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I love writing letters. Depending on who I’m writing to, I can express myself freely with little to no filter. That love naturally spills over into the kinds of books I’m drawn to as well, especially books with letters tucked inside their pages. Writing a letter forces me to be my most authentic self. Not that I’m not authentic in person, but let’s be honest: I can be quieter with strangers. I hold back until I feel safe. On paper? All bets are off.
When I write a letter, I don’t worry about revealing my quirks, being too bold, too loud, or too much. I write my thoughts as they arrive. Tangents welcome. Emotions included. Ink doesn’t flinch.
Because I’m such a devoted lover of letters, diaries, journal entries, notes scribbled on scraps, anything personal and handwritten—it only makes sense that I’m also drawn to books that contain letters. And no, I’m not talking about dry, monotone “how-to” manuals (although a few of those can surprise you). I mean books that feel like letters. Books that let you peek into someone’s private world.
One book that absolutely lights me up is Syme’s Letter Writer. I adore it. The bold colors. The creative layouts. The stories and history tucked into every page. It’s one of those books that made me want to immediately tell everyone why I loved it—so much so that it inspired what is still my favorite book review I’ve ever written. It doesn’t just talk about letters; it celebrates them.
And then there are books that contain real letters. Those are the crown jewels. Add in fictional stories built around correspondence, and I’m completely smitten. Let me share a few that have stayed with me.
Love Letters: Private, Passionate, and a Little Bit Naughty
Have you ever written or received a love letter?
When passion is involved, words tend to pour out effortlessly. Sometimes they even turn poetic without you meaning them to. Love letters don’t require polish; they require honesty.
That’s why Other People’s Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See is such a fascinating read. It feels deliciously voyeuristic—like you’re peeking through a crack in the door of someone else’s private life. You quickly realize that not all love letters are long, swoony novellas. Some are short, cheeky, and unforgettable.
One of my favorite moments in the book is this postscript:
“P.S. I look forward to your letters too much to call. Also, where do you stand on chains?”
Tell me that doesn’t say everything.
Reading this book made me feel like a peeping Tom—and I loved every single sentiment.
Marriage, Devotion, and Writing It Down
Being married for many years doesn’t have to mean losing romance.
Former Hollywood film star and former President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, wrote letters to his wife Nancy throughout their entire marriage. Their correspondence is a true love story—one built on affection, humor, and devotion.
He addressed her in countless ways: Dear First Lady, My Darling, Dear Mrs. Reagan, Dear Nancy Pants, My Beloved First Lady—each salutation more endearing than the last.
On their anniversary in 2002, Nancy read this aloud:
“To the woman in my life fifty years isn’t enough. Let’s carry on. Your happy, happy husband.”
This is one of my all-time favorite collections of letters. It shows just how intentional Reagan was about reminding Nancy that she was loved. I admire that kind of devotion—the kind that takes time to sit down and say, I’m thinking of you.
Children’s Letters: Honest, Hilarious, and Heart-Tugging
When I was a kid (a very long time ago), Highlights Magazine arrived in our mailbox regularly. I couldn’t wait to flip through the pages. My favorite feature? Goofus and Gallant.
Goofus was the do-bad kid. Gallant was the do-good kid. And if my siblings or I forgot to make our beds or clean up our toys, my mom had no problem calling us Goofus. But I digress.
Highlights has always encouraged kids to use their voices, and their long-running advice column, Dear Highlights, is proof of that. Children write in about friendships, worries, beliefs—and sometimes surprisingly big issues.
Here are two letters that stood out to me:
“Dear Highlights, Some of my friends smoke. So do I, but I don’t inhale… What can I do?”
— C.W., 1992
“Dear Highlights, I am 10. I need help. All my friends say Santa isn’t real, but I still want to believe.”
— Taylor, 2015
If we paid attention, we could learn a lot from kids.
Christine French Cully curated Dear Highlights: What Adults Can Learn from 75 Years of Letters and Conversations with Kids, a collection of correspondence spanning decades. It’s tender, funny, and quietly profound. This book will make you smile and probably get misty-eyed.
Letters From War: Holding History in Your Hands
My pen pal, Melissa, recently sent me the most beautiful and completely unexpected gift in the mail: a book filled with letters from World War II.
