Now In Time - Living The Past HANDMADE RETRO OBJECTS

Personalized GBbook: Your Favorite Book On Game Boy – Custom Game Boy Cartridge with Books and Literature Classics

7 reviews|5 answered questions

35.00 

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Turn your Game Boy into a one-of-a-kind pocket library!

At a glance

Availability
Made to order
Delivery
Packed and shipped after order confirmation
Customization
Available for this item

Description

What is a GBbook

Read a book directly on your Game Boy.

This custom Game Boy Color cartridge lets you read a book of your choice directly on the console, just like a regular game. Insert the cartridge, turn on the Game Boy, and start reading. It’s a simple, straightforward way to turn the Game Boy into a retro portable reader, without apps, notifications, or modern screens. Just text, buttons, and a story in front of you.

What it does for you

The book appears on the screen in small portions of text, one screen at a time. You read using the buttons, with a steady and natural rhythm, without scrolling or jumping around. It’s a different kind of reading experience, slower and more intentional, where each page becomes a small pause. As a person with ADHD, I find that reading in this format helps me stay inside the text without my attention drifting.

What you receive

You receive a fully working Game Boy Color cartridge with one complete book already loaded and ready to read. Each cartridge contains a single book. The cartridge comes in a cassette-style box, with custom graphics and instructions, designed as a collectible object. An original gift for people who love books, retro gaming, and objects that feel slightly out of time.

Compatible with original Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, Game Boy Player, and recent third-party consoles that can read these cartridges, like Analogue Pocket. Not compatible with Nintendo Game Boy DMG (the original 1989 GB), DS, DSi, 3DS, or later Nintendo systems.

How to choose your book

In the personalization field, write the title of the book you want on the cartridge. You can choose a literary classic, a public-domain work, a book in any language, or send us your own digital file (PDF or text).

Converting your personal file does not involve any extra cost. If you’re not sure whether a book is suitable, you can message us before ordering.

If you’re not sure which book to choose, you can explore examples of titles already converted in the interactive catalog!

Discounts

Complete your collection and save. When purchasing more than one cartridge, you can use the coupon TRILOGY.

Notes

  • Because the cartridges and shells are vintage or repurposed items, small cosmetic marks may be present.
  • The included text is a public domain work adapted for Game Boy and does not constitute a modern critical edition. Transcription inconsistencies may be present.
  • International customs fees and import duties for the United States are now paid in advance and included in the shipping cost. Any other destination country’s taxes, fees, and duties are not included.
  • More info is available in the FAQs.

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Additional information

Technical details for this item.

Weight 100 g
Dimensions 10 × 8 × 2 cm
Game Boy Cartridge

,

Language

English, Original Language, Other (please contact us in advance)

Catalog

The keys to navigate are the following:
START, Enter confirm
SELECT, Shift select
Options, Alt, Z, J A button, interact
Control, K, X B button, go back
Arrows, WASD move
Do you prefer reading? Check our Complete Book List #1 or visit our updated GBbook category!

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7 reviews for Personalized GBbook: Your Favorite Book On Game Boy – Custom Game Boy Cartridge with Books and Literature Classics

5.0
Based on 7 reviews
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  1. L‡szl—

    I was also thinking about how I could combine the ’80s cassette with the Gameboy, but this is an extremly nice solution you created, I really like it!

    From Itch
    (0) (0)
  2. Gage

    US

    Super awesome addition to any gameboy collection, especially if you are a fan of the books provided. The case included is top notch as well.

    From Etsy
    (0) (0)
  3. Chris

    US

    Great project for the original Game Boy! Shipping is a little expensive, so I try to do bulk orders to the USA.

    From Etsy
    (0) (0)
  4. Ian

    US

    Unique and amazingly well done. Thank you so much!

    From Etsy
    (0) (0)
  5. Nik

    DE

    What an amazing idea. An ebook for Gameboy! You can clearly tell that the seller, I even want to call them artist, is invested in this stuff. They don’t just sell you a product, they rather share a piece of memory they have in common with you and I’d say with our generation. They describe the exact Same feeling I have when firing up those games. Everything fits, the store, their logo, they’re incredibly nice as well. Now to the product itself: It comes in an awesome audio casette case, they even 3d printed the tape-case in which you find your eBook. Everything around it is just perfekt. It is clearly made with love and effort to the smallest Detail. You not only buy a product, you really buy a piece of art!

