Books with Unique Formats

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Love/Valentine’s Freebie: 

Books with Unique Formats

For the Valentine Freebie, I decided to talk about how I love books with unique formatting, whether this be books written in verse, epistolary novels, choose-your-own adventure, etc. This list could have probably had over 100 different books, since I'm always picking up new books like these. Here are ten books that I enjoyed and another ten I would like to read. 

Some Favorites:

1. To Be or Not To Be by Ryan North

    - To Be or Not To Be is one of the books I'm so happy I found all those years ago. I have read through the book many times over the years and I am sure I have not found all of the storylines. Growing up, I was a big fan of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books and was excited when I saw there was a Shakespeare's Hamlet version. One of the paths through the book is the one that “Shakespeare chose” as Ryan says in the book. This is hilarious and such a journey. I would love a Macbeth version of this. 

 

2. The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix

    -  I am going to recommend this book as much as possible forever. It was one that I read because I thought it had sounded interesting on NetGalley and I'm so glad I happened upon it there.  The book is about the authors C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. It focuses on their lives, friendship, and creative works. The story is told through illustrations, comics, and prose. I love the formatting of this book and would love to have more books like this about my other favorite writers. 

 

3. Amber and Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz

    - One of my favorite types of formatting for books is books written in verse. Amber and Clay is one of my favorite examples of these. It an intricately woven story told through artifacts, verse, and prose. I love how Rhaskos and Melisto’s story was narrated by the gods, their mothers, Sokrates, many others in their lives, and also themselves. My favorite of the narrators was definitely Hermes. His sections were a delight to read and listen to. 

    - Each artifact is illustrated and precedes a section of the story. They are meant to be exhibits in a museum which we then get context for in the poetry or prose that follows. It was brilliant how Laura chose to play with format throughout the entire book. This is a story I highly recommend reading physically so you can see the illustrations/formatting and also listening to with the audiobook. Rachel Botchan and Tom Picasso do an incredible job creating voices for each of the characters. 

4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer 

    - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is told through stream of consciousness narration and is told from a young boy named Oskar and his grandparents' perspectives. Oskar's narration especially was interesting. He would be thinking about one topic and then go into another topic right away. Sometimes you might even wonder why something he has said was important. It all is. Jonathan Safran Foer's writing style is unique. This is one of the most heartbreaking books I have ever read and is still one of my absolute favorites after about 8 years. 

5. The Marvels by Brian Selznick 

    - Every single book of Brian Selznick's could have been on this list. I decided to pick my favorite of his. His books are told through his stunning illustrations and also his prose. The story in this book is beautiful and gets me tearing up every single time I read it. I adore the story about The Marvel family and then also the plot with Joseph and his uncle Albert.

6. Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures (Zamonien #3) by Walter Moers

    - Any of the books in the Zamonien series by Walter Moers would fit here. Walter Moers not only has clever wordplay throughout his books but he also plays with formatting. His illustrations fit his world and characters very well. They are clever, zany, hilarious, and just plain weird at times. I love his style! 

 

7. Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral 

   - A young adult book told through mementos such as: photographs, notes, newspaper clippings, etc. It is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read in such an interesting format. 

Description from publisher: "After her mother died, Glory retreated into herself and her music. Her single father raised her as a piano prodigy, with a rigid schedule and the goal of playing sold-out shows across the globe. Now, as a teenager, Glory has disappeared. As we flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, we see a girl on the precipice of disaster. Brilliant and lonely, Glory is drawn to an artistic new boy, Frank, who moves in next door. The farther she falls, the deeper she spirals into madness. Before long, Glory is unable to play anything but the song 'Chopsticks.' "

8. Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

   - One of the weirdest books I have ever read, but it was worth every minute. It is told completely in Slack messages and is about a man whose consciousness gets uploaded into his company's Slack channels. This is such an absurd and crazy book. I have been wanting to reread this ever since I read it. So entertaining. Though, I will say it definitely will not be for everyone.  

9. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

   - An absolutely charming little book that is perfect for book lovers. It had me laughing out loud so many times throughout and touched my heart by the end. The story takes place over twenty years through the correspondences of Helen Hanff  and a used-book dealer from London whose shop is at 84, Charing Cross Road. Helene is so funny in her letters to Frank and her other friends. This is a great gem of a book which I highly recommend. 

10. Days Like These: An alternative guide to the year in 366 poems by Brian Bilston

   - Brian has become one of my favorite poets in the last year. I read this book throughout the entire year and had such a wonderful time with it. This has a poem for every day of the year along with information at the beginning of each. Many of the poems play with formatting in interesting ways. Brian's humor is what stands out the most for me in this collection and every other one I've read of his. I have never laughed so much while reading poetry, which is really refreshing. Days Like These will be a collection I return to in the future. If you are a poetry fan, I highly recommend checking out his poetry. 

 

Some I Would Like to Read:  

1. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

2. House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski

 

3. Bats of the Republic by Zachary Thomas

4. Follow This Thread: A Maze Book to Get Lost In by Henry Eliot

5. Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

6. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

7. The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan

8. Field Notes From an Extinction by Eoghan Walls (Release Date: March 3rd, 2026) 

9. Multiple Choice by Alejandro Zambra and translated by Megan McDowell

10. Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson