Dear readers, I’ve always considered “time spent laughing” to be the easiest quantifier of happiness. One thing that made me laugh this year was rummaging through books and taking note of frisky, enigmatic, aggressive, poignant or otherwise interesting dedications. A handful of you joined me in the scavenging—and lo, we enjoyed ourselves. The fruits are below.
Let’s continue to build this treasury, yeah? Everyone is invited. If you notice an interesting dedication, email it to mollybethyoung at gmail.com. Include the author name and book title, and please indicate if you wish me to credit 1) your name; and 2) include a link with your name; or 3) remain anonymous.
Below, a running treasury of book dedications.
Farewell, Molly
Steve Martin, Cruel Shoes Charles Bukowski, Post Office Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous Jessie Haas Uncle Daney’s Way Alan W. Watts, The Way of Zen Gene Wolf, The Fifth Head of Cerberus William O. Steele, The Perilous Road Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes Flann O’Brien, The Dalkey Archive Jason Mott, Hell of a Book Anthony Doerr, Cloud Cuckoo Land Rose Macaulay, Crewe Train Michelle Tea, Modern Tarot Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle Anais Nin, The Novel of the Future Rita Mae Brown, Alma Mater Norman Rush, Subtle Bodies Summer Brenner / Studs Terkel, Working Machado de Assis, Epitaph of a Small Winner . Courtesy of Tim Berge . Lucy Lippard, I See / You Mean. Courtesy of Anna Furman . Lawrence Klauber, Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind . Courtesy of Earl Adams. Harlan Ellison, Love Ain’t Nothing But Sex Misspelled Benjamin Lewin (ed.), Gene Expression Volume 3: Plasmids and Phages. Courtesy of Tim Berge . Edy Poppy, Anatomy. Monotony. Courtesy of Tim Berge . Rose Macaulay, Dangerous Ages Jane Ward, The Tragedy of Heterosexuality. Courtesy of Paul Spirito. Paul Eluard, Uninterrupted Poetry. Courtesy of Audrey Guttman , our official French Literary Correspondent Louis Aragon, Le Mouvement perpétuel (précédé de) Feu de joie, 1926. Courtesy of Audrey Guttman , our official French Literary Correspondent Penelope Ashe, The Naked Chef. Courtesy of Esther Cosio. Joanna Field, On Not Being Able to Paint. Courtesy of Esther Cosio. Anne Garréta, Not One Day Brigid Brophy, In Transit. Courtesy of Suzanne. Arden edition of King Lear, edited by R.A. Foakes Geoffrey Household, Rogue Male Julia Armfield, salt slow. Courtesy Esther Cosio. Sasha Sokolov, A School for Fools. Snowden Wright, The Queen City Detective Agency. Walker Percy, The Moviegoer. Beatriz Serrano, Discontent Eliza Clark, Boy Parts . Courtesy of Erryn. Amy Silverberg, First Time, Long Time . Courtesy of Miriam. Lawrence Weschler, A Trove of Zohars Tom Robbins, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues . Courtesy of Peri. Gael Greene, Don’t Come Back Without It Samantha Harvey, The Shapeless Unease Joe Abercrombie, Best Served Cold. Courtesy of Shevaun Ruby. Stephen Jay Gould, Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes Sergei Dovlatov, Pushkin Hills Eva Saulitis, Leaving Resurrection. Courtesy of Esther Cosio. Pierre Gagnon, 5 F-U . Courtesy of Esther Cosio. Deirdre N. McCloskey, The Rhetoric of Economics. Courtesy of Esther Cosio. Peter Watts, The Freeze-Frame Revolution. Courtesy of Shelly Peleg. Erma Bombeck, If Life Is A Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing In The Pits? Courtesy of Benjamin Errett . Robert Hendrickson, The Literary Life and Other Curiosities . Courtesy of Benjamin Errett . Karl Beckson, ed. Aesthetes and Decadents of the 1890s . Courtesy of Benjamin Errett . Fanny Howe, Holy Smoke. Courtesy of Laura.
Last updated 1/15/2026 -Molly
