This book is almost a meditation on paper, wandering through poetic thoughts on the importance of touch, how damaging the lack of touch can be, how we use it to engage with the world, and how touch interacts with the rest of our senses. (There are footnotes, too, with sources and additional quotes.) There’s even a brief digression on how harassment and the pandemic have made touch problematic.

The captions are accompanied by lovely, sedate images in shades of sand and night. The author points out a few cultural differences as well as trying to educate on misinformation about massage. The book ends with a set of exercises the reader can try with a partner to learn more about touch interaction.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This graphic novel was so unique. It very perfectly put into words things that we all feel but can't quite explain in a way that was heartfelt and touching.

This whole series is beautiful and touching. Extremely well researched and put into such a readable format. This one explores loneliness in such a nice way.

I just couldn't get into this book. I found that it just wasn't what it promised. I was expecting a fun interesting graphic novel, but it seemed to be the opposite of those things.

First of, it's not a graphic novel, it's a book with pictures. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just I was expecting something quite different. The pictures are lovely and I wish they'd been given more chance to shine. They were the reason I requested this book in the first place.

I also found that the writer seemed to change style constantly. One minute it was pretty informative and just starting to explain something, then it would change to something very science-y that was hard to understand, then it would list off a bunch of quotes and not really dissect them. I also found that they contradicted themselves; saying that touch was healing and important, then making out that touch was scary but not going into enough depth to actually make it clear why they were bringing up both. All this made for a very confusing read.

Maybe if you're a bit more science minded you might enjoy this, but I still think the lack of flow and explanations makes this a difficult read even though it's very short.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book about touch, about what effects physical touch and interactions have on us. It is about how we perceive and how we sense touch and social interactions. It has a few simple "exercises" inside to do if we want to feel what the author is talking about.

I expected something way different form this book, but it does not mean that I didn't enjoy it. I did it.

I did really love, especially, the simple, beautiful illustrations. I strongly believe they were perfect for this kind of book. I did really liked them.

For me, it was just a simple book about touch, honestly. As I've said before, I expected something different. But I did like it.

Thank you for providing me with an arc. I found the novel to be overall quite thoughtful and thought-provoking! I wasn’t sure this would be as good as it was and it exceeded my expectations. I am definitely looking forward to what this author is going to put our next! Thank you for providing me with an arc. I found the novel to be overall quite thoughtful and thought-provoking! I wasn’t sure this would be as good as it was and it exceeded my expectations. I am definitely looking forward to what this author is going to put our next!

I think that for beginners with this concept it would be great. I loved the illustrations and message behind this book.

I really liked the concept of the book in theory, but somehow it was not my type of book and I don't think I was the target audience for it. The art itself was quite well done, but the content fell short from what I had hoped for. In any case, touch is important and it is a topic worth discussing during the current pandemic.

Thank you to Jessica Kingsley Publishers for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.

I decided not to rate this book as I don't like rating non-fiction books. However, as NetGalley doesn't yet allow this I have chosen 3 stars as a middle ground.

This book introduces questions such as the following:
Why can't we tickle ourselves?
How can slow touch convey more powerful emotions than fast touch?
How does touch shape our perception of the world?

As part of the Really Strange series, this graphic novel looks into the power of touch and how complex it really is. Touch has a range of uses, communicating emotions through to helping us feel real. Using it wrong, however, can be abusive.

I thought this was a thought-provoking book and really interesting to think about. A very quick read and I quite liked the colour palette chosen for the art work.

This book was terrible? I was pretty excited about it at first because I think physical touch is SO important. And true, some of the concepts were interesting, but the writing was bad and the general delivery was bad.
The way the pictures were integrated felt awkward and made the book's tone feel more like a text book in a negative way. And yet the actual narrative buoyed between being academic and feelings based. I don't know how to describe it well but it felt not research based, not thought out. Statements are made and not supported. Quotes are dropped in and not explained. The entire thing felt like it didn't know what it was trying to do or who it's audience was. It also seemed to assume the reader's knowledge of language around the subject.

"Passing through the birth canal is probably one of the hardest things we ever did" it says and moves on. In what way? By what standard? That feels objectively false.

"Old people fare worse without touch" is that even written politically correct? Again, support?

Things like these steal the authors credibility.

overall, it felt like a bunch of ideas thrown together without being fleshed out or organized in anyway.

Touch is Really Strange is a graphic novel based on experiences about touch. A surprisingly informative read for a novel based on images, this novel taught me a lot about touch in ways I has never thought to think about before. Thought-provoking and with beautiful art, in a time where social distancing is a must, this is definitely worth picking up.

