Every time I read a book, one of first things I do is check the front for the dedication page. I love reading dedications as they can be very interesting and/or sweet, and usually reveal a little bit (sometimes more) about the author's personality/feelings/state of mind etc.
Quick disclaimer: I've never read any of the Harry Potter books. But I searched multiple image sites for most of the dedication pages listed below to no avail. The only dedication page I could find on google images was the one to the last Harry Potter book (and I actually kind of like the dedication, so that will have to do for a picture of a dedication.)
In May 1999, when I was 15 and had just returned from my three month exchange to France, I had to write a history paper for the half course on 20th century World History that I had missed almost all of because I was in the little town of Beaupreau. My teacher, Mr. Bentley, said I should write a paper about an event in 20th century French history. I chose the liberation of Paris at the end of World War II. I don't remember much about my paper (except that I enjoyed writing it and found the topic super interesting) but I have always remembered the dedication in one of the books on the topic which I checked out of the library (unfortunately I can remember neither the name nor the author of the book). The dedication said: "For Eugenia - for making even happier my happy memories of Paris." I remember thinking then and I still think now, what a wonderful dedication and that Eugenia was a lucky lady to have someone write such a nice dedication about her!! And that the author and Eugenia obviously loved Paris as much as I did/do was a bonus!
Continuing in the academic book vein, here is another dedication. This one is from the book Winning the Ph. D Game by Richard W. Moore, which J. happens to have on his book shelf (a gift from his cousin). When I was glancing through the book, I read the dedication, which I liked so much I had to write down: "This book is dedicated to Yvonne T. Guy, Ph.D, fellow graduate student, critic, motivator, and most recently, my wife." It's sweet, it's cute, and it explains that Yvonne is the author's wife.
I am going to write a post either next month or September about vampires and vampire books and True Blood and I will talk a lot about Charlaine Harris (the writer of the Sookie Stackhouse books) in that. So for this post, I'll limit what I want to say about her to her funny and sweet dedications. My personal favourites are from the third Sookie book, Club Dead, where she writes: "This book is dedicated to my middle child , Timothy Schultz, who told me flatly he wanted a book all to himself." I find that such an endearing and funny dedication! And if I were Timothy, I know I'd want a book all to myself too! My other favourite is from Touch of Dead, a collection of Sookie short stories, where Charlaine Harris writes: "For all those readers who want every last sip of Sookie." I love that one too because a. I am one of those readers who wants every last sip of Sookie, and b. I like the vampire reference. Charlaine's dedications are good because they are funny, and they reveal the relationship between her and the person (people) to whom she is dedicating the book.
I first heard about the writer Elizabeth McCracken last spring when I read Ann Patchett's memoir Truth and Beauty (which I highly recommend!) - the bulk of the book is about Ann Patchett's other friend, Lucy Grealy, but she also discusses how she met and became friends with Elizabeth McCracken. (Interesting side note: Ann Patchett's book The Magician's Assistant is dedicated to both Lucy Grealy and Elizabeth McCracken.) After finding out about her thanks to Ann Patchett's memoir, I googled Elizabeth McCracken, discovered that her books sounded very interesting and I ended up taking her memoir An Exact Replica of a Figment of my Imagination out of the library. It was so good that I ordered one of her novels The Giant's House on Amazon. I have yet to read it but I did take a sneak peek at the dedication page and I really liked it: "for Robert Sidney Phelps a giant of a friend" It's a good dedication, in my opinion, because it is concise, kind, relates to the title of her book, and explains her relationship to Robert Sidney Phelps.
Another dedication I like is L.M. Montgomery's in Anne of the Island: "To all the girls around the world who "wanted more" about Anne." I enjoy this one because it's nice to all her fans around the world, and I'm sure it made them all feel very special - and glad that they had another book about Anne to read!
Elizabeth Gilbert is probably best known as the writer of Eat, Pray, Love but she also wrote a short story collection and a novel back before all the events of EPL ever took place. I actually recently bought a (very slightly used) copy of her novel Stern Men for very cheap. Despite not yet reading it (although I am looking forward to doing so) I really wanted to look at the dedication page because I had once read an article about Gilbert's first husband (the man she divorces at the beginning of EPL) and how she had dedicated her novel to him. The dedication reads: "To Michael Cooper - for playing it cool." I have to admit I like the dedication; it's intriguing. In what ways did Michael Cooper play it cool? I want to know!! But I also don't like when writers don't explain their relationship to the person to whom they dedicated the book. I know Michael Cooper is her ex (current at the time) husband's name, but only because of that article I read. Other people probably wonder who he is... At the same time, maybe I would find it annoying if she had dedicated it to: "To my husband Michael Cooper - for playing it cool." That just doesn't sound the same...Clearly I can't be satisfied :) I wonder if Elizabeth Gilbert regrets dedicating that book to him now. I hope she doesn't; because in some ways it would have been weird for her not to have dedicated a book to her husband, as most people presumably don't go into their marriage thinking they'll eventually get a divorce. I was so into G. in June 2004 and when we parted ways for the summer, I gave him this really gushy card in which I said all these really nice things about him. When I came back to Berkeley in the fall and he turned out to be an asshole I was so mad at myself for having written him that card. But I then realized that the card was a reflection of how I felt in June, and I think the same goes with dedications. Michael Cooper must have played it cool during their marriage, and how was Elizabeth Gilbert to know that eventually they would have a terrible, messy divorce?
