Book Nooks are all about imagination, and LEGO’s 2025 debut Book Nook lineup allows literary creativity to leap out of the pages. In this article, we’ll dive into two Book Nooks featuring The Lord of the Rings and Sherlock Holmes, exploring how they bring beloved worlds to life in brick form.

Book Nooks vary in style and size, but that is what makes them unique.

We’ll also explore ways how you can build your own, showing how most readily available sets can be repurposed into shelf-ready dioramas. To spark inspiration, we’ll experiment with two Star Wars The Mandalorian sets, reshaping them into a cinematic Book Nook. By the end of this article I want you to ask yourself which universe or set you could bring to life as a Book Nook on your shelf.

What is a Book Nook?

The term Book Nook sounds like a phrase I have heard for a long time, but the concept is rather new. Originating in Japan around 2018, artist Monde crafted a back alley insert that he placed between his books to decorate his shelf, not realizing the phenomenon that they were about to create. A Book Nook is a miniature diorama designed to fit snugly between books on a shelf, creating the illusion of a hidden world tucked away between the covers of a book.

Following its first showcase, Book Nooks quickly gained popularity online for their ability to transform shelves into portals of imagination, with many building their own versions and showcasing it online. While the tradition of miniature scenes stretches back centuries as cultures used small models to represent daily life, Book Nooks are typically inspired by literature and fantasy. Given the creativity in LEGO and Book Nooks it is no surprise to see the two hobbies blend together, enhancing the sense of wonder and curiosity that both hobbies try to advance.

LEGO 2025 Book Nooks

Nearly a decade after the term Book Nook was coined, LEGO introduced its first Book Nook collection. Released in June 2025, 3 literature themed Book Nooks were released, with the debut lineup featuring: The Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter. In this article we will be diving into the former two, allowing readers to get a close look at what will be iconic builds to be remembered. Each Book Nook is very different in how it is designed and built, meaning no two Book Nooks will provide a repetitive build experience.

The debut Book Nooks will likely not be the last Book Nooks we see released.

#10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook comes with 1,201 pieces, retailing at $129.99/€119.99/£109.99, giving it a price per piece of 10.8c/10.0c/9.2. The second Book Nook, #10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook has more pieces, coming with 1,359 pieces and priced at $129.99/€119.99/£109.99, giving it a very favorable price per piece of 9.6c/8.8c/8.1p in the current market of LEGO prices.

Iconic book moments are brought to life through Book Nooks.

Each set is released as part of LEGO’s 18+ icons theme, aimed at adult fans who value both storytelling and stylish home décor. While there are three sets that offer immersive miniature worlds, this article will focus high level on the two builds aforementioned, exploring how they bring iconic literary moments to life in brick form.

Book, Printed Parts, and Stickers

A lot of detail was put into the instruction manual, fitting for a series of sets about books. Each of the instruction manuals are packed with sections about the source material contents, what book nooks are and details about the scenes being built. As you leaf through the pages for a first glance at the instructions, you will see that not only do the instructions tell you how to build the set, but also provide a short exploration into the actions in the book that surround the scene. Quotes from the source material and information about the characters and what they do during the scene help create a visual narrative around the set, bringing it a little more to life.

The inside of the instruction manuals are detailed and rich with information.

Stickers and printed pieces are always a topic of discussion, being a divisive part of LEGO for many fans. The argument often used is that printed pieces drive prices up, so lets put that to the test with these two sets. Both sets are priced the same but have different piece counts. #10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook includes no stickers and 3 printed pieces and has a price per piece of 10.8c. #10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook includes 10 stickers and 6 printed pieces, 3 of which are unique to this set and has a price per piece of 9.6c. This marks a 12.5% price difference between the two.

Stickers capture details that would otherwise drive prices up.

