Hello! I’m trying to find a book that scratches a very specific literary itch, and I’m hoping you all can help.
I’m looking for stories where someone discovers a book (or library) and strange, unsettling things start to happen. Think secret or liminal libraries that only appear at night or to certain people; characters entering books or things escaping from them; or books with bizarre rules—like eating a page lets you do whatever happens on it, or writing in the book makes things come true, but only partially or in twisted, problematic ways.
I’m really drawn to dark, whimsical, and slightly eerie vibes—more surreal or unsettling than cozy. I’ve read The Midnight Library, but it felt a bit flat for what I’m craving. I’m hoping for something stranger, creepier, and more imaginative.
Any recommendations?
by Nordixie
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*The Shadow of the Wind* by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is the first in a cycle of connected books that revolve around the existence of a secret, impossibly-shaped library in Barcelona. They’re historical novels that follow a collection of interconnected characters, taking place mainly in the 1940s and 1950s.
Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum