After ten minutes of searching, the halfling thief returned from the library with a stack of eight books that teetered as she shuffled back to the party. The Elven wizard adjusted his spectacles and began taking one book at a time, examining them and reciting the titles.

“This volume bound in black pigskin describes magical herbs, as I note by reading the gilded title on the spine. Oh, but the pages are all soiled by ink stains. Tanzil Jae was a prolific author in his day, but is quite obscure now.”

“Now, this handsome volume in rare violet calfskin is a religious history of the inquisitors who cleansed the Piekaff Valley 300 hundred years ago. It’s part of a rather tedious series of 13 volumes each dealing with the exploits of various witch hunters. With so many pages torn out, I wouldn’t think it’s worth much, but these gems attached to the cover may be worth prying off, dear thief.”

“It does not appear that this unusual book with the copper cover has faired well. Not surprising given its subject: conjuring demons. I can barely make out the words on these scorched pages!”

“This old book with the paper cover is worthless. See how it crumbles as I turn the pages? Bah! It is only part of a larger collection on animal husbandry.”

“I believe I will keep this small book with the paper cover. The Charms of Crystal Gazing by Malibart Churd. It’s well-worn, so I conclude it was either quite useful or quite inscrutable to its previous owner.”

“Further Achievements of the Great Cathedral Builders by Stanisgurt Kloptikon This black cowhide is also quite worn. Art bores me.”

“Here is another worn-out art book covered in yellow deerskin. It seems to instruct on sketching.”

“Finally, we have another bejeweled cover, this time in red pigskin, all about realms inhabited by demons and devils. I’m not surprised this one is vandalized as well. See if you can dig those gems out of the cover, runt.”

Original prompt from the Book Generator:

This book’s cover is pigskin dyed black with gilded spine. The condition is poor, ink stains obscuring a fair amount of the pages. The subject is herbs with a focus on magical herbs, a single volume, written by a prolific but obscure author.

This book’s cover is calfskin dyed purple and ebedded with gems. The condition is vandalized, missing many pages. The subject is religious history history, a single volume of a larger work with 13 volumes.

This book’s cover is copper plates, green with verdigris. The condition is badly damaged, nearly illegible. The subject is conjurings within the field of demonology, a single volume, written by a prolific but obscure author.

This book’s cover is heavy paper. The condition is ancient. Pages crumble as they turn. The subject is animal husbandry, a single volume of a larger work with 9 volumes.

This book’s cover is heavy paper. The condition is worn and tattered. The subject is crystal gazing as a branch of divination, a collection of works all by the same author.

This book’s cover is cowhide dyed black, the title branded into the cover. The condition is worn and tattered. The subject is cathedrals and chapels in the realm of art, the sequel to a book by the same author.

This book’s cover is deerskin, stained yellow. The condition is worn and tattered. The subject is sketching in the realm of art, an edition of a regularly published book with multiple authors.

This book’s cover is pigskin dyed red and ebedded with gems. The condition is vandalized, missing many pages. The subject is fiendish realms within the field of demonology, a single volume, written by a well-known author.