Books about books happen to be a favourite genre of mine, so here is a partial list of those I have enjoyed, exploring various aspects of books and reading, historical and personal:

-84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. Memoir about her long-lasting intercontinental relationship with a book shop and its staff. There is a charming movie starring Anne Bancroft as Hanff.
-At Home with Books by Estelle Ellis & Caroline Seebohm, photographs by Christopher Simon Sykes. This is a coffee table book with photos of private libraries.
-Living with Books by Alan Powers. Another gorgeous coffee-table book about libraries, public and private.
-Ex Libris: Confessions of a common reader by Anne Fadiman. A collection of essays about books and reading.
-Used and Rare: Travels in the book world by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone. About how they became book collectors.
-The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary (American title: The professor and the Madman) by Simon Winchester.
-A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books by Nicholas A. Basbanes. A collection of anecdotes and essays about various aspects of books.
-A Passion for Books: A Book Lover's Treasury of Stories, Essays, Humor, Love and Lists on Collecting, Reading, Borrowing, Lending, Caring for, and Appreciating Books, edited by Rob Kaplan.
-The book of lost books : an incomplete history of all the great books you will never read, by Stuart Kelly.
-Maps & Legends: Reading and writing along the borderlands by Michael Chabon
-A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a book addict by John Baxter
-So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson

The New Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman and John S. Major. The flap says it is the classic guide to world literature and provides readers with brief, informative, entertaining, and persuasive introductions to more than 130 classics. It also says that if you just read these intros you will be better read than most people. I'm sorry to say I haven't finished it.

Netla's list is fabulous, and I've had the pleasure of reading many of the books on it, my favorite being Ex Libris -- I can't say enough good things about Anne Fadiman. (Clifton Fadiman of The New Lifetime Reading Plan is her father, btw.) Carolyn, I've had that book on my bedside table for ages and am also sorry to say I have only dipped into it occasionally.

I would also recommend The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, A History by Lewis Buzbee.

One of my all-time favorite books is Howard's End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home by the well-known novelist Susan Hill. A search for a book that she knows she owns but can't find leads her to examine all of her many shelves and a lifetime of accumulated books. She comes up with a list of 40 books for a year's worth of reading. I've read this book three times!

"The Shadow of the Wind" is a marvelous fictional work about books and those who love them.

Also, Pat Conroy has written a compendium of all the books he read that influenced his writings and his philosophy of life.

Such great suggestions -- keep 'em coming!

The Book Shop by Penelope Fitzgerald.

Found this link on GoodReads for a pretty comprehensive list of titles on books about books.... You might get some ideas from this. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: GoodReads books about books list

I really enjoyed the People of the Book-by Geraldine Brooks.

Pat

This was a thoughtful and rather academic read if you'd like to work out your brain cells:

The Pleasures of Reading in the Age of Distraction - Alan Jacobs...

Not the easiest read but worth it.

I second "The People of the Book". And I liked "How the Irish Saved Civilization" very much (by Cahill).

I, too, love Anne Fadiman. All her essay collections are great and she wrote the brilliant "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down."

I also enjoyed Susan Hill's book.

For a fiction read, I liked "Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store."

Woodnymph2, I found a plausible explanation for why our Greek family has many members with fair skin, red hair and blue eyes in "How the Irish Saved Civilization". I think maybe one of those book collecting Irish monks stayed a little too long in the Peloponnese.

Merrywold, LOL. Tomorrow, I'm headed to the huge annual Greek Festival here in the city. I never miss a year, as I love the food, the dancing, and the music!

Woodnymph2, Did you have a good time at the festival and did you do any dancing?

I also really enjoyed "Sixpence House" about Hay-on-Wye.

Has anyone read "The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap"?

merry, the festival was fantastic! I was so tempted to do the "Syrto" (the one dance I do know) but it was about 85 degrees and I was wearing flip-flops, so did not attempt it. Maybe next year! I really enjoyed my favorites: the spanokopitas and the moussaka. When I traveled in Europe years ago, I fell in love with Greece and its culture.