Found: The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World - Softcover

"Rothbart probably never listened to his mother when she told him not to pick up trash. Which is good: Otherwise he might have never started Found magazine." -- Amy Fritch, Spin Magazine "The lost scraps of writing in this book are perfect short stories." -- Ira Glass, host of This American Life "Found is a diary of the human race put together with affection and love." -- Laura Kwerel, a radio producer in Washington "Writers resent Found. How would you feel if you spent months and years slaving over stories when these talented rubberneckers can't seem to walk their dogs without tripping over one teensy epic after another? No fair!" -- Sarah Vowell, author of Take the Cannoli and The Partly Cloudy Patriot "I love Found!" -- Drew Barrymore "The extreme pleasure this brings is really hard to explain, and the more we try to analyze it, the more troubling our enjoyment might become." -- Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius "Davy Rothbart's brilliant idea was to create a forum for folks to submit the revealing detritus of life...The notes are sometimes funny, sometimes mundane, sometimes horrifying and always a beautiful peek into the fascinating private lives of others." -- St. Paul Pioneer Press "Found's contents are sometimes bizarre, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes downright hilarious, and other times a combination of all three." -- Los Angeles Times "A treasury of trash, a wonderfully weird collection...a fascinating glimpse into the wackier depths of America's collective subconscious." -- The Washington Post "A fascinating and compelling collection that will break your heart." -- David Sedaris, author of Me Talk Pretty One Day

A collection of Found magazine's best lost, tossed, and forgotten items, Found offers a fascinating glimpse into other people's lives. Discarded valentines. Ransom notes. To-do lists. Diaries. Homework assignments. A break-up letter written on the back of an airsickness bag. Whether they are found on buses, at stores, in restaurants, waiting rooms, parking lots, or even prison yards, these items give readers an uncensored, poignant, and often hilarious peek into other people's lives. By collecting them in his hit magazine, Found (and its companion website, www.foundmagazine.com), Davy Rothbart has bewitched the nation with a surprising window into its heart and soul and turned his many readers into an army of sharp-eyed finders. Found is chock-full of the latest and greatest of these finds, arranged in the style of the magazine, laying bare the tantalizing tales to be discovered in the trash we toss. By turns heartbreaking and hysterically funny, Found is a mesmerizing tribute to everyday life and our eternal curiosity about our fellow human beings.