Recent research suggests there are only six basic emotions. But if this makes you feel uneasy, suspicious and maybe even a little bereft, The Book of Human Emotions is for you. From anger to wanderlust, each entertaining and informative alphabetical entry reveals the surprising connections and fascinating facts behind our emotional lives.
Whether you're in search of the perfect word to sum up that cosy feeling you get from being inside on a cold winter's night, surrounded by friends and good food (what the Dutch call gezellig), or wondering how nostalgia evolved from a fatal illness to enjoyable self-indulgence, Tiffany Watt Smith covers the globe and draws on history, anthropology, science, art, literature, music and popular culture to find the answers.
Each emotion has its own story, part of a vast, rich and varied field, influencing every area of our lives. In reading it, you'll discover feelings you never knew you had (like basoerxia, the sudden urge to kiss someone) and gain unexpected insights into why we feel the way we do.
Published in partnership with the Wellcome Collection.
WELLCOME COLLECTION
Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library that aims to challenge how we think and feel about health. Inspired by the medical objects and curiosities collected by Henry Wellcome, it connects science, medicine, life and art. Wellcome Collection exhibitions, events and books explore a diverse range of subjects, including consciousness, forensic medicine, emotions, sexology, identity and death.
Wellcome Collection is part of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation that exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive, funding over 14,000 researchers and projects in more than 70 countries.
wellcomecollection.org
I meant to dip into this book once in awhile as it's truly just an alphabetical listing of emotions that the author chose to write small essays on (sometimes only a line or paragraph, sometimes several pages). She disavows any idea that this is at all a comprehensive list, but she does cover most of the emotions that are part of our day-to-day lives - as well as a few entirely new (to me) ones.
The thing is, as I started reading, I found myself continuing on, reading it as though it were a narrative and about half-way through I began to think this would make an excellent self-help book in an odd and quirky way. Many of her essays get to the heart of the emotion and leaves the reader with a lot to consider; some of her entries consider the emotion's original meaning and context and often I found this enough to put things into perspective regarding the fun fair that is the inside of my own head sometimes.
Whether it's read cover to cover or dipped into on occasion, this is a genuinely lovely book and well worth reading for anyone curious about philosophy or psychology.
Reading updates
-
Started reading
-
10 November, 2016:
Finished reading
-
10 November, 2016:
Reviewed