Last fall I was digging through a bin of books at a used book sale hosted by our local library. The books, magazines, movies, music and other materials up for sale had been donated by patrons or were being phased out of circulation. At the bottom of one of these picked-through boxes, I found this gem of a book: How to Write a Love Letter by Michelle Lovric.

The cover of this book has a small stack of paper tied with a small ribbon, and, because this copy was smashed against some other bigger, denser books, the tiny notes and tied bow are a bit banged up, but the sentiment is still there. As soon as I saw this little book, which had passed up by dozens of people who rifled through the box before me, I snatched it up. I had to own this book that celebrates that awesomeness of writing letters.

How to Write a Love Letter is a resource manual, history book and quirky collection of love letters. It opens with a short history of the lost art of love letter writing, which is followed by practical information on how to write your own love letter such as how to present the letter, what kinds of materials the proper love letter requires and how to address responsiveness, all wrapped with a vintage flair. The collection of love letters that makes up the bulk of the book are examples written to a variety of different lovers—the frustrated lover, the transforming lover (an invitation beyond friendship), the urban lover (a postcard sequence), the new age lover and more.

Though I love the concept of How to Write a Love Letter, the packaging, layout and art encompassed in the book itself make it a piece of art to admire. Why someone would abandon such a beautiful little book like this one is beyond me, but I’m glad I saved it from the piles of discarded reading materials at the library’s sale.

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