It’s hard to properly describe how stunning this book is. Visually, it’s just as compelling as Syme’s Letter Writer, but instead of playful design and postal history, the focus here is on the men and women who served during the war. Each chapter includes a removable facsimile of an actual letter. You don’t just read the book—you interact with it. Every few pages feels like opening a small, solemn surprise.
Some excerpts stopped me in my tracks:
“Everything is on a war footing here.”
“Mama, if you’re worrying about me, you should quit—because if millions of other boys have taken this treatment, I guess I can.”
One of my favorite chapters highlights the women who served. Members of the Women’s Army Corps (WACs), something I embarrassingly didn’t know much about until reading this book. One line in particular stayed with me:
“We came here to work, and we are certainly proving that we can.”
And then there are moments that are hard to look at but impossible to ignore. In Chapter 8, I felt a wave of despair while studying a photograph showing the remains of prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp. Letters like these don’t just document history—they carry its emotional weight.
I know not everyone is as wildly passionate about letters as I am, but I have to admit that I get a little giddy sharing all this goodness. I always hope that one curious reader might feel a spark.
Whenever I discover a truly unique book, my first thought is almost always, “Why didn’t I think of that?” That’s exactly how I felt when I stumbled upon Found by Davy Rothbart (The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World).
This is a series, and my first was Found II, which I bought back in 2008. I also own Found 5, and honestly, these books are dangerously hard to put down. Inside you’ll find notes, letters, photographs, ticket stubs, fortunes, doodles—tiny pieces of strangers’ lives that were once lost and somehow found their way into print.
Who would’ve thought that picking up discarded scraps of paper could turn into a magazine-style book that’s so hip, artsy, and oddly intimate? And yes, some of the notes are very juicy.
Whenever I send a letter through the mail, I can’t help myself. I have to dress up the envelope. A plain white envelope just won’t do. My personality demands at least some color or embellishment, no matter how subtle.
Years ago, I discovered that mail art was an actual thing, and it felt like finding my people. If the book Good Mail Day: A Primer for Making Eye-Popping Postal Art doesn’t inspire you to decorate your own envelopes, it will at the very least leave you admiring the creativity bursting from its pages.
When I’m craving an escape from real life, I often reach for southern fiction, especially stories that include letters. I’m usually not drawn to deeply historical novels; I prefer settings in the 19th century and later. But every once in a while, a book sneaks in and surprises me.
The Venetian Affair was one of those surprises. I’m not even sure why I bought it but I’m so glad I did. The story is loosely inspired by real letters from the 18th century, discovered in an attic by a descendant. It’s a tale of forbidden love, shaped by rigid social class and whispered correspondence. If you enjoy passion, romance, and clandestine lovers who write their hearts and lust onto paper, this one’s for you.
I’m having so much fun that I could keep going but I’ll restrain myself and leave you with one last favorite.
In Dream When You’re Feeling Blue, three sisters write letters to soldiers during World War II. Through their correspondence, we get glimpses into the sisters’ everyday lives as well as the realities of the battlefront. If you’ve ever felt a pull toward the 1940s, this book will wrap you right up in that era.
There you have it. Letters aren’t just found in your mailbox. They’re discovered on sidewalks, lost on buses, left behind in taxi cabs and lovingly relived between the pages of books.
Paper never ghosted anyone.
XOXO, JarieLyn
Thank you for this thoughtful post. It’s a fantastic reminder of why the epistolary format remains so powerful. The privacy of a letter allows characters, and us as readers, to access emotions that dialogue sometimes can’t convey. Your analysis has me looking at my favorite books in a new light. I’ll be saving this list for my next library trip!
Thanks for reading! All the books I wrote about are special to me.
Do you send postcards and letters, or do you find it too old fashioned?
What a beautiful and deeply inspiring post on “When Letters Become Stories”! I absolutely adore books filled with correspondence—they possess a raw, intimate quality that a standard narrative often misses.
As someone who needs to find their way back to writing, your reflection on the power of letters is precisely the kind of gentle nudge I needed.
Thanks for reading. the other day I came across an article of Trends that Pinterest was predicting and there was the phrase, “grandma Approved” Letter Writing making a comeback. I was quite perturbed by that. If you go on Instagram and type any of the #’s, Penpal, Letter Writing, Postcrossing, snail mail, most of these are young people. I never heard the term, “grandma Approved” when Vinyl records made a comeback.
Reading your words about how “ink doesn’t flinch” and how paper never ghosts anyone brought me straight back to my closet, where I keep a weathered shoebox filled with the “crown jewels” of my own life.
