What are Minecraft Books?

The recipe for a book is simple. You will need to gather three pieces of sugarcane and one piece of leather. Turn your sugarcane into paper at a crafting table.

Then place your paper and leather anywhere in your crafting menu.

That is all you need to make a book and get started on your enchanting or trading journey.

One of the simplest things you can do with a book is making a bookshelf. This is a vital recipe for your enchantment table and can simply spruce up your home as a nice piece of decoration.

They can be made with three books and six wooden planks of any kind. You can mix and match the type of wooden planks in this recipe.

The most useful thing to do with a book is to enchant one. If you place fifteen bookshelves around an enchantment table, with a block of air between, you can unlock level 30 enchantments. This can give you any enchantment other than mending.

You can get very desirable enchantments like unbreaking which is helpful on any tool or armor piece as unbreaking III triples your item durability. The enchantment table will only show you one of the enchantments that the book is guaranteed to have. The book may come with other enchantments as well, especially at the higher level enchantment requirement.

You can also use books to make a book and quill. There are not many practical uses for a book and quill other than decorative purposes. Place a book, feather, and an ink sack into your crafting menu in any arrangement to make a book and quill.

You can place a book and quill on top of a lectern to make a nice furniture arrangement.

A book and quill can be written to save stories, mark a list of individuals in your multiplayer server, or list coordinates to places of interest in your world.

You can also trade books with villagers who have the librarian profession. They will only trade up to a certain amount and their prices will change depending on your relationship with the villager, and how many trades you have conducted with them recently.

Trading with a villager is vital for powering beacons as getting the 164 blocks necessary to fully power a beacon can be difficult without a source of infinite gem generation.

Unused enchanted books can be taken to a grindstone to remove the enchantment, give you some experience, and result in a normal book.

How do I read a book in Minecraft?

To read a book, you will need to make it into a book and quill first. You cannot read an ordinary book. Place a book in to a crafting table with a feather and an ink sack in any arrangement to make a book and quill. You can then write in the book and place it on top of the lecterns. To open the book simply hold the book and quill in your hand and right-click.

How do I duplicate a book in Minecraft?

Open a book and quill and click the sign button at the bottom. After titling and authoring the book, you can sign and close the book and also duplicate it.

With your signed copy of a book and quill, place it in a crafting menu along with any extra book and quills you would like to copy them into. The books and quills you place into the crafting menu with the signed original will turn into copies of the signed book. The original book is not consumed during this copy process.

Books are a straightforward item with some interesting interactions. There are many practical uses from simply decorative to finding the perfect enchantment. A book on its own does not do much but it is used in many important recipes. The end result is up to you as there are many things you can write in a book and quill and there are dozens of enchantments to get on an enchanted book. Whether you decide to use books for decorative, trade, or enchanted uses there is no doubt how useful a book can be.