What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Does anyone know of any books about fictional characters becoming real?

For kids/teens/adults? There's Inkheart to start...

There's The Eyre Affair and subsequent books by Jasper Fforde.

The Number of the Beast by Robert A. Heinlein has this as a minor device.

Also:The Sword and the Pen

Thanks for responses so far.

I was looking for any books, but ones that are more for adults.

Andria wrote: "Also:The Sword and the Pen"

Oooh, I've read that one! I quite liked it! The idea of a woman novelist (Hendricks) writing about a man who was writing about a woman warrior was a hoot for me. It was wonderful how everything felt right, from the man's frustration with his character to her determination to keep from getting killed.

There's also Maggie Needs An Alibi (and others in the series)

My Favorite Band Does Not Exist is technically a teen book but it's fairly sophisticated and complex.

This is a fun topic. I'll be following to see what else comes up. I know there are others that I just can't think of right now.

The Vampire Stalker

Not sure if this qualifies but...Hero Worship and His And Hers is about heroines who end up as characters in a book as its being written.

Those all sound fun. Thank you all so much!

Stephen King: "The Dark Half" and his short story "Umney's last case"

Aaron Allston wrote a book called Galatea In 2D about an artist who discovers he has the ability to bring his drawings and paintings to life. He gets into a war with another artist who has been exploiting the same ability for a long time and has a "There can be only one" attitude towards sharing.

Due to real-world copyright laws Allston doesn't have either character play with any of the pop-culture icons that would probably come up if this sort of thing were ever to really happen, but the bad guy does have Achilles and Penthisilea from Greek myths working as his bodyguards and enforcers, and the hero counters with Paris of Troy and Medea.

Another possibility that I haven't read is The Number of the Beast by Robert Heinlein. I understand one of the main characters gets married to Dejah Thoris from Burroughs' Mars series, and I think they visit other fictional worlds as well.

Clockwork by Philip Pullman

There’s Seeing Redd, the second installment in “The Looking Glass Wars” by Frank Beddor. He takes the characters of Lewis Carroll’s original creation and gives them a darker tone. In the second book, an artist paints the Red Queen and her assassin, the Cheshire Cat, accidentally bringing them into our world. But they’re rather fuzzy in outline because his art tends more to the abstract.

This is a spoiler (as in, it's one of the main revelations the plot is built around, not the premise) for The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll - though it's also heavily implied in all the blurbs for the book.

Another one that doesn't exactly fit the description of fictional characters "becoming" real, but is possibly close enough to be of interest, is The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

Bit of a spoiler, but I really enjoyed Of Two Minds.

Just One Wish by Janette Rallison....it's ya but still really good
Also Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult

Sophie's World

Eyes Like Stars uses this interestingly and it's premise is kind of based on it.

Don't know if you're still looking for these type books, but I just came across this today while looking for something else, and remembered this thread. Sounds spicy! Captive Dreams

Superstition has characters that create a "real" ghost. Really interesting book.

The Winter Sea has an interesting premise, if not exactly using book characters coming to life - in this story, the main character is a writer of historical fiction. While writing her latest book, set in Scotland, she begins to come up with details and facts that she shouldn't know. She begins to realize that she is reliving the memories of an ancestor of hers that has become of the main characters of her book. The book flips back and forth between the writer's perspective and excerpts from her book. It's a really fascinating read, I think. I'm currently reading it and am about 3/4 of the way through. I have a hard time putting it down. I would definitely recommend it.

Fire and Hemlock has this (working off the old "Thomas the Rhymer" story).

Libriomancer has mostly things materializing out of books, but a few people do too.

One of Our Thursdays Is Missing has the characters of all books being real and living in Bookland.

Also a slight SPOILER. . . Redshirts is a form of this.

Book by Peter Straub - In The Night Room has a character that becomes real and interacts with her author (who is also a character).

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer is good. It was from our libraries young adult section and a quick read, but fun none the less.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12...

The Great Good Thing (The Sylvie Cycle #1)
by Roderick Townley

I can't believe no one has listed Pinocchio

The Steadfast Tin Soldier

The Velveteen Rabbit

@Kate: LOL!

Stephen King`s Dark tower series had the characters meet the author in one book not sure if that counts

The Unusual Suspects &etc. by Michael Buckley are def. for children, but some adults adore them.

This one is PNR, and quite funny. I highly recommend it.

The Indian in the Cupboardplus all the sequals by Lynne Reid Banks

Jenn and Andrea--thank you. I was going to do up a "what's the name of this book" thread up in Unsolved when I saw this thread. I'd been trying to remember the Maggie Kelly books (I only read 1, and had meant to get more, but forgot all the important stuff--you know, title, author, who the "detective" is. . .) Now I can finally get around to getting the series and reading it.

If you're in the mood for a movie, rather than a book, "Stranger than Fiction" (2006), starring Will Ferrell, has this premise.

The author of Sophie's World Jostein Gaarder also wrote The Solitaire Mystery which has come to life characters as well but isn't as heavy on the history of philosophy. An easier and more enjoyable read all together.

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist

Tilly and the Bookwanderers series
Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me doesn’t quite fit but it’s similar.
The Manic Pixie Dream Boy Improvement Project again kind of fits.