That Was Awkward
The Art and Etiquette of the Awkward Hug
Published on 15. October 2019
Book
Hardback
128 pages
978-1-9848-7958-5 (ISBN)
Description
A Lit Hub "Most Anticipated Books of 2019"
A Read It Forward "Perfect Gifts for a White Elephant Exchange"
From New Yorker humorist Emily Flake, a hilarious, oddly enlightening book of illustrations, observations, and advice that embraces the inescapable awkwardness of two human beings attempting to make physical contact with each other.
We've all been there.
You encounter the mother of your recent ex. That guy your best friend dated sophomore year. That friend-of-a-friend who you've met once but keeps popping up in your "People You May Know" feed.
Do you shake hands? Do you hug? Do you--horrors--kiss on the cheek? And then the inevitable: The awkward hug. That cultural blight we've all experienced.
Emily Flake--keen observer of human behavior and life's less-than-triumphant moments--codifies the most common awkward hugs that have plagued us all. Filled with laugh-out-loud anecdotes and illustrations, astute observations, and wise advice, That Was Awkward is a heartwarming reminder that we're all in this together, grasping hastily at each other in an attempt to say: let's embrace to remind ourselves of our essential and connecting humanity, but also, please don't touch me for more than three seconds.
A Read It Forward "Perfect Gifts for a White Elephant Exchange"
From New Yorker humorist Emily Flake, a hilarious, oddly enlightening book of illustrations, observations, and advice that embraces the inescapable awkwardness of two human beings attempting to make physical contact with each other.
We've all been there.
You encounter the mother of your recent ex. That guy your best friend dated sophomore year. That friend-of-a-friend who you've met once but keeps popping up in your "People You May Know" feed.
Do you shake hands? Do you hug? Do you--horrors--kiss on the cheek? And then the inevitable: The awkward hug. That cultural blight we've all experienced.
Emily Flake--keen observer of human behavior and life's less-than-triumphant moments--codifies the most common awkward hugs that have plagued us all. Filled with laugh-out-loud anecdotes and illustrations, astute observations, and wise advice, That Was Awkward is a heartwarming reminder that we're all in this together, grasping hastily at each other in an attempt to say: let's embrace to remind ourselves of our essential and connecting humanity, but also, please don't touch me for more than three seconds.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Penguin Adult
Illustrations
144 Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
191 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-9848-7958-5 (9781984879585)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Emily Flake's cartoons and humorous essays run regularly in The New Yorker, The Nib, and many other publications. Her weekly strip, Lulu Eightball, ran in alt-weeklies for many years. She's written and illustrated two books: These Things Ain't Gonna Smoke Themselves and Mama Tried. Her illustrations and cartoons appear in publications all over the world, including the New York Times, Newsweek, the Globe and Mail, The Onion, The New Statesman, and Forbes. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, daughter, and a frail, elderly orange cat.