At first impression I was thrilled to see no stickers in #10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook but when you compare it side to side with #10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook you can see the the number of printed pieces is actually fewer, and there are more total printed pieces and details accomplished through stickers. To me this does not lead creedance to stickers being cheaper to produce nor would it justify the 12.5% rise in price. When you also factor in that one set only contains one minifigure (not even a new printing) and the other contains 5 new unique minifigures the value proposition very quickly falls to the wayside. While I am a big fan of #10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook, you do objectively get less for your money, with a lot of the price rise likely being attributed to the higher licensing cost for the content, although both are licensed sets. This quick comparison shows that pricing is often arbitrary and driven by the demand for the set rather than the perceived value of the contents within.

#10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook

As the name suggests, #10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook captures the look that one has in their mind when they think Sherlock Holmes. Rather than picking a scene from the books specifically, this set builds Baker Street, the home base for Sherlock holmes. When the Book Nook is closed it effectively captures the bustling narrow Victorian streets, brimming with charms and intrigue, although cleaner than what the street would look back in the late 1800s. The scene is inviting, with the large 194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray archway emblazoned with a printed BAKER STREET immediately letting the viewer know what is on display. The designers took great care to ensure that the set looks good from all angles, with the stickers and printed pieces cleverly oriented to face forward, reinforcing the choice that this is a display piece that will likely be nestled between your books. The contrast of the interior colors against the 5Brick YellowTan of the page of the book help emphasize the “story between the pages” narrative that Book Nooks try to create, with this set doing this the best amongst all the LEGO Book Nooks in my opinion.

The closed book captures the narrow Victorial streets beautifully.

Continuing from the closed Book Nook and turning around to view the front we see how tiles and plates can create incredible detailing. The front cover is styled to resemble the cover of a vintage novel, both through its color and edge detailing. On the cover a mosaic style silhouette of Sherlock Holmes, complete with a deerstalker hat and magnifying glass. The 26Black against the 5Brick YellowTan background allows the image to pop out, accentuating the creative use of shapes effectively. The use of simple shapes and the limited color palette is deceptively clever, being minimalistic yet highlighting Sherlock’s unmistakable form. While the interior details and colors are great, the image on the cover to me highlights the great levels of details you can make using LEGO and in a way is a more challenging creation than the façade detailing of the buildings.

It is incredible what detailing can be achieved with tiling.

Opening the Book Nook reveals the lively and busting interior that we saw earlier, packed with visual narrative details. To accomplish the hinged opening book look, the 151Sand Green house hinges and is split in two, creating a seamless transition between the structures when opened. The buildings are vibrant in design and color, with hues of 1White, 194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray, 38Dark Orange, 151Sand Green, 138Sand YellowDark Tan and 192Reddish Brown creating a symphony of colors. Not only are the colors so varied, but so are the shapes, from the rounded glassed entrance to the flower shops and balconies. The varied details all contributing to a detailed immersive street scene. While the buildings deserve praises, so do the great rounded detailing of the cobblestone ground. The ground anchors the scene, giving it a very european look that was common in the late Victorian and early Edwardian era. The scene captures the architectural themes of the era with grace, capturing details from real life architectural styles that were popular at the time, whether it is the large windows and pitched roofs or the eclectic ornate characteristics captured through asymmetrical design. The varied architecture not only makes the buildings look great, but makes it a fun varied build to put together.

The eclectic facade of the houses match Sherlock’s eccentricity.

As the set has a narrow footprint, interior wall space is limited. To get around this the designers took some creative steps to make the most of the two stud deep interiors. Through the windows you will see an array of details highlighting the lives unfolding inside. These details are captured by attaching stickers to panels to give the illusion of interior built detailing. Due to the large number of windows this detailing is crucial as it hides what would otherwise be a bland plain wall. One of the exterior façades is designed to hinge open so you can reveal Sherlock’s study, complete with a fireplace and wall map, an important detail to push the narrative of the build. The creative use of stickers and minor brick built detailing shows that even in the smallest of spaces the designers took care to accentuate the themes of the build.

Walls can be opened to view detailing within the walls.

