I Wrote This for You and Only You

I Wrote This For You #3

by Iain S. Thomas

"I need you to understand something. I wrote this for you. I wrote this for you and only you. Everyone else who reads it, doesn't get it."

The follow-up to the international #1 bestselling collection of prose and photography,  I Wrote This For You And Only You  is the third book in the I Wrote This For You series and gathers together the very best entries in the project from 2011 to 2015. 

Started in 2007,  I Wrote This For You  is an internationally acclaimed exploration of hauntingly beautiful words, photography and emotion that's unique to each person that reads it.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Romance, Contemporary, Art, Love, Literature

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2015

About the author

"Iain S. Thomas is the #1 bestselling author of I Wrote This For You and Intentional Dissonance. He wrote his first book, Ignite, at the age of 23 for the Markham clothing store. It won the Grand Prix at the First Paper House Art Of Design Awards and the only craft prize awarded that year, in the design category, at the national design/advertising awards (The Loeries).

As a creative director, he’s a champion for innovative design and communication for his clients which have included Nike, Levi’s, Johnny Walker, The Design Indaba, MTN, apple and many more, from Los Angeles, to Amsterdam, to Johannesburg, to Cape Town. His work has spanned everything from monuments to biodegradable posters.

In 2009, for his work as the author of the art/photography project “I Wrote This For You”, he was voted one of the top 5 finalists in the world in the “Best Blogger To Follow” category on mashable.com under his online pseudonym, pleasefindthis.

The project, which has proven incredibly popular across the world and gone on to become a best selling book, has also afforded him numerous exciting opportunities, including an invitation to dinner with the US Ambassador to South Africa, Donald Gipps as a consultant on digital development within South Africa, and a speaking spot at TEDx Johannesburg.

Through the project, he was also able to have skateboards delivered to The Uganda Skateboard Union on behalf of Stacy Peralta, director of Dogtown And Z-Boys and Riding Giants and he’s previously acted as a creative consultant to Brian Wayne Transeau or “BT” (whose previous collaborators include Peter Gabriel, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and David Bowie, amongst others) on his last album, If The Stars Are Eternal, So Are You And I.

His work has won numerous local and international awards and can be found in Communication Arts, Design Indaba Magazine, Ad Vantage Magazine, bestadsontv.com, Contagious Magazine, Archive, The University of Pretoria’s Permanent Design Collection, X-ings: Shaping Culture Through Design Exhibition, The United Nations Gallery of Sustainable Communication, TEDx, Heso Magazine (Japan) and http://www.inpursuitofelegance.com

Iain’s work focuses on non-traditional media in all its forms. He has never once really and truly enjoyed a long walk on a beach." - source

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the first installment, but these were just terrible cliches packaged as life advice and delivered as "poetry." Just because you neglect punctuation and add random line breaks doesn't make it poetry.

[Mae Castillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written only for you. This book is written for your own scrutiny, rendering and perhaps even for your own sustaining. You don't have to explain how the words relate to you nor how you make of the photographs. After all, "No one will ever understand you in the way that you desperately want them to understand you."

A barrage of threadbare phrases, one may argue. But the thing about them clichés is that they have been so common we forgot how relatable they are. This book, with its beautiful words and somewhat obscure photographs, made a strong point in the most poignant way that sometimes the most obvious things are the ones most overlooked. As you get on with it, in your head, you overlay on each page a version of your own story to tell with your own photographs to showcase. It inspires you to observe, to learn and to understand, whilst reminding you of the most important thing - to participate. You'd flip to the last page, wishing there's more. No, scrap that, you'd not just wish there's more, you'd wish you're writing the next ones. This book will stir your inclination to write not because there's an audience to satisfy but because the act of it satisfies you.

It's amusing how one gets to explain you better than you can for yourself. This book delivered and didn't disappoint. In fact it conveniently struck a few chords, it's almost offensive.

"If it hurts you, if not being who you want to be kills you inside, just close your eyes and remember, 'Somewhere else, I'm something else. Somewhere else, I'm something else.' And soon you will be here. Soon, you will be you."

So right now, I'm closing my eyes.

[Shai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Iain S. Thomas' I Wrote This For You book and I was eager to check this out and see if it could be better. There are several good prose and poems in this collection, however, I think that the majority of the content is just repetitious. I know that this is a continuation of Thomas' bestseller book, but it didn't stand out from its predecessor; it's nothing but just a mere sequel. In spite of that, I still like it and might recommend this to others who are also into poetry.

[Lexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Q: What do you call a person who reads two books in an evening?
A: A NaNoWriMo participant.
(Acceptable alternatives: a student, a writer, a procrastinator, a person with a deadline which does not involve reading.)

(Review to come. 4.5 stars. I just love this "poetry series".)

[Ronak Gajjar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The type of poetry: Free Verse
The same Title + Photograph + Canto concept, merged along with some of volume I & II.
I love you like I love sea. And I’m okay with drowning.

The peculiarity I noticed about this volume is – The Titles are arranged alphabetically, I didn’t find any poetical order between prose, they stand individually beautiful.
I have told sky all my loneliest thoughts of you. And all it does is shine starlight back at me. But I guess that’s what makes it such a good listener.

