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I've always assumed that the locations of skill books are predetermined, and that once you've used a bookcase and discovered a particular book (skill or non-skill) you can forget about re-using that same bookcase because you'll just get the same book as before.

However, I've been spending a lot of time in Daggerfall with my newest character on the EU PC/Mac server (my only character on that server), and right now I'm mostly concerned with acquiring money so I can upgrade my pack space, bank space, and carrying capacity riding lessons to their maximum amounts. Consequently, I've been spending a lot of time at the docks stealing anything of value from the two ships-- The Lydia and The Hotspur.

Every so often I accidentally use the bookcase in The Hotspur or the bookcase in The Lydia, due to moving very quickly and checking every cabinet, dresser, table, desk, and other container as rapidly as possible. I had read the books in those two bookcases the first time I was exploring the two ships, and most of the time if I accidentally use either bookcase again I get the same book as before-- I think-- at least, I don't gain a new level in a skill line.

But a couple of times I've accidentally used either of the two bookcases and my level in some skill line has gone up! This has happened a few times now, and it's got me wondering if those two bookcases contain random books. I'll have to start checking both bookcases each and every time, and taking careful notes about what book titles are in each bookcase, as well as whether one of my skill lines goes up a level and which skill line it was.

Is this some sort of a glitch, or do some bookcases contain random books?

It happened again last night. I don't remember if it was on The Lydia or The Hotspur-- and it's happened on both before, so I don't know if it matters. As I was in the cabin with the bookcase-- the smaller one that resembles a nightstand, not the taller one that resembles a wardrobe-- I deliberately used the bookcase to see what would happen. It raised my Two-Handed skill level-- at least, it said it did. IIRC the book title was something about "Sancre Tor" (volume 2?). I didn't have my various "pre-bookcase" and "post-bookcase" skill levels written down so I could verify whether my Two-Handed skill level actually did go up, but the message appeared on the screen saying that it did. On the other hand, the bookcase on the other ship didn't do anything when I used it. But last week both of them triggered a message while I was making my several-times-a-day thieving run around the docks, even though I had already used both bookcases the very first time I went thieving aboard the ships, plus multiple times afterward.

Okay, the books in the bookcases on The Lydia and The Hotspur definitely change, although I'm not sure yet whether they can be any book or just vary between a few specific books. The other night they were "The Legendary Sancre Tor, 1st Ed." (on The Hotspur) and "Bowyer and Fletcher" (on The Lydia).The next night one of them had changed to "Sorcery Is Not Necromancy" or whatever the exact title is. I remember seeing those three titles on multiple occasions as I've thieved aboard The Lydia and The Hotspur.

Yes - many bookcase books are randomized, as I understand it. Not all. There are some exceptions, but for the most part it's chance.

Well, that's nice, since it means I'll have to start checking every single bookcase every single time I go into a house or shop or castle or delve or dungeon, etc., just to make sure I haven't missed a book. I suppose I'll just have to keep an eye on those book-related Achievements to monitor how many more volumes I need to find in a particular zone or book series.

Haha, even I don't often do that, and I love lore books! You'll go crazy. I do like to use the LoreBooks add on to make sure I don't miss the important ones for the Mages Guild/Shalidor's Library, and because hunting those book locations the old fashioned way became a big pain in the rear. Collecting the Eidetic Memory collection is a considerable challenge. It can be done, though!

That's unnecessary. After the first few dozen bookcases in any given zone, you will have read them all.