The initial twelve chapters of

were first published in English as an A4-sized booklet by Abraxas (St Austell, Cornwall, UK) in 1997, and included an Introduction by the editor of

magazine, Paul Newman (1945- ). The full version: twenty-six chapters and an “Afterword” by Wilson, was published a year later, in the USA, by Hampton Roads Publishing Company Inc. (Charlottesville, VA). A rich combination of philosophy, existential criticism* and autobiography, all except two of the chapters had been written, during the 1990s, for a Japanese magazine entitled

and published in book form by Gakken (Tokyo), translated by Shibata Motoyuki.

In chapter one: “How Many Books is Too Many?” Wilson admits to being “something of an obsessive about

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Citation: Stanley, Colin. "The Books in My Life". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 January 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24014, accessed 26 November 2024.]