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

This could be a YA or adult book - I'm not sure. I came across it on a book table a few months ago and only remember vaguely what I read in the jacket. Obviously I haven't read it, but I want to (I wish I'd just purchased it when I saw it).

It's about a teen or young adult who discovers that by some magic means, books and stories are being rewritten (or unwritten?). The quest of the story seems to be to stop this from happening and return all the books/stories to their original form.

The cover has a book on the cover - it's quite lovely and has a fantasy feel to it.

I know this isn't much to go on. I thought it was something like "The Bookkeeper's Apprentice" or "The Pagekeeper's Apprentice" but these titles turn up nothing. I'm probably way off base. All I know is that it is NOT "The Map of Time".

Any help would be most appreciated!

What first came to mind was Jasper Fforde's series about Thursday Next. The first one is The Eyre Affair but the cover of Lost in a Good Book sounds like what you may have seen.

These sound pretty entertaining, but they're definitely not the one I saw. Thanks for trying!

The cover of the one I saw looked like a giant fairy tale book - the old style ones that have a kind of medieval flair. Not sure if that helps, at all. Maybe there was a light or something coming out of the book? I'm trying so hard to remember!

A couple possibilities that came up in my searches...

Inkheart? It's the first in a trilogy. The blurb talks about a book unraveling and saving the story.

The Unwritten Girl - May be less likely, but sounds interesting anyway.

They both sound pretty good (adding to the reading list)! But alas, neither is the book I'm looking for.

The Book of Lost Things, maybe?

Oooh, that sounds really good! But it's not the one, either. :-(

If it happens to be The Great Good Thing, this would be the sixth time it's somebody's mystery book. (I just edited the bookshelf entry for the fifth solve and it looks kinda like yours.)

LOL, I'm not sure if I should be relieved or disappointed that it's not my book! Thanks for trying to help, though!

lol, yeah, I love it when I go in and find that a book has already been searched for--once, or twice or. . . I put one in the other day where it was the third time someone had searched for it.

Any idea how old it might be? When you found it a couple of months ago, was it on the "scorching new just out today" table or the "dear god please someone buy these, 80% off" table?

I honestly don't remember. I want to say it had been out for awhile, but I don't recall seeing it in a paperback version - only hardback. So either it was very new (within a year of its initial release), or old enough that they were selling off the hardcovers at the bargain table.

I know, I'm not a big help! I wish I'd written down the book, or just bought it when I saw it!

It's sort of the flip of what you are describing--a book character teams up with a girl to try to rewrite the story, but it's a recent publication, so. . .

Between the Lines?

No, it definitely wasn't Jodi Picoult. That, I'd remember. This book was more along the lines of fantasy and magic. Inkheart is probably the closest one recommended so far, but it's not the book I was looking for. I keep trying - browsing through Amazon's library!

This one probably is not it, because it is more dystopian than magical, but the book called The Book is about a time when everyone is reading books on e-readers, and the character finds out that all the books on his e-reader have been rewritten from the original versions (after he finds old book pages used as wallpaper).

Yeah, that's not it. But I love dystopian lit, and this one sounds really good! Thanks for trying!

I haven't read any of these, but:

Storybound by Marissa Burt,
The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townsend, and The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup all seem to potentially fall along these lines.

Yeah, I thought it might be the Book of Story Beginnings as well.

Unfortunately, no ... to all three! Grrrr. Thanks so much for trying, though. Please keep the suggestions coming!

Two long-shot guesses:

The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Seems more noir-ish than fantasy, but it's about certain books being destroyed and a young man attempting to stop it.

Legend of the Book Keeper, by Daniel Blackaby. The title and cover both seemed similar to what you're looking for, but I can't find a lot on the actual plot besides a teen finding a book and awakening some sort of beast or curse.

Not such a long shot - at least for the second one. I looked at Legend of the Book Keeper myself when I started my search! It's not the one I was looking for, but it was certainly worth a try.

