lauryl's review
informative
slow-paced
2.5
This book sounded like it would be fun and potentially useful, but it was mostly just anecdotes from the author’s childhood. It was fine and had some interesting social science studies, but not sure it lived up to the promise of the title and description.
themtj's review
5.0
Not sure this actually warrants a 5 star review, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I laughed out loud, I occasionally related, found his research interesting, and conclusions to be reasonable. Ty has essentially invented a category for personality classification with criteria and research. He does not excuse awkwardness nor does he insist that it has a simple solution. He has fun with it while trying to learn how to understand people. Empathy and acceptance are the underlying principles to his work.
80ng5's review
4.0
Saying it was revelatory is an understatement, not only did i learn new things about myself but I also learnt new things about why my past relationships penned out the way they did. It's ability to not place awkwardness as an ultimate trait to have, but at the same time elevate it from its usual condenmnation and neutralise it as one just as valuable as the others is fantastic.
melhara's review against another edition
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.
octygon's review
4.0
Really glad I read this and highly recommend it to anyone who feels awkward or knows someone who is awkward. It doesn't go into tremendous depth, but it was still enough to be interesting and informative. The author does seem to repeat himself a bit, which likely was more noticeable to me because I listened to this as an audiobook. Had I been reading it on paper, I probably would have skimmed past repetitive stuff pretty quickly.
shireybear09's review
4.0
Ok Ty. I feel you. This is a very satisfying book to read, makes me feel seen and justified. I'm that awkward person who KNOWS I'm an awkward person on the inside but for some reason has to convince people about my awkwardness because they don't think I'm for some reason. Perhaps I'm compensating too hard socially or... have I mastered the facade of social ease?! Nah, I'm on the spectrum and lucky to have very kind and understanding friends. As I tried to explain to my friends, I'm an introvert with the appearance of an extrovert, who, both fortunately and unfortunately, attracts other extroverts. This is a blessing because I enjoy the company of extroverts and love their energy, but a curse because the level of anxiety from my inept social muscle and impostor syndrome I feel when I'm around extroverts is crippling for inner awkward me.
I love the section on "the rage to master". Thank you Ty for naming the monster (or angel, depending how you look at it), now I can be at peace with my rage and use it for good, instead of being consume by it and feeling restless and irate by interruptions during my rage sesh. Now, "the rage to master" and I can be friends.
Another thing that really resonate with me is "show your work". Funny, I've been told this by many a mentors... I skip right to the result because the process already happened in my head. But to be social and share my thoughts to connect with people, I need to take them on the ride together, to show my work so they understand how the result is derived. It seems inefficient, back tracking, and ughhh-whyyy to me, but once I started doing that, I tend to get better responses in my relationships.
One thing that made me giggle, (I mean... introspective?) is the part about awkward people's limited ability to empathize. One of the strength assessment we did at work returns the result that one of my top strength is empathy. Which then makes me think, if I can empathize, but I'm still awkward, does that makes me just... rude? Well, I certainly hope not.
Also, I totally relate to what Ty said about "awkward people have many interesting things to say, but it's like they are a book missing the preface and the first chapter". This still happens for me, I admire people who has great conversation flow and just knows where to chime in, what's the appropriate moment to start talking after another person, and how to gracefully lead to the next topic. I usually take the conversation to a strange place where it's hard to flow on from where I left off, or try to hold in what I want to say to not explode my awkwardness on people but ended up with major thought constipation for all points not shared...
Anyway, all in all, super helpful book. Will definitely reference and review from time to time.
I love the section on "the rage to master". Thank you Ty for naming the monster (or angel, depending how you look at it), now I can be at peace with my rage and use it for good, instead of being consume by it and feeling restless and irate by interruptions during my rage sesh. Now, "the rage to master" and I can be friends.
Another thing that really resonate with me is "show your work". Funny, I've been told this by many a mentors... I skip right to the result because the process already happened in my head. But to be social and share my thoughts to connect with people, I need to take them on the ride together, to show my work so they understand how the result is derived. It seems inefficient, back tracking, and ughhh-whyyy to me, but once I started doing that, I tend to get better responses in my relationships.
One thing that made me giggle, (I mean... introspective?) is the part about awkward people's limited ability to empathize. One of the strength assessment we did at work returns the result that one of my top strength is empathy. Which then makes me think, if I can empathize, but I'm still awkward, does that makes me just... rude? Well, I certainly hope not.
Also, I totally relate to what Ty said about "awkward people have many interesting things to say, but it's like they are a book missing the preface and the first chapter". This still happens for me, I admire people who has great conversation flow and just knows where to chime in, what's the appropriate moment to start talking after another person, and how to gracefully lead to the next topic. I usually take the conversation to a strange place where it's hard to flow on from where I left off, or try to hold in what I want to say to not explode my awkwardness on people but ended up with major thought constipation for all points not shared...
Anyway, all in all, super helpful book. Will definitely reference and review from time to time.