I've heard great things about Elizabeth Day's work, which is why I was so keen to read her latest release.
Friendaholic is a really interesting look at friendship.
It was relatable and thought provoking and as someone who has found it easy to make lots of acquaintances in my adult years but no best friend or what feel like true friends that I can count on, it was nice to see it from a different perspective.
It can get a little repetitive but that's what I was expecting, given the subject matter.
I will definitely be going back and seeking out more of Elizabeth Day's books after enjoying this as much as I did.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very personal book, at times it makes you stop. It's a brilliant read from a very talented writer. I enjoyed it and it deserves five stars, it certainly made me think!

Free courtesy of Netgalley

I haven't read any of Elizabeth Day's books before, so this was a first for me. I really liked the book and at times it touched a nerve to how similar I approach friendship and how I feel about myself within those friendships.

It was a candid review of Elizabeth's friends, won and lost and why having too many friends and too little friends can be damaging to your state of mind.

I think personally this is a book you can pick up and put down between books and take something from it each time you read it. It's not a "I've read that and I can just forget about it now" I definitely think it's a book I will go back to. I would recommend

So friendaholic is basically an in depth discussion about the different types of friends we make throughout our lives, as well as how we keep contact with them, and even how we feel after these bonds break. I found it interesting and a clever way to approach the subject, Elizabeth Day is definitely a strong writer with a big passion. the writing style was brilliant, each defining chapter was seperated by a small interview/ response about friendship from her own friends. I do however think certain chapters could have edited down, but I think the chapter I was most interested in was her discussion on fertility and how mothers are praised for having children whilst those who have suffered with miscarriages are almost missing out? And how women are just expected to bond with children for 'practice'.

This is not my normal genre but I really enjoyed this book. It was an interesting look into friendships and made me think about my own. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

This is a non fiction book by writer and podcaster Elizabeth Day examining her need for friendships. It's an interesting look at how important friendship is to us and how difficult it can be when they end. It takes into account the problems that come later down the line with relationship and fertility issues and I think it was very well written.

I've enjoyed Elizabeth Day's writing in the past so I was curious about this. There's a lot of food for thought here about the nature of friendship and its position in your life. It's a decent read, although I found it a little repetitive at times as we circle the same themes. I suppose that's bound to happen with such a specific topic. Got me thinking anyway, some ideas to take away here.

I was excited to read this book as I love Elizabeth Day podcast ‘How to Fail’. I was drawn to the topic of friendship and in particular female friendship. I am not a person who makes friends easily.
Day's writing is intelligent and you can tell that all these stories have shaped days life.
As you may gather from the title "Friendaholic" is about Day being a self confessed friend addicted. She goes in-depth all her important friendships through her life and at times this can feel repetitive.
If you like reading stories about friendship this is a book for you.

My thanks to NetGalley and Fourth Estate for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Day shares her thoughts on friendship and the highs and lows of a frenetic attempt to collect friends at every turn. I found the book thought provoking and it made me think of my own friendships and how we don’t have the same rituals and social rules around friendships to guide us that we have with romantic relationships.

A great read which shows us the variety of friendships and explores when they go wrong.

I was delighted when NetGalley allowed me to read this book in advance of publication as I am a fan of Elizabeth Day. I have already ordered my hard copy and booked to hear her discuss the book.
Covid, as Elizabeth says, has, for many people made them think about friendship. My situation is not the same as Elizabeth’s as I live alone but those friends who are closest to me definitely stopped me feeling alone at this time with constant phone calls..
Elizabeth and I went to the same senior school. She is 20 odd years younger than me but the same issues existed in my day with trying to be everyone’s friend. In a boarding school where you are away from family, friendship is very important.
My closest friends are, for the most part my school friends (although not entirely!). As I have got older and less energetic, I haven’t the energy to maintain close friendships with everyone. Elizabeth talks in depth about the different types of friendship. She is very open about her own experiences and what has worked for her.
She talks about letting go of toxic friendships which has been hard for her as she has been addicted to making friends. I have never thought of this as an addiction but it is an interesting concept.
I was very interested in her views of social media and how it affects friendship.
She clearly has had permission to write in depth about some of her friends. You hear their own voices.
Elizabeth talks a lot about the fact that she has yet to have a baby. She talks about her friendship with those who have been able to conceive and how she feels about that.
The book is quite long and at times a bit repetitive but I found her insights interesting and enlightening. Good that it also discusses male friendship.
I look forward to reading a hard copy so that I can look at the notes better. Well done!

Elizabeth Day is a self-confessed friendship addict. But, possibly in recovery. In her latest book, Elizabeth Day, with her usual intelligence and insight, describes friendship and why it is so important to her - and should be to all of us. She accepts that, at times, friendship has been too important to her as a way to feel her worth and explains how, over time, she has learned to be herself.

At times, I found this book an uncomfortable read. Perhaps details were changed to try and spare some blushes, but I did wonder if the way some, at times former, friends were described might not be entirely welcomed by them. I don't think Elizabeth Day was trying to be mean and what she said was very much her take on why some friendships had worked out the way they had. But it was difficult to do this without some analysis of the other person and their role in the relationship. Would I want to be described in that way and for public consumption? I doubt it.

