Editing Imaginary book (section)

{{short description|Book that only exists within a work of fiction}}
{{distinguish|Book of fiction}}
{{Missing information|functions, sub-types, and most prominent examples of fictional books|date=March 2025}}
An '''imaginary book''' or '''fictional book'''<ref name=Fitzsimmons>Fitzsimmons, Phillip, "Books Within Books in Fantasy and Science Fiction: 'You are the Dreamer and the Dream'" (2022). ''Faculty Books & Book Chapters''. 3.</ref> is a [[book]] which "traditionally exist only within secondary worlds" of works of fiction, where it can fullfill various functions<ref>Sezen, Tonguc. "Books Bleeding out of the Screen: Engaging with Imaginary Books on Screen Through Replicas." ''Participations'' 19.3 (2023).</ref> and may "act as keystones to the structure of both the stories and the worlds in which they appear."<ref name=Fitzsimmons/>

<!-- THIS SECTION NEEDS VERIFICATION AND CLEAN-UP: A fictional book may be created to add realism or depth to a larger work of fiction. For example, [[George Orwell]]'s novel  ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' has excerpts from a book by [[Emmanuel Goldstein]] entitled ''[[The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism]]'' which provides background on concepts explored in the novel (both the named author [Goldstein] and the text on collectivism are made up by Orwell).

A fictional book may provide the basis of the [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] of a story, a common thread in a series of books or other works, or the works of a particular writer or canon of work. An example of a fictional book that is part of the plot of another work (in addition to ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'') is [[Philip K. Dick]]'s ''[[The Man in the High Castle]]'', in which resistance members circulate a banned book entitled ''The Grasshopper Lies Heavy''. An example of a fictional book linking a series is ''[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]'', an imaginary set of encyclopedias created by [[Isaac Asimov]] and referred to in the novels in his [[Foundation Series]]. An example of an author referring to a fictional book in a number of unconnected works is [[Jack Vance]]'s quotes from an imaginary twelve-volume opus entitled ''Life'' by Unspiek, [[Baron Bodissey]] in Vance's novels (Bodissey is a fictional character created by Vance). -->