I really liked the premise of this comic but found the reading experience to not be the best. This is mostly due to the fact that I just could not get the ebook to work on my kindle app so sometimes it was hard to follow the text and see the art properly.

Despite that, I did learn quite a few interesting tidbits. In some instances, I wish we had gone deeper into the scientific and psychological background of what touch does and how it is processed by our brains and stuff like that because that was the part I found the most fascinating.

The art was beautiful and simple, I especially liked the colour palette used, again, I just wish it displayed in a more user friendly way on my reader.

**Disclaimer: I received a free early access copy of Touch is Really Strange by Steve Haines through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity.

Touch is Really Strange by Steve Haines is an informative graphic novel about the sense of touch.  It's an interesting read.  It was published on April 21st, 2021.  I rated it three stars on Goodreads.


Here's the summary from Goodreads:

Why can't we tickle ourselves? How can slow touch convey more powerful emotions than fast touch? How does touch shape our perception of the world? The latest addition to the Really Strange Series , this science-based graphic comic addresses these questions and more, revealing the complexity of touch and exploring its power and limits. Used positively, touch can change pain and trauma, communicate compassion and love and generate social bonding. Get it wrong and it can be abusive and terrifying.
Everyone's initial experience of life and existence is tactile and spatial at its core. Before we have language, our concepts are formed as we meet a world full of edges and textures. Touch Is Really Strange celebrates the power of inward touch (interoception) and looks at how we can use skillful contact to promote feelings of joy, connection and vitality inside another. Touch helps us feel real and connected, and is fundamental to the development of consciousness and to perception. Steve Haines' new book teaches us how to safely touch people, not parts of people.

The basic premise of this was really interesting.  I liked how it presented the information in an easy to read format and how it was easy to understand what the author was trying to convey.  It was really informative.  I liked how it talked about how important touch is.

The art style was kind of whimsical, but it was really interesting.  It worked well with the information being presented.  The colour palette was really nice as well.  It was quite interesting.

I will admit that I don't have a lot to say about the graphic novel.  It wasn't super long but it was well done.  It's also not my typical reading topic.  However, it's worth checking out if you're interested in learning more about touch and how important and weird it is.

I received this ARC via Netgalley for an honest opinion.

I wanted an ARC of this for the title alone. The title is everything, and it's so truthful.
Sadly, I just didn't vibe with the style. While I was reading it, it felt more like a illustrated textbook then a graphic novel you can learn from.

I was able to read this through NetGalley. I get what she was trying to say about the importance of touch and what covid has done to us with touch. It was very short but not bad.

Thank you NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for the arc!

This is definitely not what I was expecting. While it looks like a dramatic graphic novel at first, Touch is Really Strange is actually about the science behind touch. It's essentially an academic book that features beautiful art.

While the subject matter wasn't my thing, Sophie Standing's illustrations kept my attention. There may be only two colours fully utilized, but they're used in a way that showcases tone and meaning behind them.

There are some great bits here, especially when Steve Haines waxes poetic, but overall Touch is Really Strange read too academic for me to feel connected to the "story."

This book explores the sense 'touch'. I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. It's got a lot of facts about, touch and touching which are timely and relevant - given the pandemic and our need to social distance. At times it became a bit too science-y for me, as there are a lot of facts and references to other works. However, generally this is offset by the beautiful, sensual illustrations. The exercises to explain how the body processes touch are fascinating and it challenged my assumptions of this area. Definitely one to read again.

Touch is Really Strange by Steve Haines is a very informative book that taught me more about touch. I was able to get insight into the reasons why touch is so important and this book fit so well with the timeframe we are currently in. As the reader, I was given articles but also engagement with this short graphic novel. The illustrations are beautiful and tie together so well with the topic of touch. There were moments that had me thinking about my own experiences with touch. I would recommend this for readers that would like a lesson on touch through a simplified academic perspective and beautiful illustrations.

It's a brief but interesting book with a curious style of illustration. The thought being discussed is how much (in times past) humans have relied on touch as a method of greeting, of comfort, and now much now (in the time of Covid), all the things that many took for granted become signs of danger and contagion.

The book doesn't go into great depth with the nature of things, but it makes the clear point that touch is indeed one of the senses by which we (humans) most define our reality, if you can touch something, it becomes real, and if you can't touch it, is it real? We have been starved for the closeness that most of us crave, and now comes the question of whether or not it's something that we can get back, or indeed, if it's something that we want to get back.

There's a few exercises in the book about exploring touch with others, but also a number of warnings about how touch can be inappropriate, and while I can see why a caution would be appropriate for some, it struck me as being at odds with the general message of touch being something essential to most people.

Doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the book, interesting and particularly relevant in a world where most of us have been denied it for a very long time.