The Best Books Of Power In Stardew Valley

Summary

• Books of Power in Stardew Valley can be obtained through rewards, purchases, or monster drops.
• Each Book offers unique benefits like faster movement, recipe learning, or increased loot chances.
• Prices vary, ranging from 3,000g for the Price Catalogue to 50,000g for certain Books.

Stardew Valley rewards reading in a big way thanks to the many Books of Power. These books can be found through different avenues. Some can be given as rewards, others can be purchased. There is even a book that can be dropped by monsters you’ve slain in The Mines.

When considering which Books of Power you want to buy or grind to find, it can be challenging to know what to devote your time and money to. Which Books will give you the biggest bang for your buck? This list is here to help guide you toward the most helpful Books.

Updated on January 7, 2025 by Marissa Fiore: The Books of Power add an element of fun and excitement to the game thanks to their many benefits, turning you into a super farmer. This list was updated to add more Books for your consideration as well as change the level of importance of The Book of Stars.

This list ranks the Books of Power based on their usefulness.

15

The Art O’ Crabbing

Crabbing isn’t the most lucrative form of money-making in the Valley, but The Art O’ Crabbing
book makes it better. After reading it, you have a 25 percent chance of getting double your catch. From crab pots, of course. If you get your hands on it more than once, then you’ll get Fishing experience instead.

One of the problems with this book is how to obtain it. There are two ways. One is to get the iridium level prize in the SquidFest event. If you don’t, then you can buy it from the Bookseller for 20,000g but only in or after year three. By then, you may have little need for crabbing and any money you could make from it.

Many of the Books of Power give you experience toward a skill if you happen to obtain multiple copies. You can also trade then to the Bookseller for various items.

14

Queen Of Sauce Cookbook

The Queen of Sauce is a TV show that airs every Sunday in Stardew Valley, and if you tune in and watch, your farmer learns a new recipe you can make once you’ve upgraded your home. If you miss an episode, it’s not game over, as you can try again the next Wednesday.

But if you do miss a recipe, you’re going to be waiting quite a long time unless you have the Queen Of Sauce Cookbook
, which will instantly teach you all the recipes you’d learn from the show, saving you a lot of time and heartbreak if you missed an episode. If you want this book, it costs 50,000g from the Bookseller.

This book is incredibly helpful if you’re trying to achieve perfection because you have to cook at least one of every recipe in the game.

13

Friendship 101

Look. Sometimes, when you get caught up in running your farm, you forget to check in on and give gifts to villagers. Even that special someone might be waiting a long time. Well, Friendship 101
can help you with that by making it easier to befriend your neighbors. Reading this will give a small boost to filling those much-needed hearts.

You can snag this book from the prize machine that is in Mayor Lewis’ home, which means you’re going to need some Prize Tickets. It is always the ninth prize from the machine, so keep gathering those tickets and collecting those hearts. You can also buy it from the Bookseller in Year Three, but it will set you back 20,000g.

12

Woody’s Secret

So many of the crafting recipes in Stardew Valley require wood that, as a resource, you run out of very quickly. It doesn’t help how much wood you need for building from Robin. But with Woody’s Secret
, you have a chance to get twice the wood from chopping down a tree.

Although you can buy wood from Robin any time her shop is open, it can end up draining away all of your money if you need a lot or if you aren’t making a lot of money yet. Fortunately, this Book can be found by chopping down trees or purchased with 20,000g from the Bookseller.

Woody’s Secret will not drop until you’ve chopped down 20 trees.

11

Treasure Appraisal Guide

As you progress through the game and find more and more geodes, you’ll start to get duplicates of many of the artifacts in the game. Once you’ve read the Treasure Appraisal Guide
, you will sell your artifacts for triple the original price.

It can give you a new reason to crack open your geodes in the later stages of the game when you have so many from The Mines, Skull Cavern, and the Volcano Dungeon. Or, in the early part of the game, this can boost your money made on any given day; you can buy this from the Bookseller for 20,000g but you can also find it in Mystery Boxes and Artifact Troves.

10

Ol’ Slitherlegs

It is so bothersome when you walk through your farm and are moving so slowly. Well, that’s no longer true. Thanks to Ol’ Slitherlegs
, you will move faster when you are walking among your crops and navigating your farm.

This Book of Power may not progress the game’s story or help you earn Perfection, but your movement speed is something you will always notice and, if you’re farming and harvesting your crops, hours can tick by before you’ve finished. You can buy this from the Bookseller for 25,000g.

9

Horse: The Book

So, if movement speed equals importance, think about how fast you could go if your horse was faster too. Once you have one, of course. Well, be introduced to Horse: The Book
. You will gain more speed while you are riding on horseback, no matter where you are galloping through.