Until and unless you peel off the layers one by one of some of them they will reflect back as clichéd words repeated over and over to preach positivism. At points, they will indeed frustrate you for good because they won’t match with titles or photographs, but just once take an effort to read them again and the chords of your heart will tuck into the accurate rhythm of it! Such grave subjects as in particularly death, love, despair, are addressed profoundly. I particularly liked the “Love” quotations as the writer has converted different streams from the love ocean.
You make me nostalgic for a love that hasn’t even happened yet.

Ending it with the favorite one:
If you’re not afraid, there is no end, only an imminent bliss. So burn like love and love like fire.
Adding my perceptions of Love:
"Love is when hearts combine into one, the pieces of the tricky puzzle which fits together. The submersion of two subconscious minds, eventually wants the journey to have a particular destination. Love is simple, endless, eternize, and why contaminate it with complications, lust, misunderstandings, or attractions?" That reminds me:

[Sara ➽ Ink Is My Sword]

Believe me when I say my heart may have stopped a little when my partner told me they read and annotated this book for me to read and annotate back for them.

This is truly the way to keep the heart of a bookworm. 💘

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iian S. Thomas is a world wide bestselling Canadian author and poet, and currently lives in South Africa. "I Wrote This For You and Only You" is an innovative form of writing that speaks directly to the reader, giving the reader an intense deeply personalized reading experience and emotional connection with the surrounding world. Original excellent photographs of various subjects and compositions are featured throughout this collection by Jon Ellis. Thomas began writing this poetry series in 2007, and since then the appeal and demand for his books has steadily increased.

In the book's powerful introduction, Thomas begins with "Dear You" explaining to readers he has written the book which had been previously lost, and was leaving his hands-- finding its way to each individual reader. He continues, that he hopes the writing, poetry and photos will find "You" well and simply signs it "Me".
Another short poem: "The Dreams On The Line"... "I chased my dreams until I caught them/I chased my thoughts until I stopped thinking/And I chased my heart until I found you.
Thomas addresses the constant evolving universal force: "There are days when you might feel a/little more certain than others, but in/truth none of us can see ourselves/The person in the mirror changes every/time you look.

This brief review is based on the free material available on Amazon and from online reviews, interviews and blogs. It is amazing how much Thomas seems to love and care about his fellow man as expressed in his unique and one of a kind poetry and writing style. For readers who understand and "get it" they will be rewarded and richly blessed.

[Aycan · Rating 5 out of 5]

YOU CAN BE BEAUTIFUL AND NEW FOREVER. GIVE ME FOREVER AND I’II PROVE IT.

those who walk away from you in the dark should be forgotten in the light.

After you’re gone, people will forget your name, no matter how important it was, and your face, no matter how pretty it was, and what you said, no matter how clever any of it sounded.
You are only here for one moment and it lasts exactly one lifetime.

I am so selfish, so greedy and so spoiled.
How can I ask for one more day with you, when I’ve already had so many?

You and I both know, the dark doesn’t make the bruises disappear.
It just makes them harder to see.

It doesn’t hurt because if you keep hurting the same part of you again and again and again, the nerve endings all die. And when that happens, that part of you goes numb. That’s why it doesn’t hurt. Don’t be proud of it.

The universe curves, as does the Earth. And as hard as you try and run away from everything you are, you’ll find yourself where you left yourself when you come home. Just tired.
Fix yourself before you try and outrun yourself.

You’ve got such beautiful words but none I can eat, none which block the rain, none which bandage my wounds, none which build a home.

You can’t hate everyone. You haven’t even met most of them.

I have theories about what it takes to talk to you again.
I have theories about what normal is supposed to feel like.
I have theories about how many times a heart can be heard.
Just theories.

indeed.

If you tie every word you’ve ever heard about yourself on a string around your head, one day you won’t be able to lift it anymore.

If you live in your head for too long, you run the risk of becoming your own secret.

oh my...

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Your poetry is lonely. And yet, you write to feel less alone."

[Sara Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was an amazing collection. I picked this book up randomly in Barnes and Noble today knowing nothing about it. I was intrigued by the title and how there is really no author listed. I just sat here and read the whole thing in one sitting. The poems in this collection are simple and yet incredibly profound, and beautiful photography accompanies the poetry. These poems explore universal themes of love, life, death, isolation, connection, nostalgia, childhood, and time in this moving collection. Definitely check this one out.

[Marta :} · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this one as much as 'I wrote this for you', I'm not sure why, but I couldn't connect with the structure of the poems anymore... I wish I enjoyed it more, though. Maybe I'll try to re-read it at some point.

[Vikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

More repeats of the first and second book

There were more repeats of the first and second book but some new material too. Wish it was all new material but then it would be a really short book.

[Julia Sapphire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Pros:
- Photography was beautiful
- most poems were very nice

Cons:
- some poems were the same in the other collection
- some poems got repetitive

[Miss Murder · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was probably 10 poems/stories in this book that I liked, otherwise it was very, very cliche. There were so many tired cliches in the book that were written in poem form that genuinely annoyed me because there was no real substance to it. Some of it was abstract(?) to make it seem deep, but it wasn’t really at all - more just confusing and odd.

