Once Upon a Stranger: Resources

The following list contains books and other resources about talking to strangers, conversation more generally, and the importance of social connection.

  • Buckingham, Will (2021). Hello, Stranger: How We Find Connection in a Disconnected World
  • Esteves, Tony (2021). Talk2MorePeople: Change Your Life by Meeting People
  • Keohane, Joe (2021). The Power of Strangers: The Benefits of Connecting in a Suspicious World
  • Stark, Kio (2016). When Strangers Meet: How People You Don’t Know Can Transform You

  • Arthanayake, Nihal (2022). Let’s Talk: How to Have Better Conversations.
  • Brooks, Alison Wood (2025). Talk: The Science of conversation and the art of being ourselves
  • Epley, Nicholas (2026). A Little More Social: The Unexpected Power of Reaching Out in an Overly Lonely World
  • Fine, Debra (2006). The Fine Art Of Small Talk: How to start a conversation in any situation
  • Fleming, Carol (2018). The Serious Business of Small Talk: Becoming Fluent, Comfortable, and Charming
  • Headlee, Celeste (2017). We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter
  • John, Leslie (2026). Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing
  • Turkle, Sherry (2016). Reclaiming Conversation: The power of talk in a digital age

  • Cain, Susan (2013). Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
  • Pan, Jessica (2019). Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: An Introvert’s Year of Living Dangerously
  • Weinstein, Netta, Hansen, Heather, Nguyen, Thuy-vy (2024). Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone

  • Denworth, Lydia (2020). Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond
  • Dunbar, Robin (2021). Friends: Understanding the Power of Our Most Important Relationships
  • Franco, Marisa (2022). Platonic: How the science of attachment can help you make—and keep— friends
  • Poswolsky, Adam Smiley (2021). Friendship in the Age of Loneliness: An Optimist’s Guide to Connection

  • Blau, Melinda and Fingerman, Karen (2009). Consequential Strangers: Turning Everyday Encounters Into Life-Changing Moments
  • Hertz, Noreena (2020). The Lonely Century: A Call to Reconnect
  • Kerr, Natalie and Kurtz, Jaime (2025). Our New Social Life: Science-Backed Strategies for Creating Meaningful Connection
  • Killam, Kasley (2024). The Art and Science of Connection: Why Social Health is the Missing Key to Living Longer, Healthier, and Happier
  • King, Marissa (2021). Social Chemistry: Decoding the Patterns of Human Connection
  • Merolla, Andy J. and Hall, Jeffrey A. (2025). The Social Biome: How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us?
  • Murthy, Vivek. Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World
  • Pinker, Susan (2014). The Village Effect: How Face-to-Face Contact Can Make Us Healthier, Happier, and Smarter
  • Pugh, Allison (2024). The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World
  • Putnam, Robert (2001). Bowling Alone: The collapse and revival of the American community
  • Robson, David (2024). The Laws of Connection: 13 Social Strategies That Will Transform Your Life
  • Samuel, Kim (2022). On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation
  • Sanders, Michael and Hume, Susannah (2019). Social Butterflies: Reclaiming the Positive Power of Social Networks
  • Small, Mario (2017). Someone To Talk To: How Networks Matter in Practice
  • Turkle, Sherry (2017). Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other
  • Yates, Jon (2021). Fractured: Why our societies are coming apart and how we put them back together again

  • Allcott, Graham (2024). KIND: The quiet power of kindness at work
  • Hammond, Claudia (2022). The Keys to Kindness: How to be Kinder to Yourself, Others and the World.
  • Russell, Bernadette (2025). Conversations on Kindness: How the Power of Kindness Can Change the World
  • Zaki, Jamil (2019). The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World