All in all, #10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook is a great fun set to build, capturing the spirit of Sherlock Holmes in a fun varied and details Book Nook.

#10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook

As a self proclaimed Lord of the Rings fanatic, this set has been something that I have been wanting for years. With a yearly set released priced in the high hundreds I am glad we finally see Lord of the Rings sets available for a slightly more palatable price. Key word here being palatable. Coming in at $129.99/€119.99/£109.99 #10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook is by no means a cheap set, which only goes to show how expensive the others have been. For this section of the article I will look at this set in a vacuum and entirely from the lens of a Book Nook to see how it compares to 10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook that we looked at earlier or on its own.

When viewed in its closed state, #10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook commands attention with its height and dramatic framing, being 6 bricks taller than 10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook. The overwhelming 199Dark Stone GreyDark Bluish Gray helps with this as well. The set breaks from traditional Book Nook conventions as there are no side walls, meaning the scene isn’t nestled between the pages of a book, moreso serving as a shrine to the cinematic grandeur that it is based on. While the Balrog and Gandalf have accurate scaling, the scene itself is not as movie or book accurate in terms of size, with the Bridge of Khazad-dûm looking rather small, something that was likely a creative decision that had to be done to not have the piece count spiral out of control.

Had the bridge been movie accurate to scale we would need this build to be many copies deeper and wider. While the architectural detailing of the pillars and arches are impressive, as the set is built with symmetry in mind, the build mirrors itself across the central axis resulting in a lot of repetition in building. This repetition, while visually clean and utilizing subtle color variations that we will discuss later, makes the build experience a little static. While the set looks fun, one big disappointment is the inclusion of only one minifigure, Gandalf the Grey. While this technically is the best minifigure for the scene, at the price point and piece count this set has it is rather disappointing. What makes the minifigure worse is that the included Gandalf is not a new variant, but a re-release of the modern Gandalf we have seen in other sets offering little incentive for collectors seeking exclusivity. These detractors are a shame as there is a lot of hype around this highly anticipated set.

The Lord of the Rings Book Nook has a lot of repetition.

Once the Book Nook is opened it reveals the diorama in its full glory. While the expanded view is undeniably striking with its shape, color and size, it also amplifies the repetitive nature of the build. The symmetrical pillars and mirror flame placements make the scene feel a little less dynamic. Although the fire elements use 182Transparent Bright OrangeTrans-Orange to evoke heat and chaos, the shape falls short in terms of realism. They resemble styalized crystals more than actual flames. If you don’t look too closely however it looks great, as the contrasting colors and shapes are visually appeasing, just not Book Nook appeasing. One clever mechanic, however, elevates the build greatly. As the Book Nook opens, the Balrog’s wings unfurl in tandem, dramatically increasing the scale and adding a sense of movement to what otherwise would be a static display.

The full scale of the Balrog can only be appreciated when the set is opened up.

My favorite detail of the entire build is how the fire’s hues cast an illusion of heat against the stone walls. Through use of 312Medium NougatMedium Dark Flesh and 38Dark Orange we see the impact of heat grow. The deeper the orange, the hotter the glow appears, creating a gradual gradient effect that adds visual depth against the 199Dark Stone GreyDark Bluish Gray stone. The illusion works best from a distance as the colors blend with the 182Transparent Bright OrangeTrans-Orange effectively. Up close however the flames distract from what would otherwise be a beautiful heat gradient. It is interesting to note that the flames on the back of the Balrog are rather limited meaning that the fiery hues look a little bit muted, but we can use our immagination a bit here. When we look at the pillars themselves we see the effective use of SNOT (Studs Not On Top) technique in full force, allowing for a layered tile adding a smooth texture. This intricately detailed surface evokes the details of Moria’s dwarven architecture and shows the care the Dwarves took in building, although looks a little too nice given the state Moria is in when this scene occurs.

Various hues capture the illusion of fire lighting up the stone.