I’m a big fan of poetry and the photos added an interesting flair to a genre that often feels empty due to short stories and poems. However, so many poems read like the angsty things I used to write when I was 15. It just wasn’t that great. I really wanted to like this but I just genuinely got bored reading it. So many times I read a two liner and was like “oh that’s it” and that’s coming from someone who thought Rupi Kaur was a fantastic poet in middle school.

A bad poem I read - “If you are lucky, one day you’ll get the chance to have your life defined by how much you loved and were loved by someone else.”

A good poem I read - “Late at night, when your brain is tired of thinking of everything else, you will find me there. You cannot throw me far enough away.”

Please recommend me poetry that you enjoyed because I need something that blows my mind!

[Lama Algahtani · Rating 5 out of 5]

You actually don't read this. You take it in, Devore it, breathe it, study it, live it. They are not just words, these are experiences.
“Appreciate every moment of happiness and remember it when you despair”

[Camilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. // Book #3 in #CramaThon2015.

Not exactly a series, but the same kind of book as "I Wrote This for You".

(Finish a series/read the last book of a series.)

[Millie Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF’d just over 50% of the way through. It’s very rare I DNF a book or rate 1 star, and I always try to make sure I read at least half of a book before giving up because sometimes the start can just be rough. Unfortunately I saw the pattern of this poetry collection and nothing changed.

This was very disappointing because I loved the first instalment. For some reason this second book read more like random life advice than poetry. Where are the clever metaphors? Where is the rhythm? Where are the poems! Maybe it’s just me and I haven’t understood it but it didn’t feel like the poetry collection I was hoping for.

Some of the pictures were good but I was too bored in the end to carry on. The first instalment was much better in my opinion.

[Rythma · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I have pretended to go mad in order to tell you the things I need to. I call it art.
Because art is the word we give to our feelings made public. And art doesn't worry anyone.”

“Should any child be reading this in a history book, you should know that we loved. I hope that hasn't changed.”

[Nick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apparently the first instalment of this poetry series was great. This was not good. While, granted, I'm still learning about poetry, cliche statements with black and white photographs doth not a poet make.

[caratastrophe · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Wherever this finds you, I hope it finds you well."

2.5 ⭐️

Okay this is the first book I've finished in like 3 month. WHAAAAAT?!!??

It was poetry and it was alright but it wasn't really y type of poetry. I haven't gone through heartbreak in my life of the romantic sorts so poetry that deals heavily in topics of such sometimes loses me. To be fair there were other topics within the poetry and they were good but not for me.

[ra · Rating 4 out of 5]

actual is 4.5 bc it made me cry 7 entire times and thats a lot, also i think the whole concept of free interpretation (so it doesnt always have to be about the persona's girlfriend/ex bc it can be applied to you and that makes it more personal) but also not being obligated to read the entire book (as in you read and interpret it based on your experiences) is so cool

[Hayley Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books will be some i come back to again and again.
The sequel is almost as good as the first.
I might have almost cried at work when I read "The Light that Shines When Things End." So good. So true.
I will recommend this to everyone all the time. Everyone should try at least once.

**read my full review here! www.thebookhangovercast.wordpress.com

[Faith Benoit · Rating 4 out of 5]

its almost 4 am and i wanted something beautiful but short to read and this was perfect — i loved the images that went along with the poems, all of it was so human, so raw and real. yes some messages can be cliche but the way theyre told can change that entirely. i loved this a lot and i can see myself going back to it in the future.

[Azbaqiyah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing Style - 3/5
Cover - 2/5

Overall Rating - 2.5 / 5

[guille (littlebitmoody) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not to be harsh but none of the poems were memorable nor good.

[katerina · Rating 3 out of 5]

-----2.75/5*-----

It's not the things you don't want that drag you under. It's the things you think you want.
Those, are the killers.

[Marwa Eletriby · Rating 2 out of 5]

making you regret what you did to me it not " me winning "
it's everyone still losing .
.
/
بعض الفقرات القليلة أشعرتني بالملل
ما بين نجمتين وثلاث

[catherine ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a mixed bag.
Some were absolutely beautiful, and I loved the photos.
Others were more generic, and some photos looked more like tourist pictures.

[Anima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magic spread around me once I started reading the book- so many sweet moments for looking peacefully at the scars left behind by those who cannot live outside the world where light dissipates and engulfs everything in one shape! Combinations of pictures and words that follow no other pattern than the one of a spring giving to us the beauty of a life with everything from love to loss transform every page into wonderful amoebic pieces capable to link multiple dots scattered inside any framework of imagination. I love deeply the creative way the authors tried to reach at hearts that are nothing else than piles of debris resting quietly in the darkness .

“Never stop and never settle but settle down for the one who lets you draw cities on their skin with the tips of your fingers.”

"The scariest thing you can think of, is giving up the thing that kills you. The thing you can't live without.'

"You should not look for me in the places I once was. Look for me in the places I am now. In soft rain.

On starlit oceans"