I've always struggled with short stories but I managed to enjoy these ones and managed to keep them seperate. I always think they're chapters rather than different stories.

Katherine Heiny is one of my favorite authors and I was delighted and grateful to get an advance copy from NetGalley of her latest book, a collection of short stories, to be published in May 2023 - I honestly could not wait that long to read this! I really enjoyed this collection - not a weak story in the bunch - and particularly enjoyed 561, Pandemic Behavior, and King Midas. These stories in particular had the author's signature touch of creating quirky characters that made me laugh out loud. Definitely recommend this one.

There’s nothing better this time of year (or any other time) than a short story collection. Bite sized fiction, parceled in morsels to be savored slowly. To find out the author is local is whipped cream on the sundae.

But if there’s a back catalogue you didn’t know and the author references places you’ve actually been because they live in the same county - that’s the cherry on top!

This collection of eleven stories from Katherine Heiny runs the gamuts of topics. Most take place in my home state of Maryland. It has that Upper East Coast diction and pacing.

My favorite story in the collection is the first one, “Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented” about everyone’s favorite place - the Department of Motor Vehicles. Talk about a window into society! There are four different driving instructors and the story relays details about each one and their clients through first person (but still distanced) observations.

That’s the thing that reverberates through the entire collection - the detail in all the observations. I found myself notating sentence after sentence, shocked at how Heiny makes the ordinary and mundane come to life.

Some of these are about people aren’t exactly likeable, There’s Conrad from the title story who does his girlfriend dirty without really saying anything until the very end. Or Fawn from the last story “Sky Bar” a REALLY unlikable woman in an airport bar at night (actually there really isn’t anyone in that entire story I liked).

The stories I didn’t like as much most dealt with the fallout of the pandemic. In my opinion there isn’t yet enough time to really reflect on lockdowns, and barely even enough time to process. Then again, reactions aren’t always logical or reflective.

I really enjoyed this collection and plan to read part of her back catalogue soon. Much support local artists, after all!

Thank you #Netgalley!

Wow this book had so many interesting stories. Some made me angry, some anxious, some sad, it really caught all my emotions. I found myself wanting more of some of them! Good option when you only a have a few minutes and can just read one story then the next time move on to the next. Though they are short stories, they are full of details, conversation and honesty; I would think I know what would happen next, then be caught off guard with the resolution.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
Do you love angry sad girl short stories? Do you love character studies?

Pre-reading:
I usually love short story collections.

Thick of it:
It's always a good time when a book opens with Bundy.

My driving school took us through Dunks.

This book is lovely. It reminds me of Anxious People.

God damn, listening is sexy.

Oh fuck, is she pregnant?

Oh, she’s def pregnant.

Sometimes I wonder if men pick up as quickly as women do reading these books. Like what do men pick up on emotionally in books before women do?

Spicy. 👀

OK, don’t turn me off fish. I genuinely love salmon Caesar salad. But like bestie, she’s pregnant.

Oh god, Seraphina why? Also, Barbie’s Princess and the Pauper has ruined the name, Serafina for me forever.

Colette will be a good mother.

But fuck me, I want more. Whole Colette book. Love Colette. 5/5

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I love a book that works your vocabulary in an interesting, precise way and not in an obnoxious look the author knows big words way.

I wish one of my relatives knit blankets like that. They’re so trendy now.

Cheeky little Covid reference.

Oh god, is she dying? (No?)

Mia’s mom sounds like an absolute gem, and Mia kinda sounds like an ungrateful shit.

It’s literally always the gym coaches and the History and English teachers. Why is it only those ones? Music teachers too.

Although I feel bad for calling her an ungrateful little shit with all the trauma, I’m also like why did it start? Like what was the trauma before this that triggered all this behavior? Is it just the dead dad? Because get it together, babe.

Mia, what the fuck? Child. Also 5 pounds of ground beef? What is wrong with you? You were just projecting onto your mother for buying unnecessary, expensive things, but at least y’all like the things she bought.

I remember having Mono. It really sucked.

Fentanyl again. Why is this drug everywhere?

This author is going on my auto-read list. She does such wonderful character pieces. 4/5

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Fuck her dad.

What excellent side characters. 5/5

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Fuck cheaters.
5/5

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This book is starting to depress me with how bleak things are for women. But that’s not the book’s fault. That’s just how things are.

Oh, with all the daddy issues I should’ve called horse girl, but oh how I love our ilk. I feel like writer horse girls- the literary ones- make such unique, aesthetic visual observations.

I can’t tell if there’s a grammar error making me not understand the line, or if the line just doesn’t make sense.

Meh, don’t like this one as much. 3/5

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Also meh on this one. Speak up. If you don’t like something. 3/5

———————
Détente. Is a new word.

Horse girls.

4/5 because I see no reason why either of these women were/are with Forrest.

