Missed Connections fascinate because they say something about the nature of urban love, optimism and the need to believe the person who happens to be reading the same book across the train is your soul mate. Brooklyn artist Sophie Blackall has turned those finely crafted 21st century messages in a bottle into cute illustrations in Missed Connections: Love, Lost and Found, which was released in September. The heartwarming book about “the mystery, the yearning, [and] at times the cosmic humor behind the ‘what if?'” includes stories about a hairy bearded swimmer, a shared bear suit, and a Hasidic woman on a ferry. Pick up a copy at your local independent bookstore before you trawl Craigslist this holiday season.
$13.95, Word and other local bookstores.
