byGrant Burnsfrom google (where , unlike here, it got a 4 star rating):
"The depictions of librarians in over 374 novels, short stories, and plays in English are the focus of this fully annotated reference work.
Librarians, no less than other professionals, want to know how they are depicted in fiction. The stereotypical or fictional librarian--the one with the bun, comfortable shoes, and dour demeanor--may be fading, but fiction teaches a lesson about public perception. Actually, story librarians are often described as adaptable, knowledgeable, shrewd, tactful, tender and intelligent--traits that the authors, and by extension the readers, look for in their librarians.
All entries include complete bibliographic data, followed by a lengthy annotation that discusses how the librarian fits into the story and gives insight to how he or she is depicted. Title and author indexes are provided for further utility. "
A short novel about a bookshop that is also a library. The bookshop clerks also serve as librarians for it, lending mysterious books to people:Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
The whole plot revolves around the books and the library. It isn't exactly fantasy or science fiction, but it has a mysterious book-based cult, and some pretty neat computer science, so I was satisfied with both elements.
I recommend Libriomancer, first in the Magic Ex Libris series by Jim C. Hines. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects. Isaac Vainio is a librarian and a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg and the main hero in this series. Also, check out Carbs & Cadavers, first in the Supper Club Mystery series by J.B. Stanley A.K.A. Ellery Adams. James “Professor Puff” Henry is a divorced librarian, in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, in the Supper Club mysteries.
You might also like The Seventh Sinner, first in the Jacqueline Kirby series by Elizabeth Peters, mysteries solved by a former librarian turned bestselling author.
Following! (PS. one of my favorite books about Libraries is I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks)
The Librarian in the DiscWorld series by Terry Pratchett (speculative fiction). See http://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/Libr....
Princess Cimorene becomes a librarian to a dragon in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enchant...
Lobstergirl wrote: "Are you looking for short stories, or novels too?"Novels too!
Thanks for all the suggestions so far, everyone!
Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass is the first in a cozy mystery series. There's also a steampunk series where the male MC is a kind of librarian. But I'm not sure of the series. Maybe Phoenix Rising but I'm not at home so I can't check for sure.
Love librarian stories. Kafka on the Shore is an offshoot librarian story. Richard Powers' The Gold Bug Variations has a lead character, who appears later in the book, who's a remarkably quirky and wonderful research librarian, she takes her work very seriously and I just love her, but the book itself is a real commitment. I found it very, very worthwhile, though.
Definitely adding some of these to my to-read list. Thanks again for all the suggestions!
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The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman. A teen girl gets a job at a library that lends objects, rather than books--and one of the collections is of magical objects from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Real world contemporary America + magic. Two books after this.Lirael, by Garth Nix. Female mc works in a magical library--books, objects, weapons, forbidden sections where dangerous creatures reside. Fantasy world. The story only starts with the library, the rest takes place elsewhere in that world. This is book 2, and it would probably be best to read book 1 first to understand the magic system and history of that world. Also, this is a cliffhanger, or, perhaps more precisely, books 2 and 3 are one storyline split into two volumes.
WhiteHeather wrote: "Preferably female librarian, but male librarians are okay too. I'm just looking for any interesting stories where the main character is a librarian and their work as a librarian is relevant to the ..."
Maybe someone's mentioned this, but this just came up on a side bar as a suggestion to me, and I wanted to pass it on.
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt
Maybe someone's mentioned this, but this just came up on a side bar as a suggestion to me, and I wanted to pass it on.
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt
Thank you all for the continued suggestions!
In the Dark by Richard Laymon is about a female librarian who is drawn into an increasingly creepy scavenger hunt by someone calling himself Master Of Game. Since it's by Laymon, when I say creepy I mean CUH-REEPY. It's far from his most extreme novel, though, and I don't remember excessive gore or anything too over the top. Been awhile since I read it, though.
I don't think anyone has mentioned Mythology 101 Meet Keith Doyle--weirdo, business major, nerd, and believer in myths. To his joy--and horror--Keith has just discovered a village of elves in the university library. And when the library is threatened with demolition, Keith and the elves join forces to save it.
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The main girl character in What the Librarian Did, by Karina Bliss, is a librarian. It's a Harlequin Super Romance book, and I would actually really like to read it someday. :)
I'm Your Girl is my favorite romance.I recently saw a new play called "Psychonaut Librarians." I hope it gets printed.
I was also going to suggest The Grimm Legacy. I enjoyed it.
The main character is a man, but The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler sounds right up your alley.
The Jamie Brodie mystery series (beginning with Cited to Death) has an amateur detective who is a UCLA history librarian (gay male).
I think you want Upright Women Wanted, which is either just out, or will be released shortly. I'm dying to read it myself.
Supporting character, not MC: Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer One of multiple MCs: Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series
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What's the Name of That Book???
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ursula Hegi (other topics)LaVyrle Spencer (other topics)
Molly Harper (other topics)
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Laurie Cass (other topics)
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