Awkward: The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why That’s Awesome
[Goodreads Review] (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8232367787)
I read this because I had run out of books to read and actually thought the premise was well thought out. That awkwardness is actually fairly universal and that we all have strategies to deal with it. Using anecdotes, research and a deft engaging writing style, the author brings to light what its like for socially awkward folks and to give them a small playbook for their awkwardness.
The first thing the author has to say is that everyone feels some degree of awkwardness, but socially awkward folks are particularly prone to not know how to deal with situations in what is a socially acceptable manner. This then leads to cycles of even more awkwardness until awkward folks give up or finally learns to deal with certain situations.
He then brings up the now pretty accepted idea that there’s such a thing as social IQ vs booksmart IQ, and how awkward folks might tend to be more booksmart than the other (being very careful to say that not every socially awkward person is smarter, or that every smart person has to be socially awkward).
The rest of the book goes through more or less the same ideas, just reinforced in different ways.
This was a fun book but i’m not sure how rigorous the science of it is going to be, but still, highly recommend the book if you have friends who are awkward and you’d like to know them more (or you yourself is socially awkward). the advice given might be hard to apply or simply not be valid, but I think its a good book for both awkward and non-awkward folks.
Middling recommend, but I have to say I enjoyed it.