A treasury of book dedications, part I

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 treasury of book dedications.

Farewell,
Molly

Steve Martin, Cruel Shoes

Brontez Purnell, 100 Boyfriends

Victor Pelevin, Homo Zapiens

Charles Bukowski, Post Office

Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous

Jessie Haas Uncle Daney’s Way

Courtesy of Ed Park

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

Nora Lange, Day Care

Jason Mott, Hell of a Book

Anthony Doerr, Cloud Cuckoo Land

Jessica Helfand, Paul Rand: American Modernist

Summer Brenner, Do You Ever Think of Me?

Rose Macaulay, Crewe Train

Michelle Tea, Modern Tarot

Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle

Anais Nin, The Novel of the Future

Imogen Binnie, Nevada

Rita Mae Brown, Alma Mater

Kenan Orhan, The Renovation

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

Daryl Qilin Yam, Be Your Own Bae. Courtesy of boogiewonderwrites.

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

Rose Macaulay, Potterism

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

Last updated 3/10/2026

-Molly