Our lives are surrounded by books. There is not a single human being who can survive without books. Almost all books are unique in their own way, but then there are some books which have no parallels.
Here are some books which are so unique that they are completely one of a kind.
1. Codex Seraphinianus
It is written in a language no one can understand and is filled with weird and strange illustrations of things no one has ever seen.
What makes the book even more fascinating is the fact that not only is the entire book handwritten but all the illustrations are drawn by hand as well. It took over two years to complete. The book looks like some sort of an encyclopedia but no one has been able to decipher what the book actually means.
2. The Book of Soyga
The book contains over 40,000 letters that are arranged in 36 tables and appear to be some kind of code.
Not only is this book unique, but it is often considered as one of the most mysterious books ever written. According to some, the book contains a lot of Satanic codes and symbols. Till date, no one has been able to decipher the book completely.
3. Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright
The entire novel is written without the use of the English alphabet E.
The alphabet E is the most used alphabet in the English language. So to write an entire novel without the letter E is not only unique, but also challenging.
Inspired by this book, French author Perec decided to write a similar book in French, his book La Disparition also, doesn’t contain the letter E.
4. The Diving Bell And The Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
No matter how insane it might sound but the author wrote the entire novel by just blinking his eyes to the stenographer.
The story about how this unique novel was written is certainly going to move you. A particular incident made Bauby totally paralyzed. Only his left eyelid was not paralyzed. Still, he did not give up his dream of writing the novel. He hired a transcriber who would narrate all the alphabets and once he reached the alphabet he wanted him to use, he would just blink.
Not only did he finish the book but it also became an international bestseller.
5. Anguish Languish By Howard L Chace
The entire book sounds like a  nursery rhyme. He almost created an alternate language using English words.
According to Howard Chace, the tone and rhythm are as the meaning of the book itself. His book was basically a collection of nursery rhymes and old fairy tales, but it was its presentation that made it different.
6. Â The Rotters Club by Jonathan Coe
It contains the longest sentence in English Literature with 13,955 words.
Although, you have a Czech novel, where the entire novel is written in just one sentence. But when it comes to English literature this special feature of using the longest sentence belongs to this one.
7. Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar
The reader is given unique reading instructions. Although the book has 155 chapters, the author mentions that 99 chapters in the novel are expendable.
The author instructs the reader to read the book in two ways. The first way is to read the first 56 chapters and then leave out the rest of the chapters. While the other way is to read the book in a haphazard way, going from one chapter to another without any proper sequence.
8. Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age by Hrabal Bohumil
The entire 128-page novel is written in just one sentence.
This Czech novel is written in 1964, about an old man narrating his tale to some girls. The old man narrates his entire tale in just one sentence.
9. S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst
The entire novel has footnotes, postcards, and handwritten notes by two people who are trying to read the book.
This book is like a book inside a book. The book is presented as a copy of the famous book, The Ship of Theseus. The book appears to be a library copy which has not been returned. The entire book is about the dialogue between two students who are trying to uncover the author’s identity.
10. The Familiar by Mark Z. Danielewski
The novel incorporates different fonts for each character’s point of view.
Not only fonts but the author also uses different layout techniques throughout the novel to portray different things. It is probably the only book where the layout techniques have been used as a stylistic device.
11. If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
The novel is about you reading a novel. The reader becomes a character in this novel.
This famous post-modern book centers around a reader who is trying to read the book of the same name. The way the author plays with you is quite fascinating. It not only breaks the fourth wall but actually allows you to enter inside it.
These books prove that literature is unique and there is no end to the ways in which it can be explored.