I came across this via @CalamityJennnnn who tweeted: ”They break our hearts, they leave us books.” Her tweet included the link to this Tumblr: The Books They Gave Me. It’s a showcase of books given to us or left behind from a past relationship. Each cover photo includes a brief reflection. Here is a sample. After you visit the site, consider submitting your own.

My boyfriend and I first had that moment of recognition — that we got each other — when I sang “Father of Mine” by Everclear at Karaoke. We laughed but then said, “I actually think that’s a pretty good CD,” and that unironic love of Art Alexakis bound us forever.

Later that same night, we were hanging out in my kitchen and he saw The Collected Poems of Frank O’Hara on my floor. I hadn’t met anyone who loved Frank O’Hara as much as I did, and I was in love. He drew a picture of a cow on a note pad and then said, “You should read I Remember by Joe Brainard, too. I think you’d really like him.” The notepad got tossed aside and I didn’t think much about it.

For our first Valentine’s Day, he and I built a fort in his living room. We made a big dinner and dessert and we made some funny collages and watched movies in our fort. And that night, he gave me I Remember.

I’ve used it for writing prompts for myself, I’ve picked it up when I can’t sleep and kind of leafed through the pages. He used it in a lesson for a 5th grade class he was teaching a poetry unit to as a visiting student teacher. 

We’re still together and we still make forts but I remember our first Valentine’s Day, for sure. I remember a lot.

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