The Facts: Back in mid-October 2025 I embarked on the endeavor to write (and self-publish) my first book (of which I am on the third and final draft). It was going to be a simple anthology of my old short-form writings from the early 2000s (my early thirties). It was also going to have a preface to serve as both an explanation and a mini autobiography. But then I had the thought of having some fun with the notion of a preface. This thought then evolved (as they always do) into the idea to one day write a book consisting of nothing but prefaces. I believe I publicly stated as much in a video around that time, when I started vlogging about my writing journey. I don’t remember the specific video offhand.
Fast forward to August or September of 2026 (I forget when exactly) when I discovered that Kierkegaard, along with three other authors (see below), each had already written a book regarding prefaces! One dating decades ago, while Kierkegaard’s dates back almost 200 years!
The Evidence (there may be other “preface” related books out there, but these are the top four internet search results I found):
- 1844 (1844!) is the earliest theft of my 2025 idea. The book in question is titled “Prefaces” and was written by Soren Kierkegaard under the pseudonym Nicolaus Notabene. Right there you can see he tried to get away with the theft by publishing under a fake name! What a coward!!! The book is supposedly an absurd metafictional story about an author who, to appease his wife who’s jealous of his writing, writes a book of prefaces for books that do not exist. I have never read anything by Kierkegaard, and while his theft of my idea is like a poison spear that has pierced my virtuous soul, knowing he is of a similar mind, I must read it one day, and perhaps other works of his. Though my doing so will not forgive him of his grave misdoings!
- 1917 is the year of the next theft, this one more blatant than Kierkegaard’s, as this book is titled “Book of Prefaces” and was written by American journalist H.L. Mencken. However, it is a collection of critical essays. While he stole the title from me, the content is much different. So he gets a pass.
- 1971 (how about that) is the third act of theft. The book is titled “A Perfect Vacuum” and was written by Stanislaw Lem, another author who I’ve never read. This book is a fictional collection of reviews/prefaces for fake, imaginary books. Like Kierkegaard’s, I must give this one a read one day.
- 2000 is the latest theft of my 2025 book of prefaces idea. The book is another that’s blatantly titled “The Book of Prefaces“. The internet search says it was “edited and glossed” (not sure what that means) by the Scottish artist and novelist Alasdair Gray. Like Mencken’s book, it is not a book about prefaces, but rather, it seeks to provide a history of how literature spread and developed through the nations of England, Ireland, Scotland, and the United States.
The Theories:
- A) In need of an idea for their next book, each of the four authors traveled through time to 2025, and after getting acclimated to modern society and culture, each eventually stumbled upon my 2025 video (or perhaps just this post) then returned back to their original time with the idea to then write and publish their own version of it.
- B) Each of the four authors hired a time-traveling thief that excels in stealing ideas. It was this individual who found this post or my video, and returned back to the authors with the idea.
- C) Kierkegaard was the only time-traveling thief himself (or the only one to hire a time-traveling thief), while the other three authors stole from him.
Conclusion:
Skeptics out there might call it Coincidence, Synchronicity, Parallel Invention, or even make it personal and call me crazy and narcissistic to think this way (or is the latter just my paranoia), and that these individuals simply thought of the idea years prior to me, or in Kierkegaard’s case, almost two centuries prior. However, I know better. There’s absolutely no way they came up with such an original idea on their own! As I said, they either traveled through time and stole it themselves, or paid someone to do it for them.
And no, I didn’t steal it from them! I am many things, but one thing I am not is a liar or a thief. I honestly thought of the idea myself, on my own, back around October/November 2025.
So there you have it, my dear reader. Was it blatant time-traveling theft, or mere chance? While I have my theories and suspicions, I will leave it up for you to draw, paint, sculpt, or use AI to create an image of your own conclusion.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with the time traveling authorities with the hopes of seeking reparations…