When I was a kid, I had The Baby-Sitters Club chain letter and Secret Santa books, considered “a lively collection of correspondence.” I don’t remember the contents themselves (I’m sure it was benign, tapioca-esque fare), but I do recall loving how it was set up: like an actual envelope glued to the page from which you got to slide the letter or card and unfold it and read it. (Just like you were rifling through the preteens’ actual mail! So lifelike and exciting!) I most remember removing one particular letter and confetti spewing everywhere. (That was probably from Claudia, wasn’t it?)
In reality, I’m actually very bad about eavesdropping and snooping, etc. Most of the time I’m fully immersed in my own little world and don’t pick up on what’s going on around me, and I have serious guilt about going through other people’s things. (I, for one, would be horrified if someone was going through my stuff and found too many images of Zac Hanson on my computer.)
But if I see such things—stuff I was never meant to read—accidentally in real life, it is kind of exciting. I used to love finding other people’s grocery lists; no matter what was on there, it’d always be funny/random in conjunction with at least one other thing on the list (e.g., “cauliflower and Windex”).
Found notes and letters are especially fascinating. Once, I was taking a walk in a neighborhood I’d never wandered around before and every couple of houses, I’d see a little white sign on the ground: “Michelle So-and-so, I want my rings!” (This doesn’t sound like the same Michelle who will be missed.) It’s so much fun getting just a fragment of a story, and then being left to wonder about all the things you don’t know.
And when I’m not lucky enough to stumble across someone’s lost or discarded communication, I can always get my fix with one of the following books!
P.S. I Hate It Here!: Kids’ Letters from Camp by Diana Falanga. Even before Wet Hot American Summer, I thought summer camp was so fun—all suntans and cookouts and fireflies and making eyes with the boy in Bunk 3. I probably would not feel that way if I’d actually gone to camp. But not even the tortured notes from pint-sized prisoners in Falanga’s collection can ruin the fantasy for me! Especially when they’re such a hoot.
PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives by Frank Warren. Unlike the other books on this list, a large audience actually IS meant to read these postcards on which people write their secrets. PostSecret gives us a tiny but important glimpse into the secret-sharer’s life, leaving it up to us to fill in the blanks. Additionally, the books, as well as the website, remind us that none of us are alone—we all have burdens, some small and some not-so-small, and they make us more similar to each other than we realize.
Other People’s Rejection Letters: Relationship Enders, Career Killers, and 150 Other Letters You’ll Be Glad You Didn’t Receive by Bill Shapiro. Craving a little schadenfreude? Or maybe you just want to be reminded that you’re not the only one to experience a little taste of failure—even the greats get denied! Instead of downer digest, consider this book more like a reminder to keep doing your own thing and don’t worry if people like it—if YOU like it, you’re on the right track!
Found: The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World by Davy Rothbart. Not just a batch of letters, but also drawings, photos, lost-and-found signs, lists, and more, all found by people just minding their owns. Whenever this happens to me, it feels like a sign or a clue—I’m suddenly thrust into a story and it’s up to me to figure out what the heck is going on and what will happen next. The content of Found ranges from innocuous to profane, to hilarious to heart-breaking, and all stem from mysterious context, their origins unknown. Take a peek and create your own theories, and start saving your own finds and submit them to http://foundmagazine.com/.
Whoever said the (hand)written word is dead? The time is ripe for you to pen your own list, postcard, or ten-page love note—then lose it so I can find it!
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4 Comments on "Readers’ Advisory: I Like to Pry -OR- Books Starring Other People’s Letters"
I’m curious at the context to which some of the notes I happen to come across. It is definitely fun to imagine what the conversations are. Definitely one of the fun post I’ve read today. Thank you for this.
Thanks for the feedback, Cindy! It’s definitely a fun way to use our imaginations, and it’s interesting to think how much something as brief and innocuous as a Post-It note message or a grocery list can suggest about ourselves!
Love it! I used to find a few things on the ground, maybe they were items, like the glove on West Market Street that I walked past for years and was always reminded of OJ. I enjoyed the stories my imagination would give me to entertain myself on my walk abouts. Maybe I will begin taking more walks and just maybe I will drop a little note for someone else to ponder on… yes, maybe.
That’s crazy that a glove would lay there for years without anyone picking it up. I wonder how many people had the same thoughts about it you did…? Just another thing to ponder!