Encounterism: The Neglected Joys of Being In Person

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I am definitely an introvert and would be quite content to sit at home by myself, but I still found a lot of the author's words to ring true. However, in doing this, as you read the pages, you imagine your own experiences in similar situations; and thus the first reading of the book really becomes about your own memories and encounters.

A joyful, thoughtful, poetic exploration of everyday human encounters, reframing these overlooked moments as the unique and beautiful encounters that they are.

Andy Field's prose feels like you've just sat down with a random stranger who is sharing their experiences and musings with you. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. In an author’s note, Field says right up front that the idea for “Encounterism” came before the coronavirus pandemic, not in response to it, and that he wrote much of the book during “the caesura it created.

As a 40 year old, I had to work with 10 year olds to help them visualise what their (and my) home town would look like in 30 years time. Each chapter looks at a different encounter - such as getting a haircut, going to the cinema, or holding hands - and through a blending together of personal stories with other elements like social history, art, science, psychology, Field creates a fascinating, expansive portrait. After that I moved out from my childhood home where I grew up with 4 generations/8-6 people to now live in apartment with my husband and cat in a neighborhood where we don't know anyone.Very cute concept, and I'm a big advocate for in-person encounters, but the execution wasn't it for me. From the hairdressers's chair to sitting with others in a car, and fleeting meetings while walking in the park, Field examines the nature, grace, and importance of everyday, face-to-face human interactions.