The Books are a band founded by and consisting of American Nick Zammuto and Dutchman Paul de Jong in New York City in 2000. Their music is a mix of aleatoric, electronica, folk, and acoustic music (de Jong is a cellist and Zammuto plays acoustic guitar and electric bass), incorporating samples of sounds, speech and music. They have released three albums, all on the German (Cologne) label Tomlab. They are currently recording and residing in North Adams, Massachusetts, near Zammuto's alma mater, Williams College.

Their 2006 live shows consisted primarily of live acoustic performance (cello, guitar and vocals), played with prerecorded electronics and synchronized video.

Their music ("Tokyo" from The Lemon of Pink) was featured in the KnowHIVAIDS television ad campaign. Another song, called "Getting the Done Job" (from "Thought For Food") was featured in a 2007 Hummer H3 commercial. Additionally, the songs "That Right Ain't Shit" (From The Lemon of Pink) and "Read, Eat, Sleep" (from Thought for Food) appeared in a 2005 Hummer H2 commercial and a 2007 Hummer H3 commercial called "Let it Snow" , respectively. On a related note, a track from Zammuto's solo "Solutiore of Stareau" /"Willscher" project was used in a Hummer H2 commercial titled "Command Module."

There is more than one artist with this name: 1) The Books story began in 2000, when Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong met through a friend in New York City. Sharing similar interests but different backgrounds in acoustic music and found sound, Zammuto and de Jong experimented and plunked away with sound. Eventually, with some urging by Tom Steinle of Tomlab Records, they created what would become their debut record, Thought for Food, in 2002. Within a year, the Books relocated to Hot Springs, NC, a