A solid assortment of short stories about some of the most magical places in the world. A few personal favorites were re-published here from other collections, which makes for easy, relaxing re-reading.

A pretty interesting, good, and sometimes fun collection of library-/librarian-inspired short fiction. Worth a look if you're looking for something a little different.

Ex Libris: Stories of Librarians, Libraries, and Lore edited by Paula Guran contains 24 short stories that are reprints from other sources. The anthology has a good variety of stories from science fiction and fantasy to the more seemingly mundane. There are quite a few of them that struck me as being slow moving even though they are short stories. There are some really good ones too though. There is a story where the adventure is in returning the book to the proper shelf/area in the archives. There are special library monsters that feed on words. There is a classic Ray Bradbury story about a man visiting the library he spent so much time in in his youth. Another story is of a future where the Earth is maintained as a museum and a robot reads a story to a young girl. For me, I found that the further into the anthology I got, the better the stories seemed.

Having worked in a library for a while and having been interested in becoming a librarian, I thought this book would be awesome. It was good, but not as good as some of the other books that Paula Guran has edited.

I gave this book 3.5 stars out of 5. I liked it. It was good, but not awesome. It has a nice variety of stories. There's pretty much something for everyone. But, there seemed to be several slow moving stories as well. I would recommend this book if you love libraries and librarians.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. My review is freely given and solely my own opinions.

This collection of fantasy short stories explores the relationships of readers and librarians, the wonderful work librarians do, the fantastical places that libraries can be… and all of that mixed with lore.

Now, I must say this book really caught my interest when I first saw it! Stories about librarians, libraries, and lore in the same book? Count me in! Also, the Latin title got me. I think it speaks for the theme’s oldness, deep knowledge, and mystical air. The best thing about Ex Libris? It did not disappoint me – in fact, it even surprised me more than once!

Of all the book introductions I’ve read in my life, Paula Guran’s one in Ex Libris is by far the best one out there yet (at least for passionate readers and anyone who loves libraries). She tells us of the different libraries and librarians from all genres in literature while punctuating it with excerpts. Her research must have taken her a long time… but I want to say it was well worth it and beautifully done. It’s an introduction I won’t forget anytime soon. As for the reading itself, it flows – it is engrossing and lovely. It also got me quite emotionally invested in the stories, characters, and life itself (I still haven’t figured out how it managed to do that with the last one, but it’s still a neat feat!). Moreover, I had a magical read! The stories (most of them) were very funny and amusing. It reminded me of the magic libraries hold and how time flies by when I’m reading. It is an enchanting and lovely book!

All the short stories in this collection have a varying degree of importance related to books and/or libraries – you never know what to expect except that these two elements will be there in some way or another. To what extent and use is the surprise of each story. Speaking of stories, they were quite imaginative. They even manage by some mysterious force to be believable (don’t ask me how, I’m still working on understanding it)! The voices of the many narrators are clear, distinct, and strong. I would have thought some stories would lack in voice… but I was shown wrong with this collection! Woven into the texts are amusing references to real books – it’s a nice addition and at the same time a necessity regarding the library theme.

The vocabulary used in these stories is diverse, beautiful, and precise. The short stories aren’t too long – I believe their length has been well measured as it makes for captivating enough without becoming boring. Some stories are drama, others are adventures, but all have a subtle touch of humor and are engaging in their own way. One thing is for sure: together, those short stories are an eclectic mix – although it is sometimes destabilizing, it is also quite pleasant, much like refreshing parts of the same whole. Another thing I particularly enjoyed about Ex Libris is how diverse the situations and characters are! Some are people of color while others have illnesses or handicaps. A much appreciated touch that helps make those weird (it’s a compliment here) stories more realistic! There is something different I noticed about the format of these short stories: they include subtitles related to books or libraries (like the widely used Dewey decimal system), quotes, and other fun things. It’s a great idea to make their format somehow fit their main theme! I also think they were well structured, which helps the reading experience by making it easier on the eye. Finally, I loved learning about the authors in the ‘’About the Authors’’ section at the end. At first, I thought this was a collection of short stories written by emerging authors, but oh no! They are all big names like Holly Black, Ray Bradbury, and many others! It’s imposing and impressive.

