The Strange Library is a story where a boy visits a library, curious about taxes, and gets stuck inside. The edition I own can be seen above, with a hardcover and A5 in size (with a shorter width, like a normal book). My edition is from a few years back, when I first read it and the condition of the sides are a bit scuffed, which makes the book feel like a library book of its own that has been used by many.
On the front there is a slip of paper common to a library, and its iconography fits the title and subject nicely. The elements are minimal, almost to not give away too much. The blurb on the back is only a quote that reads 'All I did was go to the library to borrow some books', which firstly builds up enigma as to what happens and sets the start/scene of the story.
The inner double page covers (back and front) include this beautiful, dark marble pattern - that I would love to see as a wallpaper or wrapping paper. It is bold and almost encapsulating of energy (and the story hasn't even started yet). The full blurb is inside, which seems common for Murakami e.g. 1Q84 has no blurb (on the copy I own) as it adds another layer of mystery and vagueness, to mask the worlds of surrealness and magic. Following on from the previous iconography, they've also included 'File Copy Not to be Removed' and some of the pages seem to have the wear down of pages (aged), with stains and letter stamps.