How To Craft a Book In Minecraft
Have you ever wanted to build a beautiful library, enchant your gear with powerful spells, or write your own stories in the game? Then you’ve come to the right place. The normal book is a foundational item for all of these things, and crafting it is one of the first steps toward some of the most exciting parts of the game.
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know, from the basic recipe to all the cool stuff you can do with your new book.
What is a Minecraft Book?
A book is a very useful item in the game. On its own, it’s just a simple crafting material. But it’s also a key ingredient for many other important items, like the enchanting table and bookshelf. In recent game updates, its functional usage has expanded to include the chiseled bookshelf, making it more valuable than ever. It’s a fundamental item that unlocks more advanced mechanics, making it an essential part of any player’s inventory.
The Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting a Book
Ready to get your hands dirty? Let’s walk through the simple steps to craft your very first book in Minecraft.
What is the recipe to make a book in Minecraft?
To create one book in Minecraft, you need just two simple materials:
- 3 Paper
- 1 Leather
You get paper by turning sugar cane into 3 sheets of paper in your crafting menu or crafting table. You get leather by killing animals like cows or horses. A single cow will drop up to 2 pieces of leather, so killing cows is the best way to stock up.
Note: Sugar cane is renewable because it grows near water sources.
The Crafting Table Recipe
Once you have your 3 sheets of paper and 1 piece of leather, you are ready to craft your book.
- Open your crafting table.
- Place the 3 papers in a horizontal row on the crafting grid. The most common way is to place them in the top row.
- Place your leather directly below the paper.
It doesn’t matter if you use the top, middle, or bottom row for this crafting recipe. You just need to have the 3 sheets of paper in a horizontal row and one book will appear in the result box. Once it’s there, you can grab it and place it in your inventory.
You can easily find the recipe for a book in the recipe book tab of your crafting menu, which shows you all the items you can create.
How to close a crafting book in Minecraft
This is a simple one. If you open your crafting menu and want to close it, just hit the E key on your keyboard if you are playing Java Edition on a PC. If you are playing Pocket Edition or on a console, just press the B button or the button that says Exit on your screen.
Where to find a Book in Creative Mode
In Creative Mode
If you’re playing in Creative Mode, you don’t need to craft anything. You can simply find books and enchanted books in your inventory under the more items tab, or you can search for book in the search bar. This is a great way to build a map room or new library without having to gather materials.
Other Ways
In Survival Mode, books can also be found inside village houses that have a library room. These library chests are a great source of books in the early game. Librarian villagers also have a chance to give you books in exchange for other items.
How to Use Books in Minecraft
So, you’ve got a shiny new book in your inventory, now what? This little item is a key that unlocks a whole world of possibilities in the game.
For Enchanting
Books are a crucial component of the enchantment table. To fully power up your enchantment table, you need to place bookshelf blocks around it. The more bookshelf blocks you have (up to 15), the higher level enchantments you can get.
For Writing
A book can be combined with an ink sac and a feather to create a Book and Quill, which allows you to write your own stories, journal entries, or maps in the game.
For Storage and Decor
You can craft a bookshelf by combining 3 books with wood planks. This purely decorative block can be used to make a room look nice. However, with the addition of the chiseled bookshelf in the 1.20 update, books now have a real functional usage for storage.
How to craft a chiseled bookshelf in Minecraft
The chiseled bookshelf is a special block that actually lets you store and read books.
The Recipe
To create a chiseled bookshelf, you need 6 wood planks and 3 wooden slabs. This crafting recipe will give you 1 chiseled bookshelf block.
How to Use It
The chiseled bookshelf insert subtitles and pickup subtitles tell you how to interact with it. You can place up to 6 books (including enchanted books and written books) inside the chiseled bookshelf by right-clicking on a space with a book in your main hand.
How to create an enchanted book in Minecraft
Want to give your gear some serious magic? Enchanted books are the best way to get powerful upgrades, but getting your hands on them is a little different than simple crafting.
Methods to Get Enchanted Books
An enchanted book allows you to apply enchantments to your tools or armor using an anvil.
From an Enchanting Table (The most common way)
You can create enchanting books by using a book on a powered-up enchanting table.
Trading with Villagers
Librarian villagers are an excellent source for obtaining rare enchanted books, including powerful ones like Mending.
Finding them in Chests
You can find enchanted books in library chests found inside Strongholds, Mineshafts, and other structures.
Fishing
It’s rare, but you can also grab enchanted books while fishing.
How to Use an Enchanted Book
To apply an enchantment from a book to an item, you need to combine the enchanted book with the item on an anvil. This is the only way to get some of the high level enchantments in the game, like Mending.
What is the Give Command for Book?
The give command is a powerful tool for players in Creative Mode or with operator privileges. It allows you to instantly spawn any item directly into your inventory.
The Basic Command
The simple command to spawn a normal book is:
/give @p minecraft:bookLet’s break down what each part means:
- /give: This is the command that tells the game to give something.
- @p: This targets the nearest player (usually you).
- minecraft:book: This is the specific item ID for a normal book.
Advanced Commands
If you want to show real expertise, you can provide examples of more complex commands to give a player a specific enchanted or written book. Here is an example of a command to give yourself a written book:
/give @p written_book{title:"My Story",author:"Alex",pages:['{"text":"This is my story."}','{"text":"The end."}']} 1Conclusion
The book may seem like a simple item, but it’s a doorway to some of the most advanced and creative aspects of Minecraft. Whether you’re building a new library, crafting an enchantment table, or writing a great novel, the journey all starts with a simple book and your crafting table. Get out there and start creating.
