The answer is C. Bias.
Bias means favoritism for or against a certain thing or idea. If your friends like the book, that will affect your judgement to whether it truly is a good book or not.
Pick C cuz why not give it a chance and see if you get it right
"mankind was my business"
The answer is the option where it says:
<span>it helps convey how jarring it was for Didion to realize that life in New York City, which she had long imagined as a romantic and exotic place, could be rather ordinary and mundane.</span>
Meaning that people did not support his idea mainly women because they wanted to cycle aw sell. It's like segregation for their gender