You’re probably wondering where are the negative points, aren’t you? I was too, frankly… However, there are only two of those, which I am pretty sure are now fixed since the book has been released. I have found a few typos, additional and unneeded words, and sometimes forgotten conjugations. The other thing that bothered me (only slightly as the rest of the book was well worth my time spent reading it!) was how many repetitions there were. For example, in two close paragraphs the words ‘’soft’’ and ‘’softly’’ were used thrice. It happens here and there and, like in that example, it can pull you out of the story you’re reading. Those points aside, the book is pure entertainment with mysteries written in its pages.

The idea itself of a book about libraries and librarians wins numerous points with me. It hit home and I think it will do the same thing with other bookworms. In fact, it is a good fit for anyone who has a (secret) love of books and libraries and the people who help keep them in order. I give it a rating of 5 out of 5 because of the library theme, the quality of the stories, and also because I always wanted to resume reading it. I’m pretty sure all fantasy fans will find Ex Libris quite entertaining and worth their while since it has varied short stories – in other words, there is a short story for everyone in this amazing collection!

As a bonus, here’s my ranking of my favorite Ex Libris short stories:

1- In the House of the Seven Librarians by Ellen Klages

2- The Last Librarian by Edoardo Albert

3- Death and the Librarian by Esther M. Friesner

4- Special Collections by Norman Partridge

5- In Libres by Elizabeth Bear

Please note that all short stories had something unique to them and the ranking above is simply based on my personal tastes!

Sci-Fi, Gothic, Mystery, Existential, you name it. This book touches on a variety of topics and genres, all revolving around the theme of books, libraries and librarians.

A book that is alive, another acts as a philosopher's stone, a baby as payment for a late return, witches, authors living after their deaths through their books, and much more.

One of the best and most varied anthologies I've ever read.

I loved this collection of short stories about books and libraries. The stories are Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror and Mysterious but they all concern libraries and the Librarians who take care of them. The authors all realize how important books are. Included are well known authors as well as new to me authors. Enjoy this collection

Loved it. Even if you don't like anthologies you would like this one.

Do you like libraries? Or do you fear libraries/librarians? Do you know what actually happens in library stacks? Well, read this collection of previously published tales that all deal in one fashion or another with libraries or librarians and find out. The book opens with a child being raised by seven feral librarians and ends with a librarian destroying the future equivalent of the Internet to save the books from abuse. In between are tales of libraries helping save civilization, would-be-wizards needing to return books to the shelves in a living magical library, haunted libraries, libraries that collect books to good for the present readership, and many more tales. Most of these tales I had not read before and really enjoyed being able to sit back and explore one of my favorite places, the library!

Library aficionados, bookworms, and readers in general should love this collection of library fantasy and science fiction stories as much as I did. It's an interesting assortment of tales from the warm and whimsical opener "In the House of the Seven Librarians," about an abandoned infant raised in a classic old library that has been abandoned by a town and Ray Bradbury's nostalgic "Exchange," to post-apocalyptic stories like "The Books" (about the children of traveling show people trying to find new things to read) and "What Books Survive" and its teenage protagonist trying to outwit invaders just long enough to get to the library, to fantasy like "Death and the Librarian," where the librarian in question duels with the Grim Reaper, to otherworldly libraries. As the pages turn, a young man discovers his girlfriend can hide in fiction (literally), wizardry students must survive a deadly library to complete an assignment, an elusive library hides amazing works, and a few library tales step over that shivery abyss into horror (but just enough to make your skin tingle). The writing styles range from delightfully warm to grimly somber, from straightforward narrative to unexpected twist.

There were a couple of stories, as usual with any collection of this kind, that just didn't wow me, like "The King of the Big Night Hours," and while "Magic for Beginners" (featuring an elusive television series called The Library) was intriguing, I didn't quite get it in the end. Any false steps, however, have been completely overwhelmed by the stories I have mentioned and the collection as a whole, which I found inventive and entertaining.

A great mix of stories with a magical storytelling flourish!

I will never look at a library or librarian the same way again

Kudos to editor Paula Guran for her selection of short fantasy/science fiction stories. I loved about two thirds of them and was so-so about another four, but in an anthology, I certainly don’t expect to love all the stories. I would list my favorite stories but it would too closely resemble the table of contents. But I will say that some of my favorite authors are there, including Elizabeth Bear, Esther Friesner, and Ray Bradbury. This anthology is a must-read for bibliophiles, especially if they are fans of the genres.

