The collection, edited by Beck’s chief editor Detleff Felken, features personal accounts from the imprint’s authors regarding texts that have significantly influenced their lives. The anthology spans a wide range of literary genres and historical periods, reflecting the diverse catalog of the publishing house.
According to the book’s description, contributions cover works ranging from children’s literature and Wilhelm Busch to Walter Benjamin’s Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels and Martin Heidegger’s Sein und Zeit. Other cited titles include Cervantes’ Don Quijote, Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks, Adalbert Stifter’s Bunte Steine, Marcel Proust’s Suche nach der verlorenen Zeit, Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, George Orwell’s 1984, Albert Camus’ Der Fremde, and José Saramago’s Stadt der Blinden.
Helmut Benze, a former publishing editor, reviewed the work in BuchMarkt, describing it as a ‘treasure island’ of reading treasures. He noted that many contributors provide workshop reports on works they are currently writing, often at the suggestion of Dr. Wolfgang Beck.
Benze highlighted the intellectual variety of the volume, stating that the quality relies on the competence of the contributor team and the ‘worldliness’ of the themes. He mentioned reading the book nearly three times, including a reverse reading from Z to A, inspired by the final text which advises on the comfort of reading.
The physical edition includes full-page illustrations of original book covers for approximately two dozen of the short essays, allowing readers to view the historical design of the discussed works. Benze specifically cited Don Quixote, Robinson Crusoe, the Odyssey, Divine Comedy, Psychologie der Massen, and Die Konferenz der Tiere as personal life books that resonated with him during his reading of the anthology.