# Help me stock the ultimate (fictional) library **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [October 16, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444 "2013-10-16T23:07:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/21 "2013-10-17T15:48:45Z")
The Book of Mazarbul, from Tolkien. The iron-bound Book of Skelos, from Robert E. Howard. The Journal of the Whills, from Star Wars. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_fictional\_books](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_books) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_fictional\_books\_from\_non-print\_media](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_books_from_non-print_media) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_fictional\_books\_from\_periodicals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_books_from_periodicals) Wiki has a few more variations on the theme. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/22 "2013-10-17T17:04:57Z")
_Whole Art of Detection_, by Sherlock Holmes (And any of his monographs or essays you might find laying about). _The Nice And Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch_ _A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer_ Also, I know there are a lot of them out there, but as many versions of the _Encyclopedia Galactica_ as you can find. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/23 "2013-10-17T17:24:00Z")
_Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie_, and its sequel, _Commander Coriander Salamander and 'Er Singlehander Bellylander_. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/24 "2013-10-17T19:39:09Z")
_The Princess Bride_: S. Morgenstern’s unabridged original text. Goldman took out all the good political satire. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/25 "2013-10-17T19:41:38Z")
I would like finally to read an account of Sherlock Holmes’ adventure involving the Giant Rat of Sumatra, which Holmes mentioned in passing once to Watson but withheld any further details as “the world is not yet prepared” for it. A “real” volume of _The Neverending Story_ might be interesting too. (A blatant case of false advertising, as Lionel Hutz noted on _The Simpsons_) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/26 "2013-10-17T20:25:50Z")
[The Giant Rat of Sumatra](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXHcSBhfkx8): at last the world can know! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/27 "2013-10-18T03:13:14Z")
I’d probably need a cage first, but I’d like to capture a copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_. It was on a textbook list for Harry Potter ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/28 "2013-10-18T03:19:41Z")
> [@TheSeaOtter](#): > > _The Nice And Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch_ You’ll need the concordance, or it’ll make no sense. I want _Sceltie Saves the Day_ and _Unicorn to the Rescue_. Plus (plebeian, I know), I’d like a complete, finished _Mystery of Edwin Drood_. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/29 "2013-10-18T19:30:56Z")
Susanna Clarke’s masterful _Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell_ includes quite a few fictional works in its voluminous footnotes: [Susanna Clarke - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_books_in_the_works_of_Susanna_Clarke) Jake Sisko, son of the commanding officer of Deep Space Nine, was a journalist and wrote poetry and fiction - just one novel, _Anslem_, that’s mentioned, though: [Jake Sisko | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Jake_Sisko#Writing) ---
**Author:** ![Deegeea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Deegeea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deegeea)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/30 "2013-10-18T19:40:18Z")
In Sandman, there’s a dream library - a lot of titles are shown in it. [The Library of Dream - Beachcombing's Bizarre History Blog](http://www.strangehistory.net/2010/12/15/the-library-of-dream/) has their own version - maybe it will give you more ideas 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/31 "2013-10-18T20:02:49Z")
Well, since it is almost Halloween, _The Philosophy of Time Travel_ by Roberta Sparrow. > **[The Philosophy of Time Travel](http://www.donniedarko.org.uk/philosphy-of-time-travel/)** > > All the pages from the fictional book The Philospohy Of Time Travel by Roberta Sparrow. This will help you understand the movie Donnie Darko. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/32 "2013-10-18T20:20:45Z")
Paul Sheldon’s _Misery Chastain_ series and _Fast Cars_ ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/33 "2013-10-18T20:23:07Z")
_Where God Went Wrong_ by Oolon Colluphid _Some More of God’s Greatest Mistakes_ by Oolon Colluphid _Who Is This God Person Anyway?_ by Oolon Colluphid _Well That About Wraps It Up for God_ by Oolon Colluphid ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/34 "2013-10-18T20:26:24Z")
_The Octavo_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/35 "2013-10-18T20:54:10Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > _Where God Went Wrong_ by Oolon Colluphid > _Some More of God’s Greatest Mistakes_ by Oolon Colluphid > _Who Is This God Person Anyway?_ by Oolon Colluphid > _Well That About Wraps It Up for God_ by Oolon Colluphid Turns out all those books were ghost written by Richard Dawkins. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/36 "2013-10-18T22:38:12Z")
_East of Eden_, by John Steinbeck _A Painted House_, by John Grisham _The Pillars Of The Earth_, by Ken Follett _The Winds Of War_, by Herman Wouk _Texas_, by James Michener _Shogun_, by James Clavell ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/37 "2013-10-18T22:50:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Turns out all those books were ghost written by Richard Dawkins. The only reference I could find on Google re. your statement is that Oolon Colluphid was a character based on Richard Dawkins by his friend Douglas Adams. You might be right, but I’d appreciate a source. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/38 "2013-10-18T22:55:33Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The _Book of Silence_ from the [novel](http://www.watt-evans.com/thebookofsilence.html) of the same name. It’s called that because to speak a single word from it kills the speaker; best kept on the restricted shelves. But surely it contains perfectly common words people speak every day; what makes a word spoken “from” the book? ---
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/39 "2013-10-18T23:07:49Z")
> [@Largo62](#): > > _East of Eden_, by John Steinbeck > _A Painted House_, by John Grisham > _The Pillars Of The Earth_, by Ken Follett > _The Winds Of War_, by Herman Wouk > _Texas_, by James Michener > _Shogun_, by James Clavell I’m sorry, but this is either a whoosh or way too intellectual for me. Could you please expound on your choices? As for additional books, I think I should include a copy of [Fireside girls Handbook](http://phineasandferb.wikia.com/wiki/Fireside_Girls). I’m not sure if [The Death Note](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note) counts a book for this purpose. Peace - DESK ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444/40 "2013-10-19T01:44:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Turns out all those books were ghost written by Richard Dawkins. I had three or four jokes I almost made, but yours was better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-stock-the-ultimate-fictional-library/671444.md?page=3)