Ah, the perils of the anthology on a single topic, in this case libraries: as a wise man once observed, stories with a twist can lose much of their impact if you read them in <i>50 Stories Where The Heroine Turns Out To Be A Vampire</i> - and even when it’s not a matter of twists, diminishing returns can easily set in. Particularly if you have an advanced copy* with a ticking clock and are obliged to get through all 23 tales in a month or two. So for all that I love a good library, there were points here at which I found myself sighing as yet another collection was lost or saved, hidden away or opened up. E.Saxey, whose work I've not encountered before, encapsulates it perfectly in the aptly titled 'The Librarian's Dilemma'; the nature of the job is that it's always a tension between access and preservation. That story switches back on itself several times within a fairly short piece, understanding that some moral questions are tricky but that doesn't mean others aren't easy; too many of the other pieces seemed too certain of too many answers, plumping uncomplicatedly for one or the other, ending in moments of resolution which made me think - really? Most particularly AC Wise’s ‘With Tales in Their Teeth, from the Mountain they Came’, in which the library at the story’s beginning seems too forbidding – but the new library praised in the conclusion is far too noisy for this particular Goldilocks. Still, I’ll forgive a certain amount for its orgy of the human books. Similarly, while Paula Guran’s introduction sometimes devolves into a mere list of Some Libraries In Genre Fiction, I can’t be too harsh on any such list which opens with James Branch Cabell’s incomparable <i>Beyond Life</i>, wherein can be found a library resembling but preceding and exceeding the one Lucien curates in <i>The Sandman</i>.

There are certainly gems here. Ray Bradbury was always the master of evoking the sort of small American town I dream about inhabiting in another life, and his library story here gains points for the anthology by not being the obvious ‘Bright Phoenix’. Kelly Link, in what I think may be the book’s longest piece, uses a strange TV show about an otherworldly library as the anchor for a poignant tale of that teenage moment which seems most eternal precisely as it’s ending: "Now the five are inseparable, invincible. They imagine that life will always be like this - like a television show in eternal syndication - that they will always have each other. They use the same vocabulary. They borrow each other's books and music.” And Esther M Friesner's 'Death and the Librarian’ is just heartbreakingly beautiful and sad and uplifting all at once.

*From Netgalley.

Ex Libris is a great read for anyone who loves libraries, librarians, and books. Using the genre of science fiction, there are plot twists and turns some unbelievable and some plausible that give you chills. I particularly enjoyed this book being an anthology of short stories which gave the reader variety as well as made the stories incredibly tight in their writing. Great gift book!

Love books about libraries and their history! I can't wait for my son to read this book, he is going to love it so much

This anthology is made up of reprints, taking from other anthologies or magazines such as Uncanny and Subterranean, so some you may have come across before. Of these, I've already read the shorts by Elizabeth Bear, Kelly Link, Scott Lynch, and Tansy Rayner Roberts - but as these are my favourite authors I eagerly reached for the rest. After all, what better subject than libraries.

Unfortunately I struggled with this anthology. Usually I love to review each story individually, but I didn't find myself able to have enough to discuss about each one. Please find following what I loved about a few of them. This is a steady anthology, one that has a beautiful cover and a few very excellent pieces in it, but unfortunately is not an easy collection to read through continuously (either in a week, or a few weeks).

In the House of the Seven Librarians by Ellen Klages

In a fitting start to the anthology we see a quaint proper library replaced with a new one that boasts proper fluorescent lighting and ergonomic chairs, and it's written with the kind of tone we can appreciate - a library isn't just a place with stacks of books, libraries that were our friends growing up are places of comfort - not sharp lines and electronics. Not all the books make it over, and for some reason the seven librarians remain in the old building also - and it's here they receive a late return. As we all know, late books require a fee to be paid, and this payment is quite odd indeed.

This is quite a lovely short - a little bit magical and a little bit of old comfort you instantly wish you were one of the librarians in their quiet comfort, or the lucky little bundle of payment. Reading this one was an excellent start to the anthology, and is so lovely in such a gentle way that it beautifully sets the tone.

The Books by Kage Baker

I love the premise of this - just like how I loved it in Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - how in a not so distant future a rabble group of people travel the world to entertain and remind others of things so they can't be forgotten and lost to the ravages of time in a post-apocalyptic world.