Now this book can’t be found in the wilds. No chopped trees or dig spots will produce it. Instead, you have to buy it from the Bookseller for 25,000g. It’s a hefty price tag and might take time to achieve, especially after paying to build the stable and finally have your horse. But it will be worth it at any stage of the game. Well, you can pass it up in your earliest days.

8

Monster Compendium

This may be a niche book if you aren’t a fan of going into the Mines, Skull Cavern, or, well, fighting any of the monsters in the game. But if you do like battling those beasties, you’ll love finding the Monster Compendium
. This book increases the chance of monsters dropping double their loot.

Now for some things, getting two bone fragments might not float your skeletal boat. But monsters that drop diamonds? Dust Sprites that give you coal? This can be a big deal when you are looking for materials that either only come from monsters or are easier and/or cheaper to get from monster loot. And that’s exactly how you find this book. All slain monsters can drop it. But if you don’t get it that way, you can buy it from the Bookseller in Year Three for 20,000g.

7

Animal Catalogue

One of the biggest complaints Stardew Valley players have had is that Marnie never seems to be at her shop when you need her the most. Realistically, Marnie has a schedule she follows, but it has become a big topic of conversation among the fan base.

Well, ConcernedApe heard and made the Animal Catalogue
so you can purchase things from Marnie even when she’s not around. You can buy this Book of Power from Marnie herself for 5,000g, but only after the start of Year Two.

6

Dwarvish Safety Manual

Once you start exploring Skull Cavern, bombs become a must to help you quickly descend and gather as much ore and other resources as possible, but when they explode, you’re going to get hit and lose a decent amount of health if you’re in their radius. If you aren’t careful, this can make your farmer pass out or be vulnerable to monsters who will finish your health off.

But the Dwarvish Safety Manual
makes it so that bombs do less damage to you, which can help prevent you from getting into a tricky situation that ultimately ends your Skull Cavern run. You can purchase this from the Dwarf in The Mines for 4,000g.

5

The Diamond Hunter

Diamonds are the second most valuable gemstones, only falling behind the rare and mystical Prismatic Shard, but the other great thing about diamonds is that if you choose not to sell them, you can gift them to villagers. They are liked by almost every villager, and the others love diamonds.

The people who love them are:

• Evelyn
• Gus
• Jodi
• Krobus
• Marnie
• Maru
• Penny
• Willy

No one dislikes diamonds in the Valley, so, what if you had a chance to find diamonds in any single stone you mine? That’s exactly what this Book of Power does. The The Diamond Hunter
makes every rock a potential source for diamonds; you can only purchase this from the Dwarf in the Volcano Dungeon, but instead of paying money, you have to trade them ten diamonds before you can purchase it.

This boost only applies to stones you mine by hand. Bombs will not help you amass diamonds from this Book.

4

Way Of The Wind Pt. 1 And Pt. 2

Okay, yes, these are two separate Books, but these Books of Power are so important and directly relate to one another. People have installed mods on their computers to increase their speed, but these two Books will raise your speed permanently, no strings attached.

You also have to purchase and read Pt. 1 before you can buy Pt.2. Way Of The Wind pt. 1
costs 15,000g at the Booksellers’ hot air balloon; Way Of The Wind pt. 2
, however, is much more expensive, and it will set you back 35,000g.

3

Book Of Mysteries

Mystery Boxes were introduced in the 1.6 update for Stardew Valley and add another layer of excitement, as when you open one, it can hold an impressive prize, from Magic Rock Candy
to crops, rings, or even dishes like Lucky Lunch
.

So, increasing your chances of getting these boxes can really impact your game at any stage. And that’s exactly what the Book of Mysteries
does. The catch? You can only get this book by opening Mystery Boxes and Golden Mystery Boxes.

2

Book Of Stars

This is a Book that is incredibly valuable in the early game, but once you hit the late game, and can access the Mastery Cave, this book can give you a big chunk of points aimed at anything you pick. That’s all made possible because this Book gives you experience points in every skill.

So if you’re struggling to level up your combat, foraging, or any other skill, this Book can be a lifesaver, as it will help you to unlock crafting recipes quickly and give you the benefits from Professions. If you’ve done all that already, it will help you complete a level of Mastery. You can buy this from the Bookseller for 15,000g, although you can also get it from the Raccoons.

1

Price Catalogue

If you play Stardew Valley with mods, chances are you know about UI Info Suite by Annosz, because knowing the price of your items before you sell them can help you so much in your farming and planning. Without the addition of this mod, you’d be all over the internet trying to find the info you need, comparing crops, fish, or anything you’re planning on selling.

But the Price Catalogue
eliminates the need to do that, and knowing how much items will sell for will now be a part of the base game. And the most beautiful thing about it is how much it costs, as you only need 3,000g to buy the Price Catalogue from the Bookseller.