From the author of the bestselling Tolkien's Gown & Other Stories of Great Authors and Rare Books. Rick Gekoski is one of the world's great bookmen. And in this saucy and scintillating memoir (or bibliomemoir - a term and genre he has more or less invented) Rick takes us on a fascinating literary journey, in which he reveals the intricate relations between his reading and his life. His wide knowledge of literature, psychology and philosophy is cheerfully enlivened by his enthusiasm, humour and frankness. Tracing the role books have played in his life, Rick selects 25 that are special to him and trains the same ironic and analytic eye on these chosen few, and their authors, as he does on himself. The result is unique - a sustained and witty work dedicated to the proposition that reading is one of life's great formative influences. The seminal books in Rick's life are revisited here in loving detail and their influences on his personal and professional development wryly observed in a candid and compelling memoir of a life and a lifetime's reading. 'My books have made me,' claims Gekoski. Which books have made you?