This one is an excellent piece to broaden the anthology out. We start with a safe library we've always found comfort in as children with Klages' story first, and then Baker takes us out into the big unknown, and shows how stories are our constant, and the one thing we can't do without - up there with food, water and shelter.

In Libres by Elizabeth Bear

Euclavia has been instructed by her advisor that her thesis really needs another source. He recommends a full rare book, rather than a particular article, and this means she has to go to the library. To the Special Collections section in particular. And for this, she wants her oldest friend, Bucephalus, (a centaur) to come with her, as libraries are a cause for concern.

They arrive, and the librarian they meet both recommends against it, and asks whether she's done anything to earn the ire of her advisor - slept with the tutor's spouse, etc. 'Any reason for him to want you dead?' is literally asked.

This creates such a fantastic piece of work where librarians carry both sword and wand, and people like poor Eu who need to enter are instructed to bring a ball of twine, three days of food, a bedroll, no fire, no shoes on antique rugs, no pens (but pencil and notepaper are allowed)... though as a plus, there are first air and water stations wherever there are restrooms which is say, every five kilometers... however they all move around, so who knows, really.

Brilliant through each part, and Bear, I want a full novel of this, please.

Summer Reading by Ken Liu

'After mankind had scattered to the stars like dandelion seeds, Earth was maintained as a museum overseen by robot curators.'

We have CN-344315 as our protagonist. He last saw a human over five thousand years ago, but he still goes about his routine - just like our favourite Wall-e, and like him, he cares so much about what humans have left behind.

This short story is endlessly quotable, like a lot of what Liu writes. 'Data only lives when it is constantly copied.' 'Books are long alive when they're read.' 'For books are seeds, and they grow in minds.'

Beautiful.

The Inheritance of Barnabas Wilcox by Sarah Monette

As one can guess from the title, Barnabas Wilcox has passed away, and his inheritance involves a country house to his nephew. One of the stipulations being that his library catalogue of an astounding number of books be finished - only his nephew doesn't know where to begin, so he writes to a boy he knew in school - one he was never close with, but he's the only one he knows who to turn to. And as Booth is in awe of the now deceased antiquary Lucius Wilcox, he agrees.

Like a good horror or murder mystery, the pieces slowly fall into place. The insane ramblings of the uncle. The abundance of a certain type of tree in the garden, and the horrid scratchings on the library door. I haven't yet read any of Monette's work but now I really, really want to.

What Books Survive by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Like some of the oldest and best fiction, space invaders have come. Now nothing electronic works, but as long as they stay behind their walls, the invaders seem to leave them pretty much alone. The only issue is that some houses have no or very few physical books, and along with half the houses (which means everyone has to squish in together), the shops, and the school (so now the town hall acts as the school also)... they left the library on the other side of the barricade. Something that 16yo Katie Marsden can't stand.

This is such a fun and wonderful piece - kids with gumption, and it tackles the hard questions. Such as 'Should I pick books [to save] because of posterity and shit like that, or should I just be selfish and save the ones I wanted to read?' Personally I reckon save the ones you want to read - life is too short if invaders have come.

Now Tansy is a fan of the kindle, as am I, but this certainly is a strong reason to be a fan of both mediums for sure.

The Green Book by Amal El-Mohtar

This is such a clever piece that the least said about it, the better. Even if you pick up this book and flick to Amal's section first - totally worth it.

In the Stacks by Scott Lynch

An old favourite. Fifth year exams for the High University of Hazar require the aspirants to enter the library and return with a library book.

Simple, right?

Well, the motto of the librarians here is: RETRIEVE. RETURN. SURVIVE.

Dressed in armour, equipped with swords and years of training, four of them are there to take the test. As one of the thankfully longer pieces in this anthology, we get such a fun romp of a tale where you see so much of their whole world even though we mostly see their sprawling library alone. Another piece that demands a full novel or ten. The language and dialogue makes anything by Lynch such a joy to read. The descriptions, witty banter - in many awful moods I've picked up something by Lynch and felt better within minutes - if only it could be bottled.

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Xia Jia, translated by Ken Liu

After college, a young girl returns to where she grew up to work in the library her father ran - as it's always felt like home, and other people don't make much sense anyway. She's had a feeling that she's always been looking for something, and she finally finds it in a slim volume of poetry, that's part of a collection donated by a family clearing out their father's estate.

