11 Books You Never Thought You'd Read (but Will Fall in Love with Instantly)

As an homage to the Missed Connections forum on Craigslist, where people leave messages hoping to find strangers they've crossed paths with during the day, artist Sophie Blackall began illustrating these postings on her blog, which then developed into this charmer of a book. Blackall, working in watercolor and Chinese ink, imagines what the two people look like and the way they met, as well as what attracted them to each other at first glance. Ranging from the funny ("We shared a bear suit") to the sweetly serious ("I wish I could see inside your head"), she beautifully illustrates the longing, regret and hopes imbedded in each message and inspires us to seize the moment and not miss an opportunity to speak to that compelling stranger. Now.