Back several years ago, I tried, every once and a while, to write short stories. (I have now mostly abandoned that pursuit for writing non-fiction, but I do still have a Word document with story ideas and I suspect I will at some point try again.) Part of my problem with short stories was that I always wanted to include way too many details about each character. It was actually reading Elizabeth Gilbert's short story collection - Pilgrims- that made me realize that a lot of backstory wasn't necessary, and wasn't conducive, to short stories. I think the same idea probably applies to dedications - the shorter, the better; and then add sweet and sincere, and you have the ideal book dedication.
I first heard about the writer Elizabeth McCracken last spring when I read Ann Patchett's memoir Truth and Beauty (which I highly recommend!) - the bulk of the book is about Ann Patchett's other friend, Lucy Grealy, but she also discusses how she met and became friends with Elizabeth McCracken. (Interesting side note: Ann Patchett's book The Magician's Assistant is dedicated to both Lucy Grealy and Elizabeth McCracken.) After finding out about her thanks to Ann Patchett's memoir, I googled Elizabeth McCracken, discovered that her books sounded very interesting and I ended up taking her memoir An Exact Replica of a Figment of my Imagination out of the library. It was so good that I ordered one of her novels The Giant's House on Amazon. I have yet to read it but I did take a sneak peek at the dedication page and I really liked it: "for Robert Sidney Phelps a giant of a friend" It's a good dedication, in my opinion, because it is concise, kind, relates to the title of her book, and explains her relationship to Robert Sidney Phelps.
Another dedication I like is L.M. Montgomery's in Anne of the Island: "To all the girls around the world who "wanted more" about Anne." I enjoy this one because it's nice to all her fans around the world, and I'm sure it made them all feel very special - and glad that they had another book about Anne to read!
Elizabeth Gilbert is probably best known as the writer of Eat, Pray, Love but she also wrote a short story collection and a novel back before all the events of EPL ever took place. I actually recently bought a (very slightly used) copy of her novel Stern Men for very cheap. Despite not yet reading it (although I am looking forward to doing so) I really wanted to look at the dedication page because I had once read an article about Gilbert's first husband (the man she divorces at the beginning of EPL) and how she had dedicated her novel to him. The dedication reads: "To Michael Cooper - for playing it cool." I have to admit I like the dedication; it's intriguing. In what ways did Michael Cooper play it cool? I want to know!! But I also don't like when writers don't explain their relationship to the person to whom they dedicated the book. I know Michael Cooper is her ex (current at the time) husband's name, but only because of that article I read. Other people probably wonder who he is... At the same time, maybe I would find it annoying if she had dedicated it to: "To my husband Michael Cooper - for playing it cool." That just doesn't sound the same...Clearly I can't be satisfied :) I wonder if Elizabeth Gilbert regrets dedicating that book to him now. I hope she doesn't; because in some ways it would have been weird for her not to have dedicated a book to her husband, as most people presumably don't go into their marriage thinking they'll eventually get a divorce. I was so into G. in June 2004 and when we parted ways for the summer, I gave him this really gushy card in which I said all these really nice things about him. When I came back to Berkeley in the fall and he turned out to be an asshole I was so mad at myself for having written him that card. But I then realized that the card was a reflection of how I felt in June, and I think the same goes with dedications. Michael Cooper must have played it cool during their marriage, and how was Elizabeth Gilbert to know that eventually they would have a terrible, messy divorce?
Back several years ago, I tried, every once and a while, to write short stories. (I have now mostly abandoned that pursuit for writing non-fiction, but I do still have a Word document with story ideas and I suspect I will at some point try again.) Part of my problem with short stories was that I always wanted to include way too many details about each character. It was actually reading Elizabeth Gilbert's short story collection - Pilgrims- that made me realize that a lot of backstory wasn't necessary, and wasn't conducive, to short stories. I think the same idea probably applies to dedications - the shorter, the better; and then add sweet and sincere, and you have the ideal book dedication.
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