The Book of Counted Sorrows was originally a nonexistent book "quoted" in many of Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz

Dean Ray Koontz is a prolific American author best known for his novels which could be described broadly as suspense thrillers. He also frequently incorporates elements of horror, science fiction, mystery, and satire. A number of his books have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List, with...

's books. Koontz subsequently wrote a book of poetry by the same title.

Nonexistent 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. He includes a history of the poems in the beginning of the book, followed by the poems, some having never been in any of his books.

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 has enough verses to fill a volume. According to Shannon Presley of Harvest Books

Harcourt (publisher)

Harcourt was a United States publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. The company was based in San Diego, California, with an Editorial / Sales / Marketing / Rights offices in New York City and Orlando, Florida.In 2007, the U.S...

, "Koontz himself wrote the poems, attributed to a Stephen Crane...you can find the collected poems at Veinotte at http://www.veinotte.com/koontz/sorrows.htm".

In the beginning of a very few books (such as Odd Thomas), Koontz quotes from The Book of Counted Joys.

Actual book

In 2003 the book was published in an e-book format offered exclusively through Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...

, which is no longer available. Later that year Charnel House

Charnel House (publisher)

Charnel House is a horror fiction publishing house, specializing in limited edition books noted for their craftsmanship. Examples being The Regulators which featured bullets protruding from the front board and Last Call which featured endpapers made from untrimmed sheets of American dollar...

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.

Sources