This is a beautiful piece of work. 'It was still there, a slim volume squeezed between other books like a mysterious woman hiding in the attic.' Basically one can be assured that if Liu has translated it, then it's always going to be worth reading.

Ex Libris was absolutely one of my favorite books I have read in awhile! I was a substitute librarian for many years so this book had me imagining my library experience being as adventurous and fun as these stories. I will totally recommend this not only to all my reader friends but to my local librarians. It was wonderful!

I'm always a fan of books about books, bibliophiles, libraries and librarians. This collection is right up that alley. I enjoyed the different take by all the different authors. Some stories were stronger than others but I enjoyed most of them. I'm a book geek so this was just perfect.

Looking for something different to read? You've come to the right anthology! It is a book about libraries and librarians. The stories are fantastic! Many of the authors in this anthology are well known. It was a thrill for me to discover all these stories as I am a retired librarian. I've never read any of these before. Paula Guran did n excellent job of picking stories for this anthology. Don't miss it!

Having worked in a library myself and also having a great interest in libraries, I wanted to give this book a shot. I am pleased to say that I did enjoy most of these stories and some of them I loved. This was an interesting collection of short stories about the topics mentioned above. I really enjoyed two of the stories a lot: "In the House of Seven Librarians" by Ellen Klages, and "Paper Cuts Scissors" by Holly Black. Holly Black is one of my favorite writers and her story was interesting to me. I have always loved the idea of being able to go into stories. It is reminiscent of Inkheart by Cornelia Funke in this aspect and I really enjoyed it for that. Ellen Klages story is about a little girl who is raised by seven librarians and the different ways they decide to raise her. It is a great story that I could not get enough of.

I am not a person that reads many short stories. In college, I read many of them in all of my Literature classes and I quite enjoyed them but in my free time I never really picked them up too much. As soon as I saw this book I wanted to pick it up because I thought stories about Librarians, Libraries and the Lore surrounding each would be something I would enjoy. I would recommend this collection of short stories because to those that enjoy libraries for any number of reasons. It is a good collection and I'm sure that you will find at least one story that you will enjoy within its contents. I'm glad that I took the time to read it and I know that some of them I will read over again. In the future, I plan on picking up some of Paula Guran's other collections up.

After doing the math, despite some REALLY blow your mind stories, it averaged out to 3.09 stars for me.

The best, to find and read somewhere, if not from this anthology.

1) "In the House of Seven Librarians" by Ellen Klages. First story in the book, starts off with amazing awesomeness, had high hopes for the rest of the book due to this story. 5 stars

2) "The Books" by Kage Baker. Not quite as great as the first one, but VERY good. 4.5 stars.

3) "Summer Reading" by Ken Liu. You will need a hanky or two for this one. So sweet. 5 stars.

4) "The Inheritance of Barnabas Wilcox" by Sarah Monette. Spooky and while you knew where it was going, you were glad it went there. 4.5 stars.

5) "The Midbury Lake Incident" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Sad, but hopeful. 4.5 stars.

6) "In the Stacks" by Scott Lynch. Apparently I can only handle him in short story format, but this was really good. 4.5 stars.

The ones to avoid.

1) "Special Collections" by Norman Partridge. The only story I DNF'd in this entire volume, and that's saying a lot for a short story. It was HORRIBLE. No thank you, I don't want to read about a menage between a sociopathic murderer, a completely unstable female and a demon manifestation of Jack the Ripper, made out of grave worms. If that's your thing, then you will like this story. If not, avoid. No stars.

2) "Magic for Beginners" by Kelly Link. It started off weird, got REALLY good, then the author left a Lady or the Tiger ending and I nearly rage-threw my eReader across the room. I wanted resolution and was given a tease. Nope! One star.

I only listed the 4.5/5 and 0/1 star stories, but there were a LOT of middle of the road 2s and 3s. A few 4s as well, but I didn't want to list every story.

Suffice it to say, this isn't a bad read. You have some amazing stories, some ok stories and some "I need to wash my brain and eyes with bleach" stories. It's a typical anthology. I will read other anthologies edited by this editor, she does have some taste and includes different types of stories that all are bound to enjoy at least a few of.

I would recommend it. Three stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors Prime Books for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.