Book

| Rarity tier |
Common |
|---|---|
| Enchantability |
1 |
| Renewable |
Yes |
| Stackable |
Yes (64) |
{
"title": "Book",
"rows": [
{
"field": "Common<sup class=\"noprint nowrap Inline-Template \" title=\"\">[<i><span title=\"This statement only applies to Java Edition\">(link to Java Edition article, displayed as JE) only</span></i>]</sup><br/>Uncommon<sup class=\"noprint nowrap Inline-Template \" title=\"\">[<i><span title=\"This statement only applies to Bedrock Edition\">(link to Bedrock Edition article, displayed as BE) only</span></i>]</sup>",
"label": "(link to Rarity article, displayed as Rarity tier)"
},
{
"field": "1",
"label": "(link to Enchantability article, displayed as Enchantability)"
},
{
"field": "Yes",
"label": "(link to Renewable resource article, displayed as Renewable)"
},
{
"field": "Yes (64)",
"label": "Stackable"
}
],
"invimages": [
"Book"
],
"images": [
"Book.png"
]
}
Books are items that play an important role for enchanting, used to craft the enchanting table itself as well as bookshelves required to power it up. Alternatively, books themselves can be enchanted in order to store and apply enchantments. A book can also be crafted into a book and quill, which allows players to write and keep text.
Obtaining
Block loot
Three books are dropped when a bookshelf is mined without Silk Touch or destroyed by an explosion.
Generated loot
| Item | Structure | Container | Quantity | Chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Java Edition | ||||
| Chest | 3–10 | 35.9%{ "item": "Book", "stacksize": "3–10", "chance": 0.3585407680864854, "structure": "Ancient City", "container": "Chest" }
| ||
| Map chest | 1–5 | 34.5%{ "item": "Book", "stacksize": "1–5", "chance": 0.34507581280069977, "structure": "Shipwreck", "container": "Map chest" }
| ||
| Library chest | 1–3 | 89.2%{ "item": "Book", "stacksize": "1–3", "chance": 0.8919829527458125, "structure": "Stronghold", "container": "Library chest" }
| ||
| Plains house chest | 1 | 12.1%{ "item": "Book", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.12068353467250137, "structure": "Village", "container": "Plains house chest" }
| ||
| Desert house chest | 1 | 14.3%{ "item": "Book", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.14254173828500694, "structure": "Village", "container": "Desert house chest" }
| ||
| Bedrock Edition | ||||
| Chest | 3–10 | 35.9%{ "item": "Book", "stacksize": "3–10", "chance": 0.3585407680864854, "structure": "Ancient City", "container": "Chest" }
| ||
| Map chest | 1–5 | 34.5%{ "item": "Book", "stacksize": "1–5", "chance": 0.34507581280069977, "structure": "Shipwreck", "container": "Map chest" }
| ||
| Library chest | 1–3 | 88.3%{ "item": "Book", "stacksize": "1–3", "chance": 0.8829194743853341, "structure": "Stronghold", "container": "Library chest" }
| ||
| Plains house chest | 1 | 12.1%{ "item": "Book", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.12068353467250137, "structure": "Village", "container": "Plains house chest" }
| ||
| Desert house chest | 1 | 14.3%{ "item": "Book", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.14254173828500694, "structure": "Village", "container": "Desert house chest" }
| ||
Crafting
| Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
|---|---|
| Paper + Leather |
Grindstones
Disenchanting an enchanted book at a grindstone yields a normal book and a small amount of experience (unless the enchanted book has a Curse of Binding or a Curse of Vanishing on it).
Villager gifts
in Java Edition, librarian villagers throw books at players under the Hero of the Village effect.
Usage
Crafting ingredient
| Name | Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Book and Quill | + Ink Sac + Feather |
|
| Bookshelf | Any Planks + |
|
| Enchanting Table | + Diamond + Obsidian |
Chiseled bookshelf
Using the chiseled bookshelf while having a book in the main hand puts the book inside the chiseled bookshelf.
Enchanting
Books can be made into enchanted books by enchanting them on enchanting tables.
Trading
| Villager | Probability | Villager wants | Player receives | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JE | BE | |||
| 67% | 100% | 4 × | ||
| 67% | 50% | 5–64 × + | ||
| 50% | 33% | 5–64 × + | ||
| 67% | 50% | 5–64 × + | ||
| 67% | 50% | 5–64 × + | ||
- ↑ a b c d The enchantment is chosen randomly with equal chance of any enchantment type occurring (except for Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst) and equal chance to get any level of the enchantment, meaning high-level enchantments are as likely as low-level enchantments. It is possible for a librarian to sell the same book more than once. The price in emeralds depends on the enchantment level and "treasure" status. The minimum price of a book is given by 2 + 3 * (enchantment level), while the maximum price is 6 + 13 * (enchantment level). The possible values are 5–19 emeralds for Lvl I, 8–32 for Lvl II, 11–45 for Lvl III, 14–58 for Lvl IV, and 17–71 for Lvl V. For treasure enchantments the price is doubled. The cost is capped at 64 emeralds. All values below this cap are equally probable.
