Friendaholic
Day, Elizabeth "Friendaholic" - 2023
#6Degrees is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. I love the idea. Thank you, Kate. See more about this challenge, its history, further books and how I found this here.
This book has not even been published in paperback, so no wonder I
didn't read it. However, I doubt that I would have chosen it anyway, even though it sounds interesting.
Here is the description of the book:
"As a society, there is a tendency to elevate romantic love. But what about friendships? Aren't they just as - if not more - important? So why is it hard to find the right words to express what these uniquely complex bonds mean to us? In Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict, Elizabeth Day embarks on a journey to answer these questions.
Growing up, Elizabeth wanted to make everyone like her. Lacking friends at school, she grew up to believe that quantity equalled quality. Having lots of friends meant you were loved, popular and safe. She was determined to become a Good Friend. And, in many ways, she did. But in adulthood she slowly realised that it was often to the detriment of her own boundaries and mental health.
Then, when a global pandemic hit in 2020, she was one of many who were forced to reassess what friendship really meant to them - with the crisis came a dawning realisation: her truest friends were not always the ones she had been spending most time with. Why was this? Could she rebalance it? Was there such thing as…too many friends? And was she really the friend she thought she was?
Friendaholic unpacks the significance and evolution of friendship. From exploring her own personal friendships and the distinct importance of each of them in her life, to the unique and powerful insights of others across the globe, Elizabeth asks why there isn’t yet a language that can express its crucial influence on our world.
From ghosting and frenemies to social media and seismic life events, Elizabeth leaves no stone unturned. Friendaholic is the book you buy for the people you love but it's also the book you read to become a better friend to yourself."
I don't think I read anything similar, so I went with the words in titles this month.
My first link therefore is Friend
Munro, Alice "Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage" - 2001
Hate
Emcke, Carolin "Against Hate" (GE: Gegen den Hass) - 2016
Against
Abulhawa, Susan "Against the Loveless World" - 2020
World
Coates, Ta-Nehisi "Between the World and Me" - 2015
Between
Kermani, Navid "Between Quran and Kafka: West-Eastern Affinities" (GE: Zwischen Koran und Kafka. West-östliche Erkundungen) - 2014
Here is the description of the book:
"As a society, there is a tendency to elevate romantic love. But what about friendships? Aren't they just as - if not more - important? So why is it hard to find the right words to express what these uniquely complex bonds mean to us? In Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict, Elizabeth Day embarks on a journey to answer these questions.
Growing up, Elizabeth wanted to make everyone like her. Lacking friends at school, she grew up to believe that quantity equalled quality. Having lots of friends meant you were loved, popular and safe. She was determined to become a Good Friend. And, in many ways, she did. But in adulthood she slowly realised that it was often to the detriment of her own boundaries and mental health.
Then, when a global pandemic hit in 2020, she was one of many who were forced to reassess what friendship really meant to them - with the crisis came a dawning realisation: her truest friends were not always the ones she had been spending most time with. Why was this? Could she rebalance it? Was there such thing as…too many friends? And was she really the friend she thought she was?
Friendaholic unpacks the significance and evolution of friendship. From exploring her own personal friendships and the distinct importance of each of them in her life, to the unique and powerful insights of others across the globe, Elizabeth asks why there isn’t yet a language that can express its crucial influence on our world.
From ghosting and frenemies to social media and seismic life events, Elizabeth leaves no stone unturned. Friendaholic is the book you buy for the people you love but it's also the book you read to become a better friend to yourself."
I don't think I read anything similar, so I went with the words in titles this month.
My first link therefore is Friend
Munro, Alice "Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage" - 2001
Hate
Emcke, Carolin "Against Hate" (GE: Gegen den Hass) - 2016
Against
Abulhawa, Susan "Against the Loveless World" - 2020
World
Coates, Ta-Nehisi "Between the World and Me" - 2015
Between
Kermani, Navid "Between Quran and Kafka: West-Eastern Affinities" (GE: Zwischen Koran und Kafka. West-östliche Erkundungen) - 2014
📚📚📚
It's not that easy to find a connection between the first and the last book this time. The title is completely different. The setting as well. "Kafka on the Shore" takes place in Japan, Friendaholic is a non-fiction book that could take place everywhere. However, the protagonist in the last book is trying to find himself, and I think that is the link.
The only one of yours that I've read is Against the Loveless World. But Against Hate interests me...
ReplyDeleteDefinitely one worth reading, Lisa. Did you see the synopsis?
DeleteI'm very curious about Friendaholic. There are not many books about friendships, I think.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about that, Deb, I don't tend to read that kind of books, so there might be more. Jana thought it was worth using as a starter book and that's always a great recommendation.
DeleteNicely done!
ReplyDeleteNicely done.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Davida. I suppose you were also the anonymous poster, since you wrote the same. In any case, love that you like it.
DeleteHow fun! Amazing to see different results, starting from the same book, and with the same technic. I have only read Murakami's
ReplyDeleteDefinitely exciting, Emma. And since we get a new starter book every month that is usually quite different, it is always fun.
DeleteI haven't read any of these but I did recently read a very well done graphic novel version of 9 of Kafka's stories. Great chain!
ReplyDeleteMmmmh, maybe that is more interesting than his real stories, Mallika. Thanks.
DeleteStill need to read Between the World and Me. Coates is a fantastic author.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is the only book I read by him, Sarah. It was great. Maybe you can recommend some others. Thanks.
DeleteWe Were Eight Years in Power was so good. It's beautiful.
DeleteMmmmh, the title already sounds great. Thanks, Sarah.
DeleteA good solution to a tricky theme (if you wanted to do more than have a list of books about friends). I see from your About page that you are interested in Esperanto. this year in my A to Z Challenge (how_would_you_know.com), i found myself , as an extra, linking to Kant languages from a Wikipedia article on the subject.. Kant languages are secretive languages used by minorities but I imagine that might almost apply to speakers of Esperanto - or am I wrong and there are millions of speakers...
ReplyDeleteActually, there are, Frewin. The number is not official but usually 2 million come up. In any case, there are people everywhere in the world who speak it, some even have it as their mother tongue. I learned it in the seventies and have been an active speaker all that time. Though I doubt this will ever happen, the original idea was that everyone in the world would speak it as their second language and you didn't have to learn another language anymore, unless you want to.
DeleteThanks for your visit, I'm curious to see your page now.