Let’s be honest: we all have a fictional character or two that we wish we could meet in real life. The especially bookish of us also wish we could read the books that those characters read. When the world-building is so detailed that it even includes fictional literature, that’s when you know the story is top-notch. We compiled a list of the best fictional books from pop culture that we wish we could read. Hopefully, we don’t trigger your FOMO too hard.
The Pepperwood Chronicles from New Girl
Genre: Crime/Mystery
Nick Miller’s crime saga, The Pepperwood Chronicles, sounds absolutely phenomenal. When his friends read the initial draft, they can’t find a single note to give him! (Every writer’s fantasy, right?) This novel series follows a grizzled former Chicago cop named Julius Pepperwood, who is now a private detective in New Orleans. The jazzy locale of the Big Easy heightens the thrilling mystery. If only we could read it!
We can’t help but also be curious about Nick’s memoir, Chicago Hobo, and the Bitch Witch trilogy, which is also produced by his publishing house.
The Francine Odysseys from Moonrise Kingdom
Genre: YA Fantasy
When the two young protagonists of Moonrise Kingdom run off into the woods, one of them, Suzy Bishop, prioritizes books over rations. (Honestly, so relatable.) Aside from The Francine Odysseys, Suzy also packs five other fictional books: Shelly and the Secret Universe, The Girl from Jupiter, Disappearance of the 6th Grade, The Light of Seven Matchsticks, and The Return of Auntie Lorraine. Suzy reads an excerpt from The Francine Odysseys as they drift off to bed one night, and the moving emotion in that one paragraph hints at a much larger fantasy epic.
As part of a special release for the film, director Wes Anderson created a short video that offers animated excerpts from all of Suzy’s books. Get a taste of these fabulous YA titles here.
Five Centuries of Verse from Dead Poets Society
Genre: Poetry
While most of the poetry presented in Dead Poets Society does come from the real world, the club’s anthology does not. Admit it: when Professor John Keating left this worn, annotated book in Neil’s room, you wished you had it. A large part of the charm of this book comes from the fact that it’s a used copy that is starting to fall apart. You just know it’s got that great old book smell.
The Princess Bride from The Princess Bride
Genre: Fantasy
Okay, so this is a weird one. Yes, William Goldman’s novel is real, but S. Morgenstern’s book, which it’s supposedly abridged from, is not. We’ll take Goldman’s word for it that his edition is better (70 pages about Florin clothing styles does sound pretty dull). But if the book were real, that would mean we could visit Florin and the Cliffs of Insanity! Not to mention, it would mean that the sequel, Buttercup’s Baby, was actually completed. Oh, well. Goldman’s elaborate satirical lie is just as fun.
Handbook for the Recently Deceased from Beetlejuice
Genre: Nonfiction
This is probably the only time in history that anyone wished they could read an instruction manual. But when that manual is about the colorful afterlife, can you blame us? If this book existed, it would at least settle our fears about death. And, if your house is haunted, there’s also the companion book The Living and the Dead: Harmonious Lifestyles and Peaceful Co-existence. Who knows, maybe there are books like this waiting for us in the great beyond.
The Boat Rocker from Field of Dreams
Genre: Literary Fiction
Terence Mann’s fictional novel, The Boat Rocker, is introduced to us during a PTA meeting when a group of parents are trying to ban it from the school district. All of us at Bookstr can’t help but perk up when we hear the phrase “banned book.” It wouldn’t be banned if it weren’t good, right? The Boat Rocker is a literary fiction novel from the 1960s that dissects political tensions of the time, à la The Catcher in the Rye. If only we could add this seditious morsel to our bookshelves!
A Match Made in Space from Back to the Future
Genre: Science Fiction
Who doesn’t love a science fiction novel with a definitely-not-a-self-insert romance plot? When Marty returns to the 1980s at the end of the movie, he discovers that his father, George McFly, is a successful writer. A Match Made in Space is his debut novel and is based in part on the wacky hijinks that ensued when Marty crash-landed in the 1950s in his time machine. We wish we could read this exciting alien adventure!
Old Custer from The Royal Tenenbaums
Genre: Historical Fiction
In Old Custer, Eli Cash “presupposes” that maybe General Custer didn’t die during the Battle of Little Bighorn. Eli might be a little odd, but his book is supposedly a bestseller, so we can’t help but be curious about its storyline. Plus, his animated reading of the novel is equally hilarious and enticing.
Aside from Eli’s novel, we also wish we could read a few other books mentioned in this film. Namely, the nonfiction psychology book, Dudley’s World, and Margot Tenenbaum’s collection of stage plays.
What a vast catalog of genres that we’ll never read! We are green with envy that these fictional characters get to enjoy such incredible titles. Oh, well. At least the real world is still full of great books waiting to be discovered. And if you can’t find a story you wish you could read, you could always try writing it yourself!
Click here to learn about some crazy book genres you can actually read.
Visit our recommendations bookshelf on Bookshop.org to find your next bookish obsession.