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Gamerscore earned | Trophy type (PS) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS4 | Other | ||||||
| Enchanter | Construct an Enchantment Table. | Pick up an enchantment table from a crafting table output. | 20 | Bronze | |||
| Librarian | Build some bookshelves to improve your enchantment table. | Pick up a bookshelf from a crafting table output. | 20 | Bronze | |||
Advancements
| Icon | Advancement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) |
|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Enchanter | Enchant an item at an Enchanting Table | Insert an item in an enchanting table, then apply an enchantment. |
Sounds
| Sounds | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
| Book placed | Blocks | When a book is placed in a chiseled bookshelf | block | subtitles | 0.8 | varies [sound 1] | 16 | |
| Book taken | Blocks | When a book is removed from a chiseled bookshelf | block | subtitles | 0.8 | varies [sound 2] | 16 | |
| Sounds | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Source | Description | Resource location | Volume | Pitch |
| Blocks | When a book is placed in a chiseled bookshelf | insert | 0.8 | varies [sound 1] | |
| Blocks | When a book is removed from a chiseled bookshelf | pickup | 0.8 | varies [sound 2] | |
Data values
ID
| Name | Identifier | Form | Item tags | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
book | Item | minecraft:bookshelf_books | item |
| Name | Identifier | Numeric ID | Form | Item tags | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
book | 387 | Item | minecraft:bookshelf_books | item |
Video
History
| Java Edition Alpha | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1.0.11 | |||||||
| The only use of books is crafting bookshelves, which are used as purely decorative blocks until Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3. | |||||||
| Java Edition Beta | |||||||
| 1.8 | Pre-release | Books are now found in the new stronghold library chests. | |||||
| Java Edition | |||||||
| 1.0.0 | Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3 | Books are now used to craft enchantment tables, gaining their first functional usage outside of decoration. | |||||
| 1.3.1 | 12w17a | The crafting recipe is now shapeless, so books can now be crafted in the player's 2×2 crafting area, although the recipe now requires leather. Before this version, books were crafted with three paper sheets in a single column. | |||||
| A book can now be crafted into a book and quill, which can be used to create written books. | |||||||
| 12w21a | Librarian villagers now buy 11–12 books for 1 emerald. | ||||||
| 1.4.6 | 12w49a | Books can now be enchanted into enchanted books, and then combined together in an anvil with a tool to then enchant it. | |||||
| 1.8 | 14w02a | Librarian villagers now buy 8–10 books for 1 emerald. | |||||
| 1.9 | 15w43a | Average yield of books in stronghold library chests has been substantially increased. | |||||
| 1.12 | 17w13a | Added the knowledge book, a green-colored book that grants the player a recipe for crafting. | |||||
| The recipe tab on the crafting table GUI uses a red-colored book. | |||||||
| 1.13 | 18w11a | Books now generate in shipwreck chests. | |||||
| 1.14 | 18w43a | ||||||
| 18w48a | Books can now be obtained by disenchanting non-curse enchanted books in a grindstone. | ||||||
| Books can now be found in chests in plains village houses. | |||||||
| 18w50a | Books can now be found in chests in desert village houses. | ||||||
| 19w11a | Librarian villagers now buy 4 books for 1 emerald. | ||||||
| 19w13a | Librarian villagers now give books to players under the Hero of the Village effect. | ||||||
| 1.19 | Deep Dark Experimental Snapshot 1 | Books now generate in ancient city chests. | |||||
| 1.19.3 Experiment | 22w42a | Books can now interact with chiseled bookshelves. | |||||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||||
| v0.2.0 | |||||||
| v0.3.0 | Books can be used to craft bookshelves. | ||||||
| v0.5.0 | Books can now be obtained after activating the nether reactor. | ||||||
| v0.12.1 | build 1 | The crafting recipe for books now requires leather. Before this version, books were crafted with three paper sheets in a single column. | |||||
| Books are now used to craft enchanting tables. | |||||||
| Books can now be enchanted into enchanted books, and then combined together in an anvil with a tool to then enchant it. | |||||||
| Books are no longer available from the nether reactor. | |||||||
| Pocket Edition | |||||||
| 1.0.4 | alpha 1.0.4.0 | Librarian villagers now buy 8–10 books for 1 emerald. | |||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||||
| 1.2.0 | beta 1.2.0.2 | A book can now be crafted into a book and quill, which can be used to create written books. | |||||
| 1.4.0 | beta 1.2.14.2 | Books can now be found inside of the map room chest in shipwrecks. | |||||
| 1.10.0 | beta 1.10.0.3 | Books can now be found in plains village chests. | |||||
| 1.11.0 | beta 1.11.0.4 | Librarian villagers now buy 4 books for an emerald. | |||||
| 1.18.30 Experiment | beta 1.18.30.32 | Books now generate in ancient city chests. | |||||
| 1.19.50 Experiment | Preview 1.19.50.21 | Books can now interact with chiseled bookshelves. | |||||
| 1.21.30 | Preview 1.21.30.21 | The rarity of books is now "Uncommon", presumably being swapped with enchanted books on accident. | |||||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||||
| Xbox 360 | Xbox One | PS3 | PS4 | PS Vita | Wii U | Switch | |
| TU1 | CU1 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | |
| TU14 | 1.04 | The crafting recipe for books now requires leather. Before this version, books were crafted with three paper sheets in a single column. | |||||
| Librarian villagers now buy 11–12 books for 1 emerald. | |||||||
| TU25 | CU14 | 1.17 | 1.17 | 1.17 | A book can now be crafted into a book and quill, which can be used to create written books. | ||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Librarian villagers now buy 8–10 books for 1 emerald. | |
| TU69 | 1.76 | 1.76 | 1.76 | Patch 38 | Books can now be found inside of the map room chest in shipwrecks. | ||
| 1.90 | |||||||
| 1.91 | Librarian villagers now buy 4 books for an emerald. | ||||||
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||||
| 0.1.0 | |||||||
Data history
| Java Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.13 | 17w47a | Prior to The Flattening, this item's numeral ID was 340. | |||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Book" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.
