Book

For other uses, see Book (disambiguation).

Book

Rarity color	Common
Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)

Books are items used in enchanting and crafting.

Obtaining

Block loot

Three books are dropped when a bookshelf is mined without Silk Touch or destroyed by an explosion.

Crafting

Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Paper + Leather

Chest loot

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	Chance
Java Edition
Book	Shipwreck	Map chest	1–5	34.5%
	Stronghold	Library chest	1–3	89.2%
	Village	Plains house chest	1	12.1%
		Desert house chest	1	14.3%
Java Edition 1.19[upcoming]
Book	Ancient City	Chest	3–10	35.9%
Bedrock Edition
Book	Ancient City	Chest	3–10	35.7%
	Shipwreck	Map chest	1–5	34.5%
	Stronghold	Library chest	1–3	88.3%
	Village	Plains house chest	1	12.1%
		Desert house chest	1	14.3%
Bedrock Edition 1.19.0[upcoming]
Book	Ancient City	Chest	3–10	35.9%

Grindstones

Disenchanting an enchanted book at a grindstone yields a normal book and a small amount of experience.

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

Enchanting

Books can be made into enchanted books by enchanting them on enchanting tables.

Trading

Librarian villagers can buy a single book as part of an enchanted book trade.

Apprentice-level Librarian villagers have a ²⁄₃ chance to buy 4 books for an emerald in Java Edition, and always offer the trade in Bedrock Edition.

Achievements

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS4)
PS4	Other platforms
		Enchanter	Construct an Enchantment Table.	Pick up an enchantment table from a crafting table output.	20G	Bronze
		Librarian	Build some bookshelves to improve your enchantment table.	Pick up a bookshelf from a crafting table output.	20G	Bronze

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Parent	Actual requirements (if different)	Resource location
	Enchanter	Enchant an item at an Enchantment Table	Diamonds!	Insert an item in an enchanting table, then apply an enchantment.	story/enchant_item

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Translation key
Book	book	Item	item.minecraft.book

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Translation key
Book	book	387	Item	item.book.name

History

Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.11					Added books.
					The only use of books is crafting bookshelves, which are used as a purely decorative block.
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.
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.
		12w22a			Librarian villagers now sell enchanted books for 5–64 emeralds and 1 book.
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		17w47a			Prior to The Flattening, this item's numeral ID was 340.
		18w11a			Books now generate in shipwreck chests.
1.14		18w43a			The texture of books has been changed.
		18w48a			Books can now be found in chests in plains village houses.
		18w50a			Books can now be found in chests in desert village houses.
		19w13a			Librarian villagers now give books to players under the Hero of the Village effect.
Upcoming Java Edition
1.19		Deep Dark Experimental Snapshot 1			Books now generate in ancient city chests.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.2.0					Added books. They are currently unobtainable and serve no purpose.
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.
					The texture of books has been changed.
1.11.0		beta 1.11.0.4			Librarian villagers now buy 4 books for an emerald.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.0	Patch 1		Added books.
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.
PlayStation 4 Edition
1.90					The texture of books has now been changed.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0					Added books.

Issues

Issues relating to "Book" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

See also

• Enchanted Book
• Knowledge Book

Items

View at: Template:Items/content [edit]