I selected the twelve stories in this anthology with the following test in mind: if I were to arrive at a secluded holiday rental and discover I had left my bag of books on the bus from the nearest town (several hours away on foot and anyway without a bookshop), and if the only book on the otherwise empty shelves were this Personal Anthology, would its twelve stories sustain me happily for several weeks, become richer with each re-reading, and leave me glad that I had left my books on the bus, even wishing the same fate on the next guest?