'In a thrilling, immersive journey across time and continents, Keohane upends everything we thought we knew about the people we don't know'

'Keohane draws on an abundance of new research in social psychology which finds that connecting with strangers helps to dispel partisanship and categorical judgments, increase social solidarity and make us more interested in and hopeful about our lives'

'There is a hint of Bill Bryson about the author Joe Keohane: he wears his knowledge lightly and his exuberant curiosity leads him to inform his readers of a vast array of random, intriguing facts - so once you start reading you may find that you don't want to stop'

Joe Keohane has changed my life. The very thought of talking to strangers has always given me mild nausea and stress sweats. But after reading this book, I've been converted. Joe has inspired me to push through the awkwardness and reap the benefits: A more open and curious mind, less loneliness and depression. This book is an important tool in rescuing our tribal, smartphone-obsessed world. If you see me on the street, please say hi so we can discuss it

'Rare is the book that delivers on the promise of a big answer to an even bigger question, but Joe Keohane's The Power of Strangers does just that. This lively, searching work makes the case that welcoming "others" isn't just the bedrock of civilization, it's the surest path to the best of what life has to offer'

'This is one of those remarkable books you may not realize you're going to love (or need) until you're well into it. Is it a work of psychology, philosophy, anthropology, history, cultural studies, self-help? All of the above! The Power of Strangers is deeply and gamely researched, lucidly and engagingly written (as if by a pal), informative, thought-provoking, playful, useful and possibly life-changing. What a great way to start the post-pandemic'

'Reading this book is like taking a college course that becomes a cult favorite because the witty, enthusiastic professor makes the topic seem not only entertaining, but essential. Possibly life-changing ideas supported with extensive sociological research, lively storytelling, and contagious jollity'

'An eye-opening account blending sociology and self-help. After this enlightening and uplifting exploration, readers will undoubtedly view strangers in a different way'

'This perceptive and rather chatty offering considers the sociological research behind why human beings are so averse to making connections with strangers, and why it's so important to do so. Journalist Keohane is a good storyteller and great proponent of engaging with the unknown, extolling the informational, emotional, and psychological benefits of talking to new people. This authoritative, thoroughly entertaining read comes along just at the right time,
and will help readers re-engage after their long quarantines'

'The lesson (...) is that the easing of restrictions is not just a coveted opportunity to reconnect with those you love and resemble. It also restores a freedom, long taken for granted, even if a little used, to come to know the profoundly different'

Lively, informative... Nell uses her own experience generously and the effect is inclusive, reassuring and funny. She articulates feelings I've had but never quite explored - it's excellent

Incredibly relatable and comforting, addressing the constant comparison and confusion women often face. Frizzell writes beautifully and poetically while reassuring and validating the reader's concerns with hilarious anecdotes from her own panic years. This is an important read for all women who are wondering what should come next, and when.

The Panic Years made me laugh and it made me cry. There’s a rare tenderness to this book that comes from not having felt seen before. It’s for our generation, and Nell gets it. She understands and respects us.

A wonderful, candid memoir about the personal and political implications of motherhood, full of humour and fizzing prose. I loved it.

Breathtakingly good

Informs, educates, entertains... This book will resonate with so many readers.

Brilliant

A must-read... sharp, funny, it chronicles all of the big decisions a woman is expected to make between the ages of 25-40: where to live, if they should marry, what to do with one's career. And that other biggie: to have a baby or not.

Ab-definingly funny, The Panic Years captures the female experience perfectly. Discussing all of the large, looming decisions women have to make between their late 20s and early 40s, this is a must-read.

Offers advice and feminist learnings on how to survive when it feels like everyone around you is becoming a parent.

Wise, perceptive and refreshingly open...a memoir that feels inherently personal to womanhood and what being a woman means.

A must read. Timely, honest, brave and funny calling for a new kind of conversation about love, work and parenthood.

Written in a chatty, instantly endearing vernacular, What It Feels Like For A Girl is a crank-it-up-to-11 account of the British trans experience.

Written entirely in Midlands dialect, with each chapter named after a Noughties hit, Paris Lees's novelised account of her Nottingham childhood will make you shake with laughter and weep with heartbreak in the space of a few pages.

Set to be one of this summer's must-reads, Paris Lees' debut book is a coming-of-age memoir about her early life in the East Midlands. Written in Nottingham dialect, it's a story of growing up in a small town, with deliciously evocative tales of Noughties nights out.

Energetic, dark and hilarious. Paris Lees, with her loud and proud sense of self, is set to explode.. if you read one book this summer, make it What It Feels Like for a Girl... radically cool, explosive and riotous ... long may Lees' voice shine neon bright

Like Alan Sillitoe on acid... it's got to be a film. I've never read anything like it.

Raw and original

Extraordinary, riotous, furiously unique, moving and funny, What It Feels Like for a Girl is a deeply important book as well as being a fantastic read

Clever, gripping, messy, sad. I loved it.

Sadness and joy also go hand-in-hand in What It Feels Like for a Girl, an exuberant account of Paris Lees's tearaway teenage years in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, where "the streets are paved wi' dog shit". Her gender nonconformity is just one aspect of an adolescence that also features bullying, violence, prostitution, robbery and a spell in a young offenders' institute. Yet despite the many traumas, Lees finds joy and kinship in the underground club scene and a group of drag queens who cocoon her in love and laughter.

Bold and compulsively readable... She writes with humour about heartbreakingly harrowing moments while simultaneously capturing the dazzling joy of Nottingham nightlife and the importance of finding those who accept you for who you truly are