Rating: 
Summary: A Sentimental Story
Review: 84 Charing Cross Road is a sentimental and heartwarming story of a woman's love of literature and deep and lasting friendship she made with people across the Atlantic. It is a correspondence between the author Helene Hanff, and her favorite book store, Marks and Company, located in London, England.  Miss Hanff, who lived in New York, wrote letters to Marks and Company for a period of about twenty years, from 1949 to 1969. During this time she became a friend of the owner as well as the entire staff.  Helene always wanted to go to England to see the bookstore, and meet the staff, but she never made it.  It is an intriguing book because it shows us that prior to the invention of the internet and instant communication, people often had to communicate by letter which allowed for more personal contact, even over thousands of miles.  It was a rewarding relationship on both sides. We learn that it is possible to form  lasting and deep relationships with people that we have never physically met.  This book should inspire others to start writing. How many of us remember how exciting it was to receive letters in the mail, or how we felt knowing that one we had written was flying or sailing across the sea.  I remember how excited I got as a child when I relieved a letter in the mail.  Reading this book brought those memories back and made me want to start writing letters again.
Rating: 
Summary: Love to Read Someone Else's Mail
Review: Especially when the letters are interesting and well written. As noted, this is the story of the developing relationship between a bibliophile in New York and a book dealer in London. I picked up this book at a used bookstore, never having heard of it before, and was instantly hooked.
The best part of this book is that Helene Hanff -- who is also the writer of the letters -- includes letters from people other than the book dealer, who also have an appropriate place in the story. There are her friends who go to London and visit the bookstore; there is the book dealer's wife; and there is the old woman who lives near the book dealer, too. Over twenty years' time, you get a peek into the lives of these people and how they affected each other. The epilogue (one final letter giving permission for Helene Hanff to Frank Doel's letters) was an especially nice touch, as it gives the book closure and ties things together with a sad but sweet ribbon.
My final question is: how did she go about getting the mail she sent out? Was it returned to her, or did she mimeograph it? I noticed there are some letters missing -- alluded to in other letters but not in the book. But how did she get letters she sent to people who moved to Australia and were never heard from again, etc.? A little curiosity there, as I have never made a copy of a letter I'm sending out...
If you want a quick but memorable book, please give Ms. Hanff's a read.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful, heartwarming book
Review: I just finished this book yesterday and have the heartfelt desire to establish a long distance correspondence, in the hopes of finding a kindred spirit. In '84 Charing Cross Road', Helene Hanff finds such a person when she responds to an ad for reasonably priced antiquarian books. Over the course of 20 years and numerous letters back and forth you discover the hidden personalities of each person involved--and how all become friends from a distance. Whether it is in the physical gifts of food and other rationed items that Helene sends to Marks & Co, or the prayers that Frank and Nora's children send out to Helene in the hopes that finances will enable her to come out to England. I found myself heartbroken at the turn of events that befell Frank Doel, and made an inner promise to myself to seize the moment. I hope that all who chance upon this book will walk away with something as wonderful as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Pour l'amour des livres...
Review: Je me suis fait prendre par ce petit livre! Je l'ai juste feuilleté un peu. Après quelques pages, j'étais accro et je ne pouvais plus le lâcher. Je l'ai donc lu en moins de 2 heures. J'ai adoré cet échange de lettres entre deux passionnés des livres qui finissent par devenir amis sans s'être jamais rencontrés. C'est touchant, humain, parfois drôle mais toujours passionnant. C'est aussi très intéressant de voir les messages devenir de moins en moins professionnels et de plus en plus personnels à mesure que l'amitié grandit. Un très belle lecture et un gros coup de coeur! À lire sans faute!
