What We Keep: 150 People Share the One Object that Brings Them Joy, Magic, and Meaning

The book came shrink wrapped and then wrapped in protective bubble paper. I look forward to using the book as a mentor text for our memoir unit.

The concept of material possessions being triggers to cherished moments is very clever and thought provoking.

What WOULD I keep... if I could pick that one thing that holds a deep meaning in my life? This book made me think...

Bill Shapiro's and Naomi Wax's marvelous "What We Keep" explores the inanimate objects we value that animate our spirits. It offers telling glimpses into the human condition by shining a light on the seemingly mundane objects people cherish: a homeless man's rock that keeps him grounded amid a transitory life; a teenager's game puzzle that helps him stay connected to his late mother; a comic book cover drawn by an investment manager when he was young and aspired to a creative life far removed from his current occupation. The list goes on and on, but what is so compelling about these different objects is that they all are located in the same place: the essential human desire to remember where we came from so we can better navigate the journey towards where we are going. I loved this book and so will you.

I love books that you can pick up, flip to a page and receive an instant mini-story, a window into a life, a love. What We Keep is a direct communication from someone's core to yours - a confession of what's most important, most cherished, most meaningful. From Melinda Gates (an APPLE computer!!! Heresy!) to Hasan Minhaj and Mark Cuban, this really is a delightful and engaging book you'll want to keep around at home or in the office - it definitely gets you thinking, too, about the things, the mementos we all keep, where they are now, and what they still mean. LOVE this book. Then again, I like slinkys, too ;)

This book is a really interesting collection of surprisingly intimate stories. I never realized how much one object can say about who a person is, and about what they value most. The stories are at the same time heartwarming and bittersweet. While most of the stories resonate on some level, I found myself most drawn to the ones told by the “regular” folks whose names are unfamiliar to me.It is an easy book to read, but a hard one to put down. I found myself reading “just one more story” until I had finished them all. It made me think about what I cherish, why, and what that tells the world about me.

Have you ever thought about why you keep certain things? Is there a memory of a certain time or person that relates you more to this item than something else lurking in your desk drawer for however many years? AFter reading this book I immediately knew which item I had kept and why; and the memories it jostled for me, twisted emotions, heartwarming.thoughts. Read this and you will find that everyone's reasons for keeping things are different, and interesting. Find yours?

This is a neat book, but there are certain pages with some very odd and slightly disturbing keepsakes. One being a human skull made of plaster with real human teeth. A little disturbing and not quite what I wanted for my husband’s Christmas gift! Still a neat book, just wish it was kept a little more light hearted and not so somber or weird.

As a collection of short stories that provide insight into people both famous and not, it is an entertaining and easy read.

Interesting to see what it is that others hold near and dear to their hearts. Some nice stories and good photography.