Shadow of the Wind is definitely not it - you're right, a bit more noir-ish than fantasy. Sounds interesting, though.

bump

Not exactly right, but it is recent. ..The Archived?

Oooh, that book sounds awesome! It's not the one I'm looking for - too new and seems a bit darker than I remember - but adding to my reading list. Thanks for trying!

The Book of the Night? "When vain, grasping Queen Thela steals an ancient, enormously powerful artifact capable of rewriting reality, only the Book of the Night can heal what she has rent asunder" (Book 3 of the Libyrinth series)

A couple of long shots that just seem like they deserve to be mentioned in this thread:

The City of Dreaming Books (Dreaming Books, #1)

My Favorite Band Does Not Exist

Worldsoul

Haroun And The Sea Of Stories???

Andria, thanks for your recommendations, but none of these is quite the right fit. This book was definitely not part of a series, unless a sequel was published after it. Good suggestions, though. I'm actually quite amazed by the number of potentials that have come out of this discussion ... and yet, still not the right one! I'll keep trying. I hope if you think of any more possibilities, you'll come back (all of you!) ...

Fresno Bob, thanks for your input, as well. Still not there yet, but keep the suggestions coming!

The Neverending Story - Michael Ende comes to mind for me ...

Nope, that's not it. Good book, though.

Just came across this one: The Unwritten Girl "Rosemary faces life-or-death perils in the Land of Fiction in a quest to rescue her brother, who has lost himself in a book."

Yeah, someone else suggested that one, too, but it's not a match. :-(

What about Erratum
About mistakes in a book that come true and people can change it.

Unfortunately, that's not it either. But thanks for suggesting it - sounds like a fun read.

oops, didn't realize Unwritten Girl had been mentioned already. What about The Book Keeper's Oracle?

It's so funny you bring that one up - I just saw this yesterday and was drawn to the title immediately! The description doesn't sound like the one I'm looking for, though the story itself does sound intriguing. I'm wondering if I'm going to need to head to the bookstore where I originally saw this book, and see if I get lucky enough to come across it again. LOL. I'm searching Chapters online right now.

Bump

Probably not Terry Goodkind's Chainfire, but has a similar plot cconcept.

Could it have been a short story in Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores edited by Greg Ketter?

The synopsis for Chainfire doesn't mention anything about stories being rewritten or unwritten. Unless I'm missing something, I'm pretty sure that's not it.

Shelf Life looks like a cool anthology, but unfortunately not the right book, either. The book I'm looking for isn't a collection of stories, but a single novel.

Thanks for trying!

Bump. Really hoping someone comes up with my solution - this book is still driving me crazy! LOL!

Michelle, are you still looking for this?

I am! I had given up on anyone being able to find it for me. I haven't had any luck.

Try these listopias having to do with apprentices, or with Apprentice in the title.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Thanks - I'll have a look!

Bumping yet again. I'd forgotten I started this search, but I have not forgotten about this book and it still makes me crazy that I haven't found it. At this point, I'm doubtful I'll figure it out. But maybe something new will come to someone's mind! Thanks to those who try!

Is it The Word Changers by Ashlee Willis?

The Word Changers by Ashlee Willis - suggested by Heather

Have you read this one (The Word Changers)? Is it about several stories that are being rewritten / unwritten, or just one fairy tale? The description says it's a fairy tale that is changing, in which case, it's not the right one. I don't recall anything in the jacket about a rebellion by the characters, but it has been several years so I could have forgotten that bit. The one thing that stands out for sure is that there were many stories that were being changed, and that's what the main character was trying to fix. This one sounds very, very close - and it could be it. If you've read it and can answer my question, I'd be so appreciative! If not, I may just have to read it and find out if it's the right one! Thanks for the suggestion - this is the closest one!

Follow-up: I just checked the publication date, and this isn't the one. It was published too late to be my book. But I think I'm going to read it anyway - it sounds good!

Still looking now?