Scan barcode
mogffm's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book.
As an awkward person, now raising 3 awkward offspring, LOL, it's just a book that I can relate too. I almost didn't read it after I read some poor to OK reviews on here -- but I am glad I picked it up.
I appreciate how the author acknowledges that ASD and other mental health disorders are categorical, but even if people don't check all the boxes to fit neatly in the category, they can still exhibit behaviors that can lead to awkward social situations.
I also found it a pretty quick and funny listen too.
As an awkward person, now raising 3 awkward offspring, LOL, it's just a book that I can relate too. I almost didn't read it after I read some poor to OK reviews on here -- but I am glad I picked it up.
I appreciate how the author acknowledges that ASD and other mental health disorders are categorical, but even if people don't check all the boxes to fit neatly in the category, they can still exhibit behaviors that can lead to awkward social situations.
I also found it a pretty quick and funny listen too.
wellington299's review against another edition
3.0
The anecdotes of Ty's childhood were the star of the show. I really enjoyed reading about Mr. Z and Brock.
Who died and made you king? I didn't enjoy him coming off as the leader/expert for awkward people. He wasn't arrogant. His opinions just were brushed with too broad of a brush.
3.5 stars
Who died and made you king? I didn't enjoy him coming off as the leader/expert for awkward people. He wasn't arrogant. His opinions just were brushed with too broad of a brush.
3.5 stars
monk888's review against another edition
4.0
The psychology of awkwardness is a surprisingly broad topic that would probably take more than one book to cover fully. This one gamely covers as much breadth as can fit, tying together new pieces of psychology literature like a theory of friendship, spotlighting attention, and gifted children combined with several poignant and illuminating personal stories.
joaniehow's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, I enjoyed this book – I found it light and fun. The author Ty Tashiro is a psychologist and self-professed awkward person, and his book is social psychology with a dash of self-help and memoir. Tashiro draws from his field to explain how awkward people think (and why that’s awesome – spoiler: they’re often gifted), and provides concrete social tips for said awkward people; all this in the context of his own struggles with awkwardness growing up (he includes an endearingly dorky picture of himself from high school in one chapter).
This book did get a little too clinical at times. Tashiro wrote this book about “awkward people” as persons who don’t qualify for an actual diagnosis, but are somewhere along the spectrum. While that’s illuminating, I was also interested in just unpacking awkwardness in general as a social phenomenon – while not everyone is an “awkward person” in Tashiro’s sense of the word, awkward things happen to even the most graceful of people. This is discussed in the book, but I would have liked to see more.
This book did get a little too clinical at times. Tashiro wrote this book about “awkward people” as persons who don’t qualify for an actual diagnosis, but are somewhere along the spectrum. While that’s illuminating, I was also interested in just unpacking awkwardness in general as a social phenomenon – while not everyone is an “awkward person” in Tashiro’s sense of the word, awkward things happen to even the most graceful of people. This is discussed in the book, but I would have liked to see more.
kakesypoo's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I picked this book up because I was interested the way awkward people process social information. The insight on the matter was rather straightforward and relatable, but so very, very repetitive.
The first few chapters were great, informative, impartial and informed by research. However two-thirds through the book, the author begins to use a more personal definition of awkward that might not relate to the general population of awkward individuals. The definition shifted from general social ineptitude to that brought on by having an atypically brilliant mind that borders on the autistic - think Sheldon Cooper (which may not always be the case). The author does not fail to mention the fact that there are awkward individuals of average abilities, but his thesis and conclusion are very much focused on awkwardness that arises from being brilliant. Therefore, this book may not be for everyone trying to understand awkwardness in the general sense.
I picked this book up because I was interested the way awkward people process social information. The insight on the matter was rather straightforward and relatable, but so very, very repetitive.
