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Books you were going to write with letters for titles. Have you read his F? Oh yes, but I prefer Q. Yes, but W is wonderful. O yes, W. James Joyce: Ulysses 3; 139-140 |
After having read the Joycean quote, I decided to try gathering a complete alphabet of books that only had one letter for titles. After three years of intense collecting, the whole alphabet was on display in my shop, however lacking the two Scandinavian letters Æ and Å. Believing that those two book titles simply didn't exist, I left the collection as it was, and it took a further three years before my friend, Odd Noreger, from Stavanger Antikvariat (aka The Odd Bookshop), triumphantly arrived with the two titles. We celebrated the completion of the alphabet with a bottle of Norwegian Linieakvavit. Later, my other true friend, Georg Oldskov, has written a short story about the alphabet collection and another, not less fascinating collection of secondary alphabet literature. The short story is included in Oldskov's anthology, Sjælens fissehår (The Pussy Hair of the Soul), published by The Booktrader.
| A | Andy Warhol: A. New York, Grove Press, 1968 |
| B | Eva Figes: B. London, Faber and Faber, 1972 |
| C | Arne Herløv Petersen: C. Copenhagen, Biilmann & Eriksen, 1966 |
| D | Arnold Skemer: D. New York, Phrygian Press, 1995 |
| E | Matt Beaumont: e. New York, Penguin Putnam, 2000 |
| F | Hasse Alfredson: F. Stockholm, Bonniers, 1968 |
| G | John Berger: G. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1973 |
| H | Grete Klepper: H. Oslo, Det norske Samlaget, 1999 |
| I | Rolf Parland: I. Stockholm, LTs Förlag, 1973 |
| J | Béatrice Machet: J... Coaraze, L'Amourier, 1999 |
| K | Mario Puzo: K. Stockholm, Norstedts, 1981 (Swedish translation of The Fourth K) |
| L | Erland Loe: L. Oslo, J.W. Cappelens Forlag, 1999 |
| M | John Cage: M. London, Calder & Boyars, 1973 |
| N | Ernesto Ferrero: N. Torino, Einaudi, 2000 |
| O | Per Olov Kaldestad: O. Oslo, Det norske samlaget, 1981 |
| P | Andrew Lewis Conn: P. Brooklyn, Soft Skull Press, 2003 |
| Q | Bosse Gustafson: Q. Stockholm, P.A. Norstedt, 1979 |
| R | Kenne Fant: R. Stockholm, P.A. Norstedt, 1988 |
| S | Slavenka Drakulic: S. New York, Viking, 1999 |
| T | Sarah Kirsch: T. London and Saxmundham, Reality Street Editions, 1995 |
| U | Bosse Gustafson: U. Stockholm, P.A. Norstedt & Söners Förlag, 1973 |
| V | Thomas Pynchon: V. Philadelphia and New York, J.B. Lippincott Company, 1963 |
| W | Georges Perec: W. Paris, Editions Denoël, 1975 |
| X | John Cage: X. London and New York, Marion Boynars, 1987 |
| Y | Sten Drewsen: "Y". Copenhagen, Steen Hasselbalch, 1921 |
| Z | Vassilis Vassilikos: Z. Copenhagen, Gyldendal, 1968 |
| Æ | Kjetil Siem: Æ. Oslo, Familievennens Forlag, 1998 |
| Ø | Aldous Huxley: Ø. Copenhagen, Gyldendal, 1968 (Danish translation of Island) |
| Ö | Sven Barthel: Ö. Stockholm, Albert Bonniers Förlag, 1935 |
| Å | Knut Nærum: Å. Oslo, Cappelen, 2000 |