    From Etsy
    (0) (0)
    • Beatrice (store manager)

      Thank you so much Nik! Your words are so heartwarming and we really appreciate 🙂

  6. Stephen

    US

    Excellent experience with the Seller, Beatrice. She is very kind and skilled at what she does. She was very willing to work with me and remarkably quick to prepare the file for the cartridge. She went above and beyond in the presentation of the item. She printed a custom label from the cover of my book and manufactured not only the case but fully customized that as well. She included instructions on how to use the menu system and an overview of her business. Highly respectable on how professional she is in her work and her kindness. The book cartridge itself is amazing! I had an idea of what to expect and while I tempered my expectations she indeed delivered exactly what I hoped for. It is an amazing idea to put books of the buyer’s choice on gameboy cartridges as Wisdom Tree did with the Holy Bible twice over. I am very happy.

    From Etsy
    Image #1 from Stephen
    (1) (0)
    • Beatrice (store manager)

      Thank you so much for your kind words, Stephen! I’m so glad you like it!

  7. Jeremy

    US

    This is such a fun idea, and it’s obvious how much care has gone into the final product.

    From Etsy
    (0) (0)
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Q & A

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I love this! Just a quick point of clarification: are you using donor carts? This note made me wonder: "Because the cartridges and shells are vintage or repurposed items, small cosmetic marks may be present." arrogant.gamer asked on April 9, 2026

Hello, of course we use donor carts, they can be vintage or reproduced depending on availability, but always meticulously crafted and of excellent quality

Beatrice answered on April 9, 2026 store manager
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This is probably a silly question, but do you sell these as digital downloads too or just cartridges? I'd love to read some of these on my Pocket but I can't afford shipping costs right now. I'm really hoping to buy some of the cartridges when I can afford it though!! This is an amazing idea and I'm super pumped to see some Japanese classics will be available too! :) Rakizna asked on February 23, 2026

Hi,

Not a silly question at all.

At the moment, we only sell the books as physical cartridges. The project was designed as something tangible, meant to be inserted, held, and collected. That physical interaction is a fundamental part of the experience.

We completely understand the shipping issue, though. If we ever decide to offer a digital version, we’ll announce it publicly.

And thank you so much for your kind words. It really means a lot to us to see this kind of enthusiasm, especially about the Japanese classics. That support genuinely keeps the project moving forward.

Beatrice answered on April 9, 2026 store manager
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I think you should add the "Oz books", but just the ones Frank L. Baum wrote. Here's a list: 1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) 2. The Marvellous Land of Oz (1904) 3. Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz (1904-05) 4. The Woggle-Bug Book: The Strange Adventure of the Woggle-Bug (1905) 5. Ozma of Oz (1907) 6. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908) 7. The Road to Oz (1909) 8. The Emerald City of Oz (1910) 9. The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913) 10. Little Wizard Stories of Oz (1913) 11. Tik-Tok of Oz (1914) 12. The Scarecrow of Oz (1915) 13. Rinkitink in Oz (1916) 14. The Lost Princess of Oz (1917) 15. The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918) 16. The Magic of Oz (1919) 17. Glinda of Oz (1920) 18. The Littlest Giant: An Oz Story (Written 1917; Published 1972) trekadam30 asked on April 13, 2025

Hi, thank you very much for your suggestion! I think I'll start with the first one and see how it goes. I can make them all upon request, by the way.

Beatrice answered on April 9, 2026 store manager
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Could you provide the roms please? TheChupacabra asked on April 9, 2025

Why?

I'm not going to mince words here your cartridges are expensive and all you have to do is post the rom file.

If you're going to stick to this path I will find an alternative elsewhere.

TheChupacabra answered on April 9, 2025

Hi, thank you very much for your interest! I really appreciate it. Together with my team, it was decided to remove the sale of the ROM only. We do not exclude including it again in the future, but for now, we prefer to focus on physical cartridges, which return a more authentic experience.

Beatrice answered on April 14, 2026 store manager

Because after all this work, there are constantly people trying to resell my content by passing it off as their own, at least this way they have it less easy.

However, if you search on Etsy you will find that the price is perfectly average, in fact many cost A LOT more. I also do time-based special pricing on the Etsy store.

That said, everyone is free to make their own considerations and look for alternatives.

Beatrice answered on April 14, 2026 store manager
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You should also offer .gb files, for people with emulators. trekadam30 asked on April 1, 2025

Hi, thank you very much for your interest! I really appreciate it. Together with my team, it was decided to remove the sale of the ROM only. We do not exclude including it again in the future, but for now, we prefer to focus on physical cartridges, which return a more authentic experience.

Beatrice answered on April 9, 2026 store manager
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