Book

Book
Rarity tier	Common‌[JE only]; Uncommon‌[BE only]
Enchantability	1
Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)

A book is an item that can be used as a crafting material or to store enchantments in a form that can be applied to any valid item using an anvil.

Obtaining

Block loot

Three books are dropped when a bookshelf is broken without using Silk Touch or fire.

Generated loot

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	Chance
Java Edition
Book	Ancient City	Chest	3–10	36.5% { "item": "Book", "stacksize": "3–10", "chance": 0.36541317641224724, "structure": "Ancient City", "container": "Chest" }
	Shipwreck	Map chest	1–5	34.5% { "item": "Book", "stacksize": "1–5", "chance": 0.34507581280069977, "structure": "Shipwreck", "container": "Map chest" }
	Stronghold	Library chest	1–3	89.2% { "item": "Book", "stacksize": "1–3", "chance": 0.8919829527458125, "structure": "Stronghold", "container": "Library chest" }
	Village	Plains house chest	1	12.1% { "item": "Book", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.12068353467250137, "structure": "Village", "container": "Plains house chest" }
	Village	Desert house chest	1	14.3% { "item": "Book", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.14254173828500694, "structure": "Village", "container": "Desert house chest" }
Bedrock Edition
Book	Ancient City	Chest	3–10	36.5% { "item": "Book", "stacksize": "3–10", "chance": 0.36541317641224724, "structure": "Ancient City", "container": "Chest" }
	Shipwreck	Map chest	1–5	34.5% { "item": "Book", "stacksize": "1–5", "chance": 0.34507581280069977, "structure": "Shipwreck", "container": "Map chest" }
	Stronghold	Library chest	1–3	88.3% { "item": "Book", "stacksize": "1–3", "chance": 0.8829194743853341, "structure": "Stronghold", "container": "Library chest" }
	Village	Plains house chest	1	12.1% { "item": "Book", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.12068353467250137, "structure": "Village", "container": "Plains house chest" }
	Village	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 Curse of Binding or 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	Book + Ink Sac + Feather
Bookshelf	Any Planks + Book
Enchanting Table	Book + 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	Trades in stock	Villager experience	Price multiplier
Villager		JE	BE	Villager wants	Player receives	Trades in stock	Villager experience	Price multiplier
Librarian	Novice	67%	50%	5–64 × Emerald + Book^{[t 1]}	Enchanted Book^{[t 2]}	12	1	0.2
	Apprentice	67%	100%	4 × Book	Emerald	12	10	0.05
	Apprentice	67%	50%	5–64 × Emerald + Book^{[t 1]}	Enchanted Book^{[t 2]}	12	5	0.2
	Journeyman	67%	50%	5–64 × Emerald + Book^{[t 1]}	Enchanted Book^{[t 2]}	12	10	0.2
	Expert	50%	33%	5–64 × Emerald + Book^{[t 1]}	Enchanted Book^{[t 2]}	12	15	0.2

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d The price range for the emeralds depends on the sold book. It is 2 + 3 ⋅ 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙 to 6 + 13 ⋅ 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙, but doubled for treasure enchantments, making it 4 + 6 ⋅ 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙 to 12 + 26 ⋅ 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙.
Prices are limited to 64 after they are picked but before further discounts are applied, possibly making 64 more likely.

Enchantment level	Emerald price range	Emerald price range for treasures
I	5–19	10–38
II	8–32	16–64
III	11–45	22–64 (22–90 before cap)
IV	14–58	28–64 (28–116 before cap)
V	17–64 (17–71 before cap)	34–64 (34–142 before cap)

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d A random enchantment other than Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst is picked with equal chances, followed by a random level. A villager can offer the same book multiple times.

Achievements


Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
		Enchanter	Construct an Enchanting Table.	Pick up an enchanting 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

Java Edition:

Sounds
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	Book placed	Blocks	When a book is placed in a chiseled bookshelf	`block.chiseled_bookshelf.insert`	`subtitles.chiseled_bookshelf.insert`	0.8	varies ^{[sound 1]}	16
	Book taken	Blocks	When a book is removed from a chiseled bookshelf	`block.chiseled_bookshelf.pickup`	`subtitles.chiseled_bookshelf.take`	0.8	varies ^{[sound 2]}	16

↑ Can be 1.0, 0.85, or 1.1 for each sound
↑ Can be 1.0, 0.8, or 1.1 for each sound

Bedrock Edition:

Sounds
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
	?	Blocks	When a book is placed in a chiseled bookshelf	`insert.chiseled_bookshelf`	?	0.8	varies ^{[sound 1]}
	?	Blocks	When a book is removed from a chiseled bookshelf	`pickup.chiseled_bookshelf`	?	0.8	varies ^{[sound 2]}

↑ Can be 1.0, 0.85, or 1.1 for each sound
↑ Can be 1.0, 0.8, or 1.1 for each sound

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Item tags	Translation key
Book	`book`	Item	`minecraft:bookshelf_books`	`item.minecraft.book`

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item tags	Translation key
Book	`book`	`387`	Item	`minecraft:bookshelf_books`	`item.book.name`

Videos

History

Java Edition

Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.11		Added books.
		Books are crafted from three paper, stacked vertically.
		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	Changed crafting recipe to be shapeless and to now require leather.
	12w17a	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.
1.12	17w13a	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	The texture of books has been changed.
	18w48a	Books can now be obtained by disenchanting non-curse enchanted books in a grindstone.
	18w48a	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 Update 1.20	22w42a	Books can now interact with chiseled bookshelves.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.2.0		Added books. They are currently unobtainable and serve no purpose.
v0.3.0		Books can now be crafted, with three paper vertically.
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.
		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.
1.10.0	beta 1.10.0.3	The texture of books has been changed.
1.11.0	beta 1.11.0.4	Librarian villagers now buy 4 books for an emerald.
1.18.30 Experiment Wild Update	beta 1.18.30.32	Books now generate in ancient city chests.
1.19.50 Experiment Next Major Update	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

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	Added books.
TU1							Books are crafted with 3 paper.
TU5							Books are now found in the new stronghold library chests.
TU7							Books are now used to craft enchantment tables, gaining their first functional usage outside of decoration.
TU14		1.04					The crafting recipe for books now requires leather.
TU14		1.04					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				The texture of books has been changed.
			1.91				Librarian villagers now buy 4 books for an emerald.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added books.

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.

Gallery

In other media

A book as seen in Minecraft Earth.

References

↑ MCPE-184806 – Books have the wrong rarity

[librarian_enchant_price-2] The price range for the emeralds depends on the sold book. It is 2 + 3 ⋅ 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙 to 6 + 13 ⋅ 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙, but doubled for treasure enchantments, making it 4 + 6 ⋅ 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙 to 12 + 26 ⋅ 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙.
Prices are limited to 64 after they are picked but before further discounts are applied, possibly making 64 more likely.

Enchantment level Emerald price range Emerald price range for treasures

I 5–19 10–38

II 8–32 16–64

III 11–45 22–64 (22–90 before cap)

IV 14–58 28–64 (28–116 before cap)

V 17–64 (17–71 before cap) 34–64 (34–142 before cap)

[librarian_enchant_book-3] A random enchantment other than Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst is picked with equal chances, followed by a random level. A villager can offer the same book multiple times.

[4] Can be 1.0, 0.85, or 1.1 for each sound

[5] Can be 1.0, 0.8, or 1.1 for each sound

[insertvaries-6] Can be 1.0, 0.85, or 1.1 for each sound

[pickupvaries-7] Can be 1.0, 0.8, or 1.1 for each sound

[1] MCPE-184806 – Books have the wrong rarity

[1]