10 Movies About Bookstores and Movies about Booksellers for People Who Love Books

Camerado presents a list of essential movies for people who love books, and movies about bookstores includes fiction films about booksellers, a bookseller documentary, and more!

A Movie about Booksellers and / or a Movie about Bookstores You've Got Mail (1998)
“You’ve Got Mail” focuses on the romance between two bookstore owners, Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) and Joe Fox (Tom Hanks). Kelly hates Fox a lot as she owns a struggling indie shop, while Fox moves across the street and runs a famous chain bookshop. However, they meet and fall in love online without knowing each other’s identity. Eventually, the truth somes out, leaving the two to settle their romance and to diffuse their conflict as business rivals.

 

 

The Bookshop (2018) - list of movies about bookstores and booksellersThe Bookshop (2018)
Set in the 1950s, widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) is a true bibliophile. After she moves to the small seaside town of Hardborough, England to set up a bookshop, it becomes clear that her passion isn't a shared one as an influential member of town (Patricia Clarkson) becomes determined to close down her shop. It's up to Florence to show the towns people how valuable reading can be to the community.

 

 

 BookWars - A movie about Booksellers and BookstoresBookWars (2000)
This gritty, jazzy low budget New York bookseller documentary profiles the life and times of New York City sidewalk booksellers with a distinct, first person point of view. Made by one of the booksellers during then-Mayor Giuliani's infamous 'Quality of Life' crackdown in the mid to late 1990's this unique bookseller documentary is a veitable time capsule of a New York which once was, and stands out for its unscripted humor and pathos.

 

 

camerado list of movies about bookstores and booksellersThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
Lily James leads this historical romance about a British writer who heads to the island of Guernsey in search of inspiration for her new column in The Times literary supplement. But her weekend getaway takes a detour when she discovers romance, an offbeat book club, and Guernsey's German-occupied history. Based on the book by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is a charming look at books and the writing life.

 

 

 Camerado list of movies about bookstores and booksellers84 Charing Cross Road (1987)
Based on Helene Hanff's acclaimed memoir, 84 Charing Cross Road centers on the 20-year correspondence between Hanff (Anne Bancroft), a New York City bibliophile, and Frank Doel (Anthony Hopkins), a London-based bookseller. In the film, Hanff contacts Doel about a hard-to-find book. What she gets is a 20-year friendship. Over the course of the movie, the two seal their friendship over literature, modern culture, and history.

 

 

 Camerado list of movies about bookstores and booksellersFunny Face (1957)
Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn star as Dick Avery, a charismatic fashion photographer, and Jo Stockton, a bibliophile and employee at Embryo Concepts bookstore. When Dick interrupts Jo at work with an unplanned photo shoot, he unintentionally enchants her, changing their lives forever. Production ncludes songs by the Gershwin brothers, costumes by Edith Head, and direction by Stanley Donen. Funny Face is a classic Golden Age musical in every way imaginable.

 

 


Camerado list of movies about bookstores and booksellersNotting Hill (1999)
William Thacker (Hugh Grant) owns a small travel bookshop in the midst of London's Notting Hill district. Divorced and living with an messy but loyal roommate, it's obvious that Will is lacking relationship-wise. But his circumstance changes when Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), a big Hollywood celebrity, enters his store: and the two find themselves in a sudden romance. Notting Hill is classic '90s rom-com full of literary appeal.

 

 

Devotion (1946)
This Hollywood classic stars Hollywood legends Ida Lupino, Olivia de Havilland, and Nancy Coleman. Based on Theodore Reeves' fictional story, Devotion centers on Anne, Charlotte, and Emily Brontë as they wrestle with their novels and their ongoing love lives. Filled with romance, conflict, and an overarching appreciation of books, this film is a merging of classic literature and wintage Hollywood cinema.

 

 

Jane Austen Book Club (2007)
Two women start a book club celebrating the works of Jane Austen, to comfort their divorced librarian colleague. With the help of a schoolteacher, the librarian's daughter, and a science fiction nerd, the group reads and discusses six of Austen's most notable works. What none of them anticipate s how Austen will help them through their own personal crises. Jane Austen Book Club is a cinematic exploration into the lasting, influential themes of Austen's work.

 

 

The Fast Company trilogy (1938, 1939)
Based on Marco Page's novel by the same name, Fast Company follows rare-book dealers Joel and Garda Sloan (Melvyn Douglas, Florence Rice), as they attempt to solve a murder. The film trilogy stars different sets of A-list Hollywood actors like Rosalind Russell and Franchot Tone. Ultimately, each film in the series is a crowd-pleasing comedy for book and bookstore lovers.

See any movies about bookstores, or movies about booksellers that should be added to this list?  Email Camerado with your suggestion!