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Games and Rituals

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Member Reviews

Games and Rituals was a quick and thought provoking read for me. Some of these stories resonated with me more than others so I think each reader should dive in and decide for themselves. There's something for everyone!

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Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny is a short book of short stories, eleven of them to be precise. They are all well written and interesting, and several had themes to which I could relate, but one stood out from the others to me and really grabbed my attention. I laughed out loud several times throughout my reading it. The stories are mostly trivial about trivial things, but are amusing entertaining in the way they are told.

Many of the stories deal with mundane life issues with which I could often relate, but none more so than the one entitled “Pandemic Behavior.” This story brought back vivid memories of the start of the Covid pandemic and ensuing lockdowns and the behaviors apparently adopted by many, including me, to try to spare ourselves from the worst possible outcomes. I also related to and sympathized with the narrator in this story, who suffers severe and frequent migraines.

I saw a small piece of myself in the story “Damascus,” in which the mother of a teenage son recalls her own teenage drug use and suspects perhaps her son has begun to follow in her footsteps. In “Twist and Shout” I related to the narrator’s frustration with her elderly father’s ultra conservatism and to his watching and listening only to Fox News all day. Fortunately for me, my mother and the rest of my family have the same outlook on current issues as I do, but the woman’s elderly father unfortunately resembles my mother’s boyfriend much too closely.

“Turn Back, Turn Back” struck much too close to home, and the eponymous story “Games and Rituals” is just plain interesting; it’s structure is clever and unique and different from the rest.. To me, however, the most outstanding story in the bunch is “CobRa,” to which I laughed out loud throughout. I was disappointed that more of the stories in this collection weren’t nearly as funny, since Ms. Heiny’s previous works, two novels and another book of short stories, have been called uproarious, "crucially, very funny" (The New York Times,) and “laugh-out-loud funny” (NPR.)

I am grateful to NetGalley, Ms. Heiny, and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage , and Anchor for giving me a free, advanced, reader’s copy of Games and Rituals. My review of this book is completely VOLUNTARY.

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I loved this short story collection! Each one contained quirky characters and I couldn’t contain my excitement as I started each story to see what characters I would meet next. I felt all the stories were equally written which is often uncommon in short stories. Highly recommend and I can’t wait to read more of Katherine Heiny’s works.

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I liked the premises of pretty much all of the stories but I didn't think any of them followed through 100%. I feel like I needed more from each story-- more explanation behind the choices and attitudes of the characters. But I still enjoyed it.

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Some stories were better than others. Katherine Heiny has a distinct writing voice; her writing is funny and smart. I wanted some of the stories to be more fully developed

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What a fun collection of short stories! Some of them made me think, some of them made me giggle. Overall an enjoyable book!

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3.5 stars

I enjoyed this collection of stories. Bridesmaid, Revisted, King Midas and Damascus were my favorites. Katherine Heiny writes in a way that pulls back the curtain on her characters' private thoughts, which I found entertaining and sometimes scandalous. I liked that the stories were filled with everyday happenings, yet focused on the main character's reaction and interpretation of the events. Sometimes the characters were unlikable, or I lost interest in a few stories. Overall, I really liked this collection!

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Really enjoyed this. Very original stories. There were some hits and misses, but overall the they were memorable, fun, thought-provoking and entertaining. Would love to read more from this author and I hope she is as good a writer of longer stories.

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I’m not a huge fan of short stories normally but these were just exquisite. How this author managed to tell a tale about these flawed characters in so little pages was astounding. My favourite type of characters are the flawed ones going through fairly normal aspects of life and this was it. Loved it, going out to buy all her other books immediately..

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I loved Early Morning Riser and although I don't normally read short stories - my mind is changed as long as Katherine Heiny is the author. I enjoy her wit and humor and writing style.

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I really enjoyed Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny, so I was glad to receive a copy of Games and Rituals. This is a lovely short story collection, and it's really hard to write a short story. My favorites of the collection were "Chicken-Flavored and Lemon Scented" and "Sky Bar."

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

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I’m not usually a big fan of short stories, but did enjoy this collection. I liked all of the stories but didn’t absolutely love any of the
.

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I have to admit that I only made it through a couple of stories in this collection. They were fine, but also didn't really push me to keep going. Because I only read portions of this book, I chose not to share it on social media.

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I have read all of Katherine Heiney's short stories and novels. I find her wriitng hilarious and love the characters and situations she creates.

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A charming battery of stories of all different moods. I really enjoyed the sheer normal, messy humanity of it. I was charmed for almost all the stories. Would read more by this author.

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Katherine Heiny, where have you been all my reading life? Right under my nose, that’s where. I just never thought to give you a read.

Heiny’s first-ever collection of short stories, "Games and Rituals," spoke to me. Comprised of eleven stories all about love – whether it be romantic, familial, or platonic – there’s not a bad one in the bunch.

Each story is a current snapshot of a character’s life. Clearly there’s been life messiness before the stories begin, with more to come after they end, but Heiny doesn’t concern herself with that. She writes about the now.

And the snapshots she gives us are all relatable situations starring normal, everyday people. I saw something of myself in every story; a small part of me understood each character. Plus, I couldn’t get enough of Heiny’s tongue-in-cheek style of storytelling. There’s a slyness to her writing, a wry humor and warmth to it, and I was drawn to it like a moth to a literary flame.

It’s difficult to pick my favorites from the collection because, again, all the stories are fantastic. But since my arm is twisted …

"Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented," where a driving examiner finds herself in a similar situation as one of her test-takers.

"Damascus," where a mother worries about her teenage son making the same mistakes as she did.

"Turn Back, Turn Back," where a wife learns something about her husband.

"Bridesmaid, Revisited," where a woman wears an old bridesmaid dress and recalls memories she’d rather stay buried.

I haven’t read many short story collections this year, but of the few I've read, "Games and Rituals" is one of the best. Heiny's way with the mundane is just so damn good.


My sincerest appreciation to Katherine Heiny, Knopf, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

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Katherine Heiny is a phenomenal writer. Games and Rituals is comprised of multiple short stories with characters that feel real and mundane (in a relatable good way).
With each chapter beginning a new story, Games and Rituals was a rollercoaster of emotions, with some chapters being reflective and others simply highlighting the humorous nature of human behaviour.
None of the short stories felt overlapping and had distinct storytelling and world building that really showcases Katherine Heiny’s talent in writing.
Would recommend this book to anyone that’s in a reading slump or just needs a change in pace from their normal reads.

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Games and Rituals is a collection of short stories. The stories each had their own interesting set ups and cast of characters. In one, we find out about a cheating spouse all through telling a bedtime story to their child. In another, a mother's son is making some pretty big mistakes, so it seems, but is he really? Most of them were fairly enjoyable and none of them were too long.

Overall, this wasn't necessarily my type of book, but I can see it being wonderful for people who tend to like short stories. I just kept finding myself wanting more out of each story and wanting to know what happened next. That's just my personality.

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I've read several Katherine Heiny books but this one might be my favorite. I always think that I am not a short story person...until I read a book of perfectly written short stories and I have to rethink this idea! Fast and enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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really did enjoy this book a lot i love the short stories and find that those kinds of books hold my attention a lot more

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