History Main / BlankBook

* The ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' cartoon episode [[http://dcanimated.wikia.com/wiki/Legends "Legends"]] where Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, and Flash got transported to an alternate universe where the Silver Age heroes John Stewart read about as a boy are real. Midway through, John gets suspicious that the world isn't all it seems, and goes to a library, where he finds all the books are blank.

* A ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' strip [[InvokedTrope invokes this trope.]] Calvin uses this as an excuse for not doing his homework: "I tried, but the book publisher didn't use the proper print fixative. Needless to say, when I picked up the book all the letters slid off the page and fell on the floor in a heap of gibberish!"
* In ''ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison'', [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker the Joker]]'s Joke Book is supposedly written in an ink that only the insane can read. It's intentionally unclear whether this is literally true, or simply a way of saying a crazy person will ''imagine'' there's writing in it. Either way, to most people, it's a Blank Book.
* ''The Wisdom Of Lobo,'' an actual book included in a three-book Lobo slipcased set back in the 90s. It was blank.
* The Book That Tells Everything in ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'' comic book story "The Smurfs And The Book That Tells Everything" is initially blank except for the page numbers. However, when the reader of the book asks it a question, the book will cause the answer to the question to appear only on that selected page.

* An influential figure in the court of the King of France and Navare Louis XIII (1610-1643), the Duke of Épernon had the poet Guillaume Bautru beaten because he had mocked him. In response, Bautru printed books that were all blank and sold under this title: ''The Achievements of the Duke of Épernon''[[note]]''Les Hauts Faits du duc d'Épernon'' for its original and only title, since the book never was translated into English or any other language for obvious reasons[[/note]]. [[note]]This was purely Bautru's revenge to hurt the Duke's pride. Actually, Jean-Louis de Nogaret de La Valette, the duke, was an active commander during the French War of Religions and a very important individual in the courts of not less than 4 successives monarchs in France (king Henri III, king Henri IV, queen Catherine de Médicis, and king Louis XIII) and he had influence even on the foreign politics of the Crown of Spain.[[/note]]

* In ''Film/DarkCity'', John Murdoch discovers that a picture book he drew in as a child is now completely blank. For extra ParanoiaFuel, when he tries to show it to a cop later, [[ItWasHereISwear it's filled out]].

** The [[TomeOfEldritchLore Tome of the Pah'Wraiths]] is a forbidden and blasphemous text in the Bajoran faith. But when it is opened, the pages are all blank, confounding those who would seek the evil knowledge within. Only after [[spoiler:a virtuous man is murdered while trying to keep the book from evil hands and [[BloodMagic his blood drips onto the pages]]]] does the actual text appear. Even, then only the ChosenOne of the Pah'Wraith can actually read it; anyone else who tries risks being supernaturally blinded.

* Happens in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': [[spoiler: The [[MacGuffin Dragon Scroll]] turns out to be totally blank. Instead, it is a mirror, meant to prompt [[AnAesop the lesson]] that [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre true strength comes from within]] rather than spelling anything out. The villain would've stolen the scroll and not understood, but the hero earned the privilege to open the scroll, and realized its true meaning. Notably, when the villain does get a glimpse at the scroll during the climax he can only stare blankly as his own reflection and say that he sees 'nothing'. Po even tells him "It's ok, [[NotSoDifferentRemark I didn't get it at first either.]]"]]

Lastly, the book being blank could be an Aesop for knowledge or lack of it. Perhaps the famed book of wisdom is blank because the person finding the book is supposed to write out the important knowledge themself because having gone through the quest to find the book, they now have the wisdom to write the book of wisdom themself. A case of AllThatGlitters. Or if the book was a blank holy text, it shows that character is denied the knowledge that will save their soul because they are now beyond redemption.

* ''Series/SASRogueHeroes''. Captain Stirling hands out an operations order to the assembled members of the newly formed Special Air Service, detailing the objectives set by GHQ, their chain of command and uniform requirements, and the equipment assigned to them. All the pages are blank, making it clear that [[MilitaryMaverick they're expected to come up with all these things themselves.]]

* Happens in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': [[spoiler: The [[MacGuffin Dragon Scroll]] turns out to be totally blank. Instead, it is a mirror, meant to prompt [[AnAesop the lesson]] that [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre true strength comes from within]] rather than spelling anything out. The villain would've stolen the scroll and not understood, but the hero earned the privilege to open the scroll, and realized its true meaning. Notably, when the villain does get a glimpse at the scroll during the climax he can only stare blankly as his own reflection and say that he sees 'nothing'. Po even tells him "It's ok, [[NotSoDifferentRemark I didn't get it at first either.]]"

* ''{{Film/Sphere}}'': none of the materialized copies of ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' have any print past page 87, since that's where the reader was too scared to read past while he was a child.

* In ''Film/{{Fahrenheit 451}}'' (the movie at least) some of the prop books used for fireman training are wooden blocks, but others that require flexibility are shown to be purposefully blank and therefore legal.

* A variant in [[Creator/IainBanks Iain M. Banks]]'s ''Literature/AgainstADarkBackground'' features a book which isn't merely blank, but impossible to write upon; the pages are glossy plastic, rejecting ink and even reflecting attempts to mark them with a laser. It's said to be God's Book, because GodIsEvil. [[spoiler: It's actually a decoy to both gain the trust of a rather stupid monarch and get the surveillance devices it contains into the castle library. It fails.]]

* Happens in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': [[spoiler: The [[MacGuffin Dragon Scroll]] turns out to be totally blank. Instead, it is a mirror, meant to prompt [[AnAesop the lesson]] that [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre true strength comes from within]] rather than spelling anything out. The villain would've stolen the scroll and not understood, but the hero earned the privilege to open the scroll, and realized its true meaning. Notably, when the villain does get a glimpse at the scroll during the climax he can only stare blankly as his own reflection and say that he sees 'nothing'.]]

** Variation in the classic story [[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E4TheAndroidInvasion "The Android Invasion"]]: the Doctor twigs that the pub he's in is actually an alien mockup after discovering all the pages on the daily calendar are the identical.