The first few chapters were great, informative, impartial and informed by research. However two-thirds through the book, the author begins to use a more personal definition of awkward that might not relate to the general population of awkward individuals. The definition shifted from general social ineptitude to that brought on by having an atypically brilliant mind that borders on the autistic - think Sheldon Cooper (which may not always be the case). The author does not fail to mention the fact that there are awkward individuals of average abilities, but his thesis and conclusion are very much focused on awkwardness that arises from being brilliant. Therefore, this book may not be for everyone trying to understand awkwardness in the general sense.
mcc's review against another edition
3.0
Listened to this as an audiobook and flew threw it in about 2 days. I have spent a lot of time wondering "Do I have a mild case of aspergers? Or just extreme social anxiety? What's wrong with me??" I had never realized that I could just be "Awkward". It really fits because I've always felt like my social anxiety wasn't undue - it always seemed like a fairly rational response to how I perform sociallly. I've always had that feeling that everyone else was given some secret book to navigating social situations that I just...missed out on. It was so nice to hear some explanations of why and how it works - the descriptions of spotlight focus and how it's also a gift because it helps me see and appreciate some things others don't, while also being a curse, since it means I also don't see the larger choreographed pictures that others see, really helped me find the benefits of being awkward.
I also really appreciated the author's use of examples from his own life - they were both hilarious and totally relatable for me. While I never actually edited my Valentines cards in elementary school, I definitely sorted them in order of the intensity of the message and made sure to only give the strongly worded ones to people I really liked and the neutral ones to everyone else. I was already pretty sure that this kind of deliberate choice was NOT a behavior my peers were doing - I saw them just write names on each card without even READING the actual sentiment and became aware that something in me was very different...
The end of the book focused on the link between 'gifted' or intelligence and awkwardness and it felt a little self-indulgent, but also helped me make sense of the feeling of isolation and awkwardness I've felt my whole life and how when I finally find myself in the right sets of nerds, my awkwardness can disappear.
The science part was a little light and I didn't leave the book convinced that I was AWESOME, but I did leave it with a feeling of better understanding of myself and a comforting sense of camaraderie remembering that I am definitely not alone and in good company of my fellow awkward nerds.
I also really appreciated the author's use of examples from his own life - they were both hilarious and totally relatable for me. While I never actually edited my Valentines cards in elementary school, I definitely sorted them in order of the intensity of the message and made sure to only give the strongly worded ones to people I really liked and the neutral ones to everyone else. I was already pretty sure that this kind of deliberate choice was NOT a behavior my peers were doing - I saw them just write names on each card without even READING the actual sentiment and became aware that something in me was very different...
The end of the book focused on the link between 'gifted' or intelligence and awkwardness and it felt a little self-indulgent, but also helped me make sense of the feeling of isolation and awkwardness I've felt my whole life and how when I finally find myself in the right sets of nerds, my awkwardness can disappear.
The science part was a little light and I didn't leave the book convinced that I was AWESOME, but I did leave it with a feeling of better understanding of myself and a comforting sense of camaraderie remembering that I am definitely not alone and in good company of my fellow awkward nerds.
schmoterp's review against another edition
2.0
Audible.com has daily deals. This was one of them. For $3, I was able to listen to a specific topic in detail. Was it worth it? Yes, but it wasn't much more than what I received by a good old-fashioned Judeo-Christian education.
What I mean by that is I have always been taught that everyone is unique. And contrary to a popular pessimistic view of that idea, I do believe it to be true. Awkward attempts to explain awkward people by defining who they are, how they generally think, how others need to approach them, and how they need to approach themselves. But this isn't unique to awkward people, at least not in my estimation. This book provides reasons for being compassionate towards an awkward person...maybe even giving awkward people to have permission to be compassionate to themselves. Still, this applies to any and all groups of people including those that have socially-recognized strengths like, for instance, good looks.
Why this book even needs to be written is beyond me.
What I mean by that is I have always been taught that everyone is unique. And contrary to a popular pessimistic view of that idea, I do believe it to be true. Awkward attempts to explain awkward people by defining who they are, how they generally think, how others need to approach them, and how they need to approach themselves. But this isn't unique to awkward people, at least not in my estimation. This book provides reasons for being compassionate towards an awkward person...maybe even giving awkward people to have permission to be compassionate to themselves. Still, this applies to any and all groups of people including those that have socially-recognized strengths like, for instance, good looks.
Why this book even needs to be written is beyond me.
sarahjolyons6's review against another edition
3.0
I felt like this was interesting and helpful for people who have a person that struggles with socially awkward situations in their life.