Rating:
Summary: For Every Book Lover
Review: On October 5, 1949, a woman in New York sent a letter to a London bookstore she had read about in the Saturday Review of Literature. She was anxious to purchase a few out-of-print books, so she enclosed a list and money with her letter. She had no idea that she had ignited a relationship through letters that would last for 20 years. Helene Hanff and Frank Doel enjoyed one of the most unusual relationships ever recorded in print. If you're a book lover, this is one book you must have. In less than 100 pages, you'll discover two people that embrace books with an intense passion. Touching, funny, and personal, 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD is a great way to spend an hour or two.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most charming books I've ever read
Review: This book is a collection of letters; mainly correspondence between Hanff and her London book seller, Frank Doel. The letters are witty and filled with literary reference that is sure to make any true reader fall in love with both Hanff and Doel. The imagery of New York and London, too, are there if you're looking for it.
I'd recommend reading 84 Charing Cross Road and Q's legacy as the two are intertwined in Hanff's life.
Rating:
Summary: Serendipity...84 Charing Cross Road Strikes Again!
Review: This book is incredible. I laughed out loud and I felt her pain and sorrow. Helene Hanff is a fabulous writer. I went to England with her as she told her story. I received my copy of this book in a very ironic way. If I can become half the writer she is I will have succeeded! A co-worker of mine went to see the play "84 Charing Cross Road" in London last week and someone had left a copy of the book on a shelf during interval on purpose. The label on the book said "On the run!! Help me readch new horizons! Look inside and check out www.Bookcrossing.com" Oddly enough, I received this book that started in London in memory of Allistar with Bookcrossings.com and hundreds of copies are purchased and released in her name. I will be releasing the copy that I found soon and will purchase another copy on Amazon.com to release into the wild on her behalf. If you are interested in buying a book and helping out Allistar with Bookcrossing.com just go there and join. The book is that good; what can I say. Buy it and I promise it will become a part of your book collection that will be re-read over the years.
Rating:
Summary: Serendipity...84 Charing Cross Road Strikes Again!
Review: This book is incredible. I laughed out loud and I felt her pain and sorrow. Helene Hanff is a fabulous writer. I went to England with her as she told her story. I received my copy of this book in a very ironic way. If I can become half the writer she is I will have succeeded! A co-worker of mine went to see the play "84 Charing Cross Road" in London last week and someone had left a copy of the book on a shelf during interval on purpose. The label on the book said "On the run!! Help me readch new horizons! Look inside and check out www.Bookcrossing.com" Oddly enough, I received this book that started in London in memory of Allistar with Bookcrossings.com and hundreds of copies are purchased and released in her name. I will be releasing the copy that I found soon and will purchase another copy on Amazon.com to release into the wild on her behalf. If you are interested in buying a book and helping out Allistar with Bookcrossing.com just go there and join. The book is that good; what can I say. Buy it and I promise it will become a part of your book collection that will be re-read over the years.
Rating:
Summary: Reaffirms My Belief in the Power of Correspondence
Review: This charming little book is a collection of letters between New York author Helene Hanff and London bookseller Frank Doel. In the course of 20 years from Hanff's first book order from Marks & Co,, till Doel's death in 1969 they connected through the mail they exchanged and built a wonderful relationship. While Hanff became friends with Doel's family and his co-workers at the bookstore, what the two had was something special, revolving around their love of literature. Despite plans to do so, the two never met as Hanff didn't make it to London until after Doel's death and the publication of the letters. This book beautifully demonstrates the power of correspondence and how two people can connect, solely by the written word. Heartwarming, funny, sad, all rolled in one. I went on to read other books by Hanff where she describes her trips to London. After reading her books, I too went on a pilgrimage to 84, Charing Cross Road.
Rating:
Summary: Letters from a buyer to a bookseller/An enchanting vignette
Review: This is a charming and memorable read. It is also a paen to the disappearing art of letterwriting. The book is a selection of correspondence between Helene Hanff in New York and Frank Doel, a bookseller in London. The correspondence spans 20 years from Helene's first request for books in 1949 to Frank's death in 1969. The correspondence rapidly changes from the formal to that between kindred souls who love books and ultimately extends to Frank's coworkers and family. Unfortunately Helene never made it to London to visit the bookstore until after Frank's death. When I first visited Charing Cross Road, which was lined with bookstores, I thought I was in booklovers'heaven.
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