The Balrog’s wings are one of the many highlights of this build and are not just dramatic flourishes, instead serving a structural purpose. They are connected to the back pillars using technic pieces using a clever technique allowing the wings to open in tandem with the Book Nook. As mentioned earlier, this Book Nook lacks a front and back cover so the wings cleverly fill the void where traditional walls would be. This dual function by being both aesthetic and architectural is the designers smart solution to not need to use many pieces on the covers. The wings themselves are built using a combination of technic pieces for the framing and foil plastic sheet for the membranes, the same type foil sheet used in the Nazgûl and Fell Beast gift-with-purchase set. This reuse means that the once exclusive Fell Beast wings are now accessible to builders who missed out on this gift with purchase, a small bonus for fans who want to build the Nazgûl and Fell Beast set.

The wings open up as the Book Nook opens up creating an imposing feel.

A the heart of the build is the Balrog, the undeniable star of the build. I am sure many will look to pick up this set solely for the Balrog. Towering, flame crowned and winged, the Balrog captures the manace and mystic might of Tolkien’s creature, basing its visual appeal and proportions from the designs used in Peter Jackson’s cinematic rendition of the story. LEGO’s interpretation leans into a styalization of this look, with printed textures and exaggerated features to suit the brick built medium. The fire whip, while visually striking in shape and color, lacks functionality as it cannot actually grab and ensnare Gandalf, something that feels like a missed opportunity for playability. As touched upon briefly earlier, for a being that is a fallen Maia of Fire, this demon lacks a lot of the dark fire that makes it menacing. Having only 7 fire pieces used for the entire Balrog feels too little and does not effectively capture the shrounded in fire aesthetic that Tolkien had envisioned. While still a great creature I feel this would have elevated it even further.

The Balrog makes its long awaited debut in LEGO form.

Although a great set, the price point and repetition makes #10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook a worse set than #10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook in my opinion. It also does not follow many of the traditional Book Nook rules and feels more like a diorama that was forced into a Book Nook structure. Had it not been limited by this constraint I feel we could have seen a more detailed set at a lower price point which would have been a win for consumers. Despite this I am glad to finally have a Balrog and I am sure that given the frustrations I highlighted are shared by others we will likely see this set go on sale making the price much more manageable. Had this been 20$ cheaper, the price that it will likely be when on sale, then this will be a great pickup and addition to anyone’s collection.

MOC: A galaxy far, far away tucked between your books

Book Nooks based on film or literature seem like an easy addition to every collector’s collection. The goal was to build a diorama that not only tells a story but also fits neatly between book covers in this new immersive Book Nook format.

Inspired by the dramatic ambush scene from The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 7, I set out to create a custom LEGO book nook that captures the tension and chaos of that moment and use some of the techniques I learned building the other two Book Nooks in this article. Using two copies of #75386 Paz Vizsla and Moff Gideon Battle, one copy of #75373 Ambush on Mandalore Battle Pack and supplementing with my own parts I tried to recreate the rocky cave setting where the ambush unfolds.

When opened the interior details are easier to see.

A good Book Nook should open up to reveal a cohesive scene that feels vibrant from every angle. In my build, I used the seed sets to stage the ambush, filling the interior with jagged rock formations to conceal the book covers and enhance the cave like atmosphere. Through shades of 194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray, 199Dark Stone GreyDark Bluish Gray and 138Sand YellowDark Tan, combined with slopes and wedges, I tried to create a rugged terrain that feels organic and fitting to the source material scene. Packing the scene with action elements and minifigures helps fill up some of the space to make the area feel bustling. I tried to stay true to the source sets as much as possible, only using my own detailing to fill in space or expand upon ideas already made. When the scene is opened completely the Book Nook should connect and not feel like two distinct builds, something that all of the official Book Nooks do effectively and something I tried to emulate. To get started with your own Book Nook I recommend identifying a scene and start by building the environment. The environment will be crucial to the details and lets you set the stage.

