APPENDIX

*

INTRODUCTION

The lists of books – divided for conveniences sake into two sections - borrowed from Hornsey Library which follow are intended both as a record and indication of my reading habits over a twelve-year period, beginning in November 1977. Naturally, I had read a good deal before then, including most of the works of Nietzsche, Baudelaire, Hesse, Camus, Sartre, Miller (Henry), Ginsberg, Joyce, Kafka, Powys (John Cowper), Wilde, etc., and this may help to explain the absence of certain books and authors from the list in question. Furthermore, it should be remembered that, in a library, one is not always or invariably free to choose exactly the kinds of books one would like to, but is obliged to select from those available - many examples of which one would doubtless hesitate to buy in a book shop. Nevertheless, I must confess that the Hornsey library was, and doubtless still is, exceptionally well-stocked, as the following list should confirm.

The asterisk (*) in front of various of the titles which follow is intended to be an indication as to what I thought of the books, i.e. whether I admired and/or enjoyed them, depending on the type of book in question. On the other hand, the absence of an asterisk may either indicate that, for one reason or another, I didn't like the book or even that, finding it disagreeable to begin with, I didn't finish it. For although I must admit to having read a majority of the listed books, I by no means read everything, partly through lack of time and partly through lack of inclination. One could argue, however, that the experienced library-goer soon learns to borrow between the shelves, so to speak; for selecting from between four and six books at a time is no easy task!

Finally, I should point out that what may at first appear as an arbitrary placement of dates on each page derives from the original notepaper pages on which I originally compiled the list. By keeping a note of the dates for each page, the months of which sometimes overlap, I was able to plot my course through the year - a factor which makes the retrospective study of my reading trends over this twelve-year period, some of which extends beyond the original composition date (1982) of BECOMING AND BEING, all the more accurate. Also I have kept, where possible, to the original title style ... irrespective of overall stylistic inconsistencies.