Talking Pictures: Images and Messages Rescued from the Past

With the candid quirkiness of Awkward Family Photos and the confessional intimacy of PostSecret, Ransom Riggs's Talking Pictures is a haunting collection of antique found photographs—with evocative inscriptions that bring these lost personal moments to life—from the author of the New York Times bestselling illustrated novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Each image in Talking Pictures reveals a singular, frozen moment in a person’s life, be it joyful, quiet, or steeped in sorrow. Yet the book’s unique depth comes from the writing accompanying each photo: as with the caption revealing how one seemingly random snapshot of a dancing couple captured the first dance of their 40-year marriage, each successive inscription shines like a flashbulb illuminating a photograph’s particular context and lighting up our connection to the past.

Ransom Riggs is the New York Times bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, the writing of which was largely responsible for his current addiction to old photo collecting. Rather than seek treatment, Ransom channeled his compulsion into the compiling of Talking Pictures, a book he hopes will make you cry, and perhaps find a coveted spot on your coffee table. He lives in Los Angeles, where you can often find him hunting for old snapshots at the monthly Rose Bowl Swap meet.