But there is much to think about from this book. Even though I didn't always have comparable friendship experiences, there was much to relate to and consider how it might apply to past friendships and those to come in the future. I also thought the chapter towards the end of the book with her therapist best friend Emma was particularly interesting and informative - and they have a podcast together called Best Friend Therapy, which is an equally good listen.

I am reminded of a quote (attributed to a few people), which seems appropriate to the book and its subject:

“A friend is one to whom one may pour out the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that gentle hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”

I love Elizabeth Day so when a 'friend invitation' arrived from her, how could I resist? It didn't matter that it was an invitation to read an advance copy of her new book rather than join her inner circle, I simply had to accept. Having read 'Friendaholic', I'm glad I did, although the book encourages perhaps more discerning evaluation of friend requests in future - quality rather than quantity.

This is a highly original and reflective book, exploring every aspect of friendship. Day shares her own experiences, anxieties and joys though her friendships and at different lifestages, and also the reflections of some of her closest friends. It is fascinating and enlightening. With each insight comes learning and an opportunity to think about what we most value about our friends (and who they are).

Day approaches the topic with candour and a sharp inquisitiveness that results in an original, interesting and provocative read that might just change who you choose to spend your time with.

Thanks to NetGalley, Elizabeth Day and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Despite being eager to start the latest book by Elizabeth Day it was not at all as expected. This book is part memoir of the authors complicated relationship with friendship. It explores the beauty and complications behind friendships that appear throughout our lives. The author unpacks her own friendships from ghosting to frenemies.

With any biography it’s hard to review but while I was initially interested it was eventually very repetitive and I felt that the author seemed not@to take any ownership in the break down of her friendships. I’ve certainly had my share of friendship breakdowns and I also acknowledge my own role in them.

Thanks @netgalley @4thestatebooks @wmcollinsbooks for this advanced copy of Friendaholic

Thank you for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. It was an interesting and unique look at friendship which is something I have not considered at this level before. I found it quite similar to Elizabeth Days previous book How to Fail which I also thought was interesting.
It looks at friendship and its role in life from several different angles and I enjoyed the input from different people. Many interesting points were raised and it was good to see similarities and differences in my own experience that I could relate to.

I’ve enjoyed both Elizabeth Day’s fiction and her podcast ‘How to Fail’ and its printed tie-in. However, whilst I loved the premise of a deep dive into friendship, and female friendships in particular, ultimately, ‘Friendaholic’ left me feeling that I had read quite a lot about not very much.
Day’s intelligent, humorous voice comes across loud and clear throughout the book and those who have listened to her podcast will appreciate that this is a good thing. I did enjoy her musings about her childhood friendships and why her experience of unhappy boarding school life may have set her off on a people-pleasing path. However, her exploration of why she needed such a large collection of adult friends who would end up being a drain rather than a pleasure did little more than state the obvious.
It's likely that the sort of person to whom this publication will most appeal is the highly social urban dweller who is beginning to feel exhausted by all their ‘friendship duties’. It takes Day a couple of decades to realise that one’s happiness is not in direct proportion to the number of friends one has. This book lays out her path to discovery and celebrates her enlightenment.
My thanks to NetGalley and Fourth Estate for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

A book about friendship, I was sent a request to read and review this and it would be rude to turn that down.
It is certainly an interesting read. I’m not sure that I’ve ever spent any great length of time analysing my friendships, they just kind of happen. Reading the experiences and thoughts of Elizabeth Day, puts an interesting thought process into being.
An interesting read, although I haven’t come out the end of this with any life-altering thoughts or decisions.
Thanks to NetGalley and 4th Estate for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

This is not my normal genre to read, but enjoyed it all the same. Alot of thinking is some whilst reading it! Thanks of the copy.

Not my normal reading but it's good to have a change and see life from another perspective, I found it an okay read.

Friendaholic is partly autobiographical, a story of life through friendship both good and bad, lasting and not lasting.
Elizabeth Day writes honestly about her need for friendship and what her friends mean to her, whilst describing other friendships in her life from times gone by. She reflects on what makes friendship work whilst considering what happens when friendships come to an end. It is a really truthful account of her life and her friends within it.
I especially enjoyed the parts where others were interviewed about their friendships and their views as well, complimenting Elizabeth’s writing and musings in the book.
Would recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

It's so nice to spend some time thinking in depth about friendship. Day takes a look at the different types of friends she has had (and she has been) over the years in this intimate and honest memoir. Through it all there is a tacit acknowledgement that friendship can be just as complex and powerful and formative as romantic love, with its capacity for joy, beauty and pain.

It is necessarily a very personal take on friendship, and while there were many scenarios I could relate to, there were others in which my values seemed very different. At times it teeters towards self-indulgence, but there is also a sense of realism. I particularly appreciated Day's willingness to delve into the more complex and uncomfortable sides of friendship, such as frenemies and ghosting, and that sometimes ending a friendship, while painful, might be the best thing for both parties.

Friendaholic is a personable and thought-provoking read.