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A review by melhara
Awkward: The Science of Why We're Socially Awkward and Why That's Awesome by Ty Tashiro
3.0
I’m a very awkward person, so naturally, I felt like I should read up on the subject (although my personal philosophy is: It only feels awkward if you think it's awkward. It's a form of denial that I've mastered over the years).
To be honest though, I think the reason why I’m such an awkward person is because I don’t know how to engage in ‘small talk’. So I suppose the ‘cure’ to my awkwardness would be learning how to initiate small talk and maintain a conversation...
I felt that [b:Awkward: The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why That’s Awesome|30317414|Awkward The Science of Why We're Socially Awkward and Why That's Awesome|Ty Tashiro|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485273206s/30317414.jpg|50807688] did not include enough “science” (research and studies) on awkwardness and contained too many anecdotes about Ty’s experience as an awkward child. This book also focused a lot more on differentiating between people who are socially fluent and those who are socially awkward.
There were some interesting parts - for example the difference between awkward and aspergers (I would have liked to read more about that topic) and that learning manners can help improve social fluency and curb awkwardness (which makes a lot of sense - having manners means knowing the right way to react and prevent an awkward reaction). There was also an entire chapter on how dating and sex are awkward. I can definitely relate to that!
I felt like a lot of the topics raised were skimmed over and I would have preferred to read a more in-depth analysis on the “science of awkwardness”. But overall, everything was easy to understand, entertaining at times, and made sense. Also, Ty’s reasoning for awkwardness being “awesome” was… not very compelling. I think should book should actually be renamed to Awkward: The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why That’s Normal.
To be honest though, I think the reason why I’m such an awkward person is because I don’t know how to engage in ‘small talk’. So I suppose the ‘cure’ to my awkwardness would be learning how to initiate small talk and maintain a conversation...
I felt that [b:Awkward: The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why That’s Awesome|30317414|Awkward The Science of Why We're Socially Awkward and Why That's Awesome|Ty Tashiro|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485273206s/30317414.jpg|50807688] did not include enough “science” (research and studies) on awkwardness and contained too many anecdotes about Ty’s experience as an awkward child. This book also focused a lot more on differentiating between people who are socially fluent and those who are socially awkward.
There were some interesting parts - for example the difference between awkward and aspergers (I would have liked to read more about that topic) and that learning manners can help improve social fluency and curb awkwardness (which makes a lot of sense - having manners means knowing the right way to react and prevent an awkward reaction). There was also an entire chapter on how dating and sex are awkward. I can definitely relate to that!
I felt like a lot of the topics raised were skimmed over and I would have preferred to read a more in-depth analysis on the “science of awkwardness”. But overall, everything was easy to understand, entertaining at times, and made sense. Also, Ty’s reasoning for awkwardness being “awesome” was… not very compelling. I think should book should actually be renamed to Awkward: The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why That’s Normal.