Awkward: The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why That’s Awesome

We’ve all experienced awkward moments, but some are more familiar with awkwardness than others. It defines us, it looms over every interaction, it challenges us when we try to read social cues or divine the unwritten rules of dating. But is awkwardness diagnosable?

Ty Tashiro tackles that question with Awkward, his attempt to unravel years of scientific inquiry into sociology, behavioral studies, and psychology, and chart some sort of path through for the awkward among us. Along the way, he offers numerous anecdotes from his own life, either detailing awkward moments from his past or from his time as a therapist, all in the attempt to help form a cohesive idea of what awkwardness is.

By highlighting both the pluses and minuses of being awkward, Tashiro walks a fine line as he tries to explain the more socially debilitating aspects of awkwardness without representing awkward people badly. And, for the most part, he succeeds. Although the book doesn’t read nearly as optimistically as the title does, Tashiro makes a strong case for the positive side of awkwardness.

In the end, this feels more like a scholarly debate than a scientific tome, but then again, a book called Awkward should probably read a little awkwardly.