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Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See
 
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Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See (Hardcover)

by Bill Shapiro (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review
“If I have learned only one thing from a) personal experience and b) Vivian Cash's fascinating memoir, I Walked the Line, it is this: No human can compose a love letter without seeming slightly insane. Love letters are like suicide notes -- if someone is in the emotional position to consider writing one, they're generally in the worst psychological position to make any cogent sense. That disconnect is what makes Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See  a painfully entertaining twelve-minute read. Edited by former Life magazine editor Bill Shapiro (and presented like Davy Rothbart's Found series), the book delivers exactly what it purports: random personal letters from people who are either wildly ecstatic or profoundly depressed over the condition of their romantic existence. (One of my favorite entries is from a person who just printed the word liar 183 consecutive times.) Judging from the contents of these notes, we appear to live in a society that is sex crazed and optimistic yet consumed with deep regret. This is probably true. Making matters all the more interesting is Shapiro's epilogue -- he contacts several of the contributors and finds out how the relationship worked out, postletter.”
—Esquire, Chuck Klosterman
 
“Bill Shapiro (Time Inc.'s development editor) collects extremely private correspondence, which he has amassed in Other People's Love Letters. The notes, e-mails, telegrams, and letters appear as copies of the originals, in all their faded, tearstained glory. The earliest examples come off as gorgeous and romantic, whether they're pages of elegant script or a few words scrawled on a cocktail napkin. E-mail seems to have had a decidedly negative effect on the art, if ''Am having terribly naughty thoughts again today, and I was wondering if you might want to hear about them'' is any indication. After compulsively flipping through to the last page, I have just one question: How did Shapiro get people to part with these?”
—Entertainment Weekly
 
“From the moment Bill Shapiro stumbled upon an old love letter that wasn’t his (it was an ode to his then girlfriend from some earlier man), he was hooked. His new book, Other People’s Love Letters, reprints 150 of the many hundreds he’s collected over the years. Strictly speaking, they’re not all declarations of love. Some are Dear Johns; others are postmortems of failed relationships. And not all of them are letters, in the stationary-and-envelope sense. They’re scrawled across postcards, crammed onto Post-its, scribbled on cocktail napkins and matchbooks. Some are old (Peter J. Dougherty, chief of police, to ‘dearest Lizzie,’ dated December 22, 1911); some are new (e-mails, text messages, more e-mails). Should going through them strike you as voyeuristic, beware. They’re addictive.”
—O Magazine

Product Description
Fevered notes scribbled on napkins after first dates. Titillating text messages. It's-not-you-it's-me relationship-enders. In Other People’s Love Letters, Bill Shapiro has searched America’s attics, closets, and cigar boxes and found actual letters–unflinchingly honest missives full of lust, provocation, guilt, and vulnerability–written only for a lover’s eyes. Modern love, of course, is not all bliss, and in these pages you’ll find the full range of a relationship, with its whispered promises as well as its heartache. But what at first appears to be a deliciously voyeuristic peek into other people’s most passionate moments, will ultimately reawaken your own desires and tenderness…because when you read these letters, you’ll find the heart you’re looking into is actually your own.

• "i think UR great. wanna have wine & Tequila again sometime?"

• "I can't believe you're real, and I think about you constantly in some way or the other all day. I haven't given the finger to anyone driving since I met you."

• "With you I learned how to fight cleaner, how to talk things out better, and how to make a strong loving family out of nothing. These are priceless gifts that I will carry with me the rest of my life. One more thing you did for me: you left, and I had to get through it."

• "P.S. I look forward to your letters too much to call. Also, where do you stand on chains?"

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Clarkson Potter (October 30, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0307382648
  • ISBN-13: 978-0307382641
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.9 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,608 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #8 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Letters & Correspondence
    #9 in  Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Customs & Traditions

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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
5 star:
 (15)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Collection ... Would Make a Great Gift, November 27, 2007
By Fan of Tick Tock (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
Finally, a way to read other people's love letters without betraying someone you know or risking getting caught, hurt, or overcome by guilt. But the pleasure isn't simply voyeuristic. These letters pull you into the world of the writer/recipient/lover/loved (It's the experience of reading novel, but with nicer graphics and way fewer words!), but also make you reflect on your own relationships, the things you do and don't express, the complex range of feelings you have all at once, the way feelings change over time ... They run the gamut from tear-jerking to shocking to laugh-out-loud funny and represent a range of relationships at all the different stages--which makes reading them not only illuminating but also reassuring: All these people, old and young, effusive and reticent, articulate and, um, less so have experienced the intense highs and lows of new love, unrequited love, lustful love, lost love, etc. and survived (at least enough to have contributed a letter to this book). Bottom line: great read, excellent gift.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars You'll find yourself in many of these stories!, December 6, 2007
I loved reading these love letters although some of them were truly "hate" letters!! But honestly, you think you are the only one with these very strong feelings about someone you love or are infatuated with and then you read one that sounds just like you! Very ironic-we are all only human... All looking for love and to be loved unconditionally if at all possible!
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for artistic value..., January 6, 2008
By C. Elmore (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I thought this was a great book...however, it's not "juicy" love letters like you would expect, but more unique love letters. In some instances, you only get to see a portion of the letter instead of seeing it in it's entirety, and in other portions the letters you are reading aren't at all about love. Either way, I am a big fan of "Found" and "PostSecret" and I think this book is right up there with them and hope to see more editions.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A great gift idea
I bought this as a gift for a friend of mine who I know enjoys reading romance novels and watching soap operas. I thought this book might be a natural fit. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Jana Taylor

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Fun.
I must say that it really is fun to read other people's mail. This collection of letters is most enjoyable to read when you have that extra few minutes to just chill and enter... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Delehy Nine

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool Book
This is a really cool book of letters. It's called Love Letters, but it includes letters that exude all of the emotions that love can bring out of us: jealousy, hatred, passion,... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Lucia

5.0 out of 5 stars He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
This book of love letters shows the true beauty in love and the pain it can also carry. I could read these over and over again.
Published 3 months ago by C. Lacson

4.0 out of 5 stars Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See
This is a great book, the only problem I'v been having is some of the letters are hard to read being that they ate not typed but photo copied had written letters, other than that... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ladonna J. Jacobsen

5.0 out of 5 stars Intimate Correspondence
In "Other People's Love Letters" Bill Shapiro presents 150 letters that are pretty interesting to read. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Rebecca Johnson

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE LETTERS
THE PRIVACY OF OTHERS IS ALWAYS INTERESTING TO OTHER PEOPLE. IT'S LIKE A LOOK INTO SOMEONE ELSES SOUL.
Published 8 months ago by JACKIE

1.0 out of 5 stars Not What I'd Hoped For
This is not really a collection of love letters at all. Not very romantic, and not even letters. It's mostly just a bunch of sex emails and scribbled notes. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Book Lover

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring, not all even love letters.
My husband Wiley writes waaaayyyy better love letters than this. Many are not even "love letters" they are just stupid, poorly written notes. Save your time and money.
Published 13 months ago by Stephanie Debellis

3.0 out of 5 stars Love Letters
I personally was not a fan of this book. I was excited to get it because I thought it may be interesting. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mallory L. Guidone

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