During my college years, I was lucky enough to receive a steady stream of love letters, long-winded check-ins, and greeting cards with tiny, cramped notes squeezed into the margins. Like you, I found that my friends and significant others were far more daring and authentic on paper than they ever were in person, whether in the cafeteria or at a party.
There is something so visceral about seeing a person’s handwriting; you can almost feel the speed of their thoughts in the slant of the letters. I often go back to that box when I need to remember who I was at twenty, and your description of Other People’s Love Letters makes me realize that our private boxes are essentially unwritten versions of the books you’ve highlighted.
I love hearing that you have a shoebox filled with letters that you’ve received over the years. It’s so much better than scrolling through old text messages to find a positive note.
JarieLyn, this made more sense to me because you are not just talking about letters. You are talking about safety. The kind of safety that lets a person speak without performing. On paper, you do not have to manage the room. You just tell the truth and let the ink carry it.
I relate to that. Some of my clearest thoughts come when I write. Not because I am smarter on paper, but because paper does not interrupt. It does not judge the pause between sentences. It lets you be as human as you are. Quiet. bold. messy. certain. confused. All of it.
The sections on war letters and those found scraps hit differently. A letter from war is not just history. It is a heartbeat trapped in time. And those lost notes in Found remind me that the world is full of unseen lives. A grocery list. a breakup note. a joke. a prayer. Small pieces, but they carry whole people.
And that last line. Paper never ghosted anyone. That is funny, but it is also true in a serious way. Letters wait. They stay. They hold memory. In an age where everything disappears fast, that kind of permanence feels like love.
John
Thank you, John, for taking the time to write such heartfelt feedback. I appreciate you stopping by.
This was such a beautiful post to read, not just because you mentioned my name (haha) but because of your true insights on writing and correspondence. Letters are found everywhere, I discovered not that long ago that my husband who is the least romantic person kept cards and notes I have given him over the years tucked away, amazing to find out he kept some of these after all these years. Letter writing is a true art and I love how you bring that across to us, the readers. Hope you are doing well and Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Melissa. I hope you have a fabulous time with your family.
I loved how your post celebrates the magic of epistolary stories — your enthusiasm totally pulled me in and made me want to pick up a book just to experience that kind of connection. One thing I’m curious about is which letter-based book changed your life or stayed with you the longest, and why? That personal touch would spark so much conversation in the comments and inspire others to share their favorites too. Overall, it’s a warm and inviting piece that really makes readers want to dive into the genre with you!
The one that has stayed with me the longest is I Love You, Ronnie and Syme’s Letter Writer which came out earlier this year is one of my favorites. I have heard great things about the Epistolary book, The Correspondent, which I have queued in my Audible Library for my next listen.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.
Thank you for these great recommendations on books about writing letters.
As children we all had pen pals and we used to write to our relatives very often and use snail mail to get the letters there a few weeks later. I feel nowadays the art of writing letters is slowly dying out. I don’t even think our children learn how to do this at school anymore, which is quite sad.
I was inspired to read that Ronald Raegan wrote love letters to Nancy all his life. What a beautiful thing and I don’t know of many men now who would do this.
Thanks Michel. I never had a pen pal when I was a child, but I have been writing letters to my friends since 1976. I have a whole footlocker full of cards and letters. That does ot include the hundreds of postcards I’ve received from around the world since 2014. Those are in a plastic bin, and some are in a photo album.
Can you tell I’m obsessed?
Hello JarieLyn!
I loved this article — it felt like reading a letter from a friend about something that really lights you up. I’ve always been drawn to books that unfold through letters and correspondence because there’s just something so personal about reading someone’s thoughts in their own words. It feels like you get to know the characters in a deeper, quieter way.
Your point about how letters make stories feel more immersive really resonated with me. Sometimes dialogue or narration can feel distant, but reading letters feels like being let in on a secret. Do you have a favorite letter-style novel that you find yourself returning to again and again? And do you think letters in fiction help you connect emotionally more than other storytelling styles?
Thanks for sharing this — I’m already picturing the first book I want to revisit!
Angela M 🙂
Thanks for your comment and questions. One book that I’ve visited more than once is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. There’s also a movie of the same name, but not as good as the book.
Although I do enjoy reading a great letter in a book, It doesn’t have any more emotional impact o me than a good storyline and great writing.