diff --git a/pkgs/desktops/gnome/apps/gnome-books/default.nix b/pkgs/desktops/gnome/apps/gnome-books/default.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index ad815fca918a..000000000000
--- a/pkgs/desktops/gnome/apps/gnome-books/default.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,98 +0,0 @@
-{ stdenv
-, lib
-, meson
-, ninja
-, gettext
-, fetchurl
-, fetchpatch
-, evince
-, gjs
-, pkg-config
-, gtk3
-, glib
-, tracker
-, tracker-miners
-, libxslt
-, webkitgtk
-, gnome-desktop
-, libgepub
-, gnome
-, gdk-pixbuf
-, gsettings-desktop-schemas
-, adwaita-icon-theme
-, docbook-xsl-nons
-, docbook_xml_dtd_42
-, desktop-file-utils
-, python3
-, gobject-introspection
-, wrapGAppsHook
-}:
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
-  pname = "gnome-books";
-  version = "40.0";
-
-  src = fetchurl {
-    url = "mirror://gnome/sources/${pname}/${lib.versions.major version}/${pname}-${version}.tar.xz";
-    sha256 = "0c41l8m2di8h39bmk2fnhpwglwp6qhljmwqqbihzp4ay9976zrc5";
-  };
-
-  patches = [
-    # Fix build with meson 0.61
-    # https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-books/-/merge_requests/62
-    (fetchpatch {
-      url = "https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-books/-/commit/2663dcdaaaa71f067a4c2d0005eecc0fdf940bf5.patch";
-      sha256 = "v2mLzrxSWrkJ0N6seR8jNXX14FsneEPuE9ELLVUe6+E=";
-    })
-  ];
-
-  nativeBuildInputs = [
-    meson
-    ninja
-    pkg-config
-    gettext
-    libxslt
-    desktop-file-utils
-    docbook-xsl-nons
-    docbook_xml_dtd_42
-    wrapGAppsHook
-    python3
-  ];
-
-  buildInputs = [
-    gtk3
-    glib
-    gsettings-desktop-schemas
-    gdk-pixbuf
-    adwaita-icon-theme
-    evince
-    webkitgtk
-    gjs
-    gobject-introspection
-    tracker
-    tracker-miners
-    gnome-desktop
-    libgepub
-  ];
-
-  postPatch = ''
-    chmod +x meson_post_install.py # patchShebangs requires executable file
-    patchShebangs meson_post_install.py
-  '';
-
-  passthru = {
-    updateScript = gnome.updateScript {
-      packageName = "gnome-books";
-      attrPath = "gnome.gnome-books";
-    };
-  };
-
-  meta = with lib; {
-    broken = true; # won't build with current meson; upstream is dead/archived
-    homepage = "https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Books";
-    description = "An e-book manager application for GNOME";
-    maintainers = teams.gnome.members;
-    license = licenses.gpl2Plus;
-    platforms = platforms.linux;
-  };
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/desktops/gnome/default.nix b/pkgs/desktops/gnome/default.nix
index 2be226b40db2..f099d9637362 100644
--- a/pkgs/desktops/gnome/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/desktops/gnome/default.nix
@@ -152,8 +152,6 @@ lib.makeScope pkgs.newScope (self: with self; {
 
   ghex = callPackage ./apps/ghex { };
 
-  gnome-books = callPackage ./apps/gnome-books { };
-
   gnome-boxes = callPackage ./apps/gnome-boxes { };
 
   gnome-calendar = callPackage ./apps/gnome-calendar { };
@@ -268,6 +266,7 @@ lib.makeScope pkgs.newScope (self: with self; {
   gnome-todo = pkgs.endeavour; # added 2022-07-30
   libgnome-games-support = throw "The ‘gnome.libgnome-games-support’ alias was removed. Please use ‘pkgs.libgnome-games-support’ directly."; # converted to throw on 2022-10-26
 
+  gnome-books = throw "The ‘gnome.gnome-books’ package was removed as it is broken and abandoned."; # added 2022-10-26
   gnome-devel-docs = throw "The ‘gnome.gnome-devel-docs’ package was removed as it is outdated and no longer relevant."; # added 2022-10-26
 
 }