While a Book Nook needs to look great when opened, many real life Book Nooks don’t have the ability to do so and must look great when closed. When closed, your Book Nook should look intentional and capture the scene and story waiting within. My rendition leans into the chaos of the ambush, with minifigures posed mid-battle and terrain spilling into every crevice. It’s a bit cluttered, but that suits the scene. Compared to the official Book Nooks this feels a bit too chaotic, with #10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook striking a better balance between chaos and serenity. Unlike #10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook which used a one brick deep book cover, I opted for a one plate thick cover due to part limitations in my collection. While thinner it still frames the build effectively, showing both front and back covers when closed. When building your cover there are many different ways to do so, or you can opt for the open look that #10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook instead decided to do.

When all the Book Nooks are closed, the scene gets busier.

One of the most important structural decisions is how to hinge the Book Nook. I used traditional LEGO hinge pieces, which are simple and reliable. When building the hinge placement is key. If the hinge is too close to the spine, the covers will clash when opening. I recommend building the skeleton and testing the hinge mechanism before adding decorative elements to avoid needing to rebuild your structure. This ensures the build opens smoothly and maintains its shape without compromising the scene inside.

The hinge is pivotal to create an effective Book Nook.

For the cover of my Book Nook, I drew inspiration from the tiled elegance of #10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook but adapted it to fit The Mandalorian source material. Since The Mandalorian is a TV show, not a book, I styled the cover like a DVD case, choosing 1White
as the base color to evoke the plastic casing look. For the central cover detail I tried my hand at a Mythosaur Skull sigil, built from black plates and tiles. Due to size and part limitations, the sigil is shorter than ideal, but still recognizable. If I were to rebuild it, I’d extend the height to better capture the details. Compared to the official Book Nooks my version is very short, almost half the height of #10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook. This was an intentional decision due to the limited number of pieces in my collection. Had I made it any taller I would not have had enough 1White plates for the covers.

Tiling is used to add details on the front cover.

In my build, and in the official Book Nooks both the designers and I relied heavily on SNOT (Studs Not On Top) techniques. This approach lets you build sideways, upside-down, and at angles that traditional brick and plate stacking can’t achieve. It’s especially useful for covers, where you want to hide structural supports ensuring that it does not detract from the detail you actually want to show off. It is interesting to point out that the SNOT stud connections do not align perfectly with the height of bricks so sometimes you will need to use an additional plate to offset the height to connect it properly. The more you use SNOT the better you will get at the mathematics of LEGO connections and heights, allowing you to build even cooler connections.

Studs Not On Top (SNOT) construction is used to create the front and back cover of the Book Nook.

While my build is far from perfect it was a fun exploration into how you can take an official set and rebuild it to fit constraints or new themes. There is a lot I would do better if I were to rebuild my model and I had unlimited pieces but sometimes having constraints force you to make creative decisions. To borrow the cinematic term, fix it in post, sometimes having unbounded freedom to do what you want can erase the fun and challenge and can potentially make the end product worse. I highly recommend everyone go to their collection and identify an official set they have built that is heavily environmental based and try to turn it into their own Book Nook. If you need extra pieces you may even want to consider picking up #10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook as it does a great job and providing many of the structural elements you will need for the traditional Book Nook look.

Closing Thoughts

LEGO has always been a great medium to bring your imagination to life, in much the same way that literature creates worlds from words. There is no right way to build with LEGO but seeing the fruits of your labor in the form of a MOC (My Own Creation) is always satisfying and rewarding, so I encourage everyone to try it if you have not already.

As we can see from both the custom and official Book Nooks, there are so many different ways you can build iconic scenes in many different ways. While far from the best MOC, just by picking up a few copies of a clearance Star Wars set I was able to build an iconic scene in Book Nook form by leveraging the official pieces and common pieces in your collection. The most challenging part of building from imagination is always the getting started phase, but without even getting started you cannot get anywhere so learn from the Book Nooks in this article or those you find online and go out and build your own. The skills and techniques you will pick up will help you with both your creativity and LEGO building muscle, allowing you to build even more MOCs in the future.