Found II: More of the Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World

It is impossible to put this book down. I'd read one page, then promise myself "Just one more...." I'm not sure what makes this book so addictive. Some of the entries are hilarious, some poignant, some just plain mysterious. I find myself imagining scenarios that could have led to the creation of some of these objects. Having read this book and its predecessor, I've disovered that I now pay more attention to some of the little bits and pieces of things I encounter every day. I even found a post-it note that I've now submitted to Found.

This book is soooooo awesome. Its like spying on your neighbor or finding a lost notebook of someone's and you creating befores and afters to scenes that these letters depict and different characters for the authors. Go buy this book, or read it at least at Books-A-Million. i recommend a Strawberry Italian Cream Soda from Joe Muggs to sip along with it.

For those of you who might find the first Found book or this second one offensive in its content -- guess what? -- life is offensive. And for that matter, life is also often tragic, poignant, ironic, hysterically funny, random, and sometimes all of these things at once... the "Found" books and the magazines reflect all of these aspects of everyday life. That's what makes it so remarkable. Indeed, how many books can cause you to giggle and feel emotionally vulnerable within two pages? This work by Davy Rothbart, co-editor Jason Bitner, and all the Found crew deserves praise because this is a cross-section of humanity stripped down to its beautiful bare essentials. If, several thousand years from now, (android? zombie?) archeologists study our current century, they might go through our trash. Think of "Found" as giving them a headstart.

I first became familiar with Found when I flipped through my mom's copy of the first book. She had heard about the book from some local radio station. At first the basic premise of the book didn't sound too intriguing. It sounded like a book full of trash. Essentially, that is what Found is, but trash that tells stories. Love letters, photos, shopping lists, homework (one kid handed in a report on a certain part of the male anatomy) etc. Some finds are funny. Some tragic. Some heartwarming. Think of the finds as short stories, sometimes conisisting of only a few words. Or better yet, windows into the lives of others. This is one of those books that is fun to just pick up and flip through making it a perfect "coffee table" book. I took the first Found book to work a few years ago and was constantly lending it to people (or rather leaving it around while people couldn't help but be intrigued) who would soon be showing me their favorite finds. After reading this book you will never look at trash the same way again. I constantly scan the streets in search of my own finds worthy of Found Magazine. So far the most interesting thing I've found is a name tag that says "Pastor John Issacs." I wore it around work for awhile as a joke before it broke and another card behind the one that said "Pastor John" spilled out. It said "Elizabeth Jenson". Why did Pastor John have Elizabeth Jenson's nametag? Duel-Identities perhaps? You make up the story. The same goes with many of the finds in this book. I highly recomend purchasing both FOUND and FOUND II.

Sub-Title: More of the Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World ==It reminds me a lot of cleaning off my desk (It's been said that my desk is messy). The things I find. Some of which I had been looking for for months, some of which I don't recognize at all. This is a collection of things (mostly paper) that got found somewhere. One note said: 'Sniper Wanted: to think out the herd a Little. Non-smoker.' From that you can make up any kind of story you want. Or how about the request: 'Please send me a picture of God.' And there is: 'Dear Santa, This year I am going to try to be naughty and save you the trip.' Or, 'The condom made a mistake and broke.' One time I got a letter. It was well reasoned and talked about some business related subject that I've forgotten. Only thing, it was written in crayon. After the signature was written, "Please excuse the crayon, they won't let us have anything sharp." Good for the coffee table or the bathroom.