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Originally published 1 September 2001 Genre Speculative fiction | 4.2/5 Goodreads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Dean Koontz books, Speculative fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Book of Counted Sorrows was originally a nonexistent book "quoted" in many of Dean Koontz's books. Koontz subsequently wrote a book of poetry by the same title.
Contents
Non-existent book
For many years Koontz fans everywhere searched for this elusive book. Many librarians were frustrated in their attempts to locate it, because it did not exist. This was confirmed by a librarian from Cedar Rapids Public Library who corresponded with Koontz regarding this mysterious book. Koontz himself stated that he received up to 3,000 letters per year inquiring about it.
In a letter dated August 10, 1992, Koontz stated:
Actually, there is no such book. I made it up. The way you made up footnote sources for fabricated facts in high-school English reports. Oh, come on, yes, you did. Sometimes, when I need a bit of verse to convey some of the underlying themes of a section of a novel, I can't find anything applicable, so I write my own and attribute it to this imaginary tome. I figured readers would eventually realize THE BOOK OF COUNTED SORROWS was my own invention, and I never expected that one day librarians and booksellers would be writing from all over the country, asking for help in tracking down this rare and mysterious volume!Koontz went on to say that he would publish such a book in a few years, when he had enough verses to fill a volume. He included a history of the poems in the beginning of the book, followed by the poems, some having never been in any of his books. According to Shannon Presley of Harvest Books, "Koontz himself wrote the poems, attributed to a Stephen Crane...you can find the collected poems at http://user.xmission.com/~emailbox/koontz/sorrows.htm#Sole_Survivor".
Second non-existent book
In the beginning of a very few books (such as Odd Thomas), Koontz quotes from The Book of Counted Joys.
Actual book
In 2001, The Book of Counted Sorrows was published in an e-book format offered exclusively through Barnes & Noble; It was the first book published in Barnes & Noble's launch of its first-ever list of books from its newly formed electronic-publishing division, Barnes & Noble Digital, and "quickly became Barnesandnoble.com's best-selling e-books of the year." Barnes & Noble Digital's premier 2001 edition is no longer available.
Later that year, Charnel House published two limited editions of the book: a 1250-copy numbered edition and a 26-copy lettered edition. Both editions quickly sold out from the publisher. In the summer of 2009, Dogged Press issued a 3000-copy hardcover edition.