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Very relatable. 4/5

———————-
Oh god, people who treat the idea or suggestion of plans as if they’re set in stone and scheduled right there and then are the worst.

Yeah, that is really weird how we never interact with our friends’ fathers.

I adore Lita boots. Bring them back.

I kept waiting this whole story for her to say that the friend had died. This one has Sally Rooney vibes. 4/5

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I love when women talk about clothes in books. We’re so romantic about it.

I’d like pictures like that.

Fuck cheaters. 3/5

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Tonsure is a new word. But like hold up, he’s got what kind of hairstyle?

I would go insane living at that temperature.

Meh, what a bitter story to end on. 3/5

Post-reading:
The early stories are the best. This author is going on my auto-read list. I feel like this isn’t getting 5 stars because the last few stories really soured the magic of this collection for me-that whole recency effect. But if you like these kinds of short story collections, read this. It’s great. Again kinda niche audience to properly appreciate these. Calls for middle-class white girls with depression and anxiety and ennui, but I’m so firmly in that category and I enjoy 90% of the books that cater to that.

Who should read this:
Short story fans
Character study fans
Angry sad girls

Do I want to reread this:
Yes

Similar books:
* You Have a Friend in 10A: Stories by Maggie Shipstead angry sad girl, feminist short stories
* Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado-dark, feminist short stories
* My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh-angry sad girl book
* Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney-problematic characters vibing through life
* Anxious People by Fredrik Backman-quirky, ensemble cast of character development
* Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link-dark short stories
* Bad Thoughts by Nada Alic-short story collection with problematic messaging and characters

Some nice short stories. I quite like reading about life during the pandemic. Reading it as fiction makes it seem less real it seems.
Thanks to the publisher for this ARC!

I was a little disappointed this was a book of stories rather than a novel but the stories themselves didn't disappoint. I do prefer when she writes from the woman's standpoint rather than a man's...nearly every story from a male point of view had someone holding things like a breast. It was a little odd. Does anyone really think that way when they see someone hold like an egg? But her stories are always about people I feel like I would actually know and quite possibly like which is a relief. There are only so many books about very glossy people or very disturbed people one needs to read in a year.

As with most short story collections, I enjoyed some more than others. My favorites were Twist and Shout, 561, and Pandemic Behavior.

Thank you for this ARC! I just love everything Katherine Heiny has done and this is no exception. This collection of short stories is beautiful, funny and engaging. All the characters were flawed and complex and I was invested in every one of them. The plots were simple and complex at the same time and all were relatable. I could not put this book down and did not want it to end. So thankful I got to enjoy an early reading of it.

I adore Katherine Heiny - she is one of my most favorite contemporary authors, and I have loved everything she's done as of yet. I can't wait to read what comes next! 10/10!

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. Will recommend it to everyone I know!

I really enjoyed the stories in this book by Heiny. I found them to be a mix of humor and on the more serious side. There were an entire cast of characters that had me thinking about them after the story ended and the next began. I thank NetGalley for the advanced copy of this collection for the purpose of this review. I'm giving it four stars.

Thanks for NetGalley for the advanced copy of Games and Rituals.

This is a wonderful slice of life short story collection! I love Katherine Heiny's short story collections even more than her novels (and I love those too!). This is an easy to read collection of stories that follow different people as they nagivate life - mostly through relationship issues, but in a smart and fun way. Definitely for lovers of Single, Carefree and Mellow, as well as Curtis Sittenfeld, who I feel is the most similar author/writing style.

There was not one story that I didn't enjoy, which is rare in short story collections.

Highly recommended!

I absolutely loved this short story collection!

I've never read anything from Katherine Heiny before, but I definitely want to read her previous work. Her writing style is quirky, sentimental, fun, and dripping with sarcasm. I just found her prose so refreshing and relatable. The best story was "561" (broke my heart), and I think my favorite story was "Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented" (great twist ending). Overall, I really enjoyed all 11 stories. Short stories are so underrated. "Twist and Shout" had me cracking up, and "Sky Bar" felt so raw and unflinching. I didn't want this collection to end. Highly recommended!

Thank you, Netgalley and Knopf for the digital ARC.

These stories are filled with delightful, funny characters that made me laugh out loud. I didn’t want this book to end, Katherine Heiny is such good company. She explores relationships with deft dialogue and descriptions. This book is not to be missed and would be a wonderful goft!

As a big fan of Katherine Heiny's work and of short stories in general, I was thrilled to receive this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review! GAMES AND RITUALS is a delightful, funny, thought-provoking collection of stories. Many of the characters in Heiny's stories are unique, odd characters with charm and funny quirks. I found myself laughing out loud at some stories, and personally relating to others. A few stories mention or touch on COVID-19, in a topical, relevant way. Others cover the mundane - waiting in an airport as your flight is canceled, working at the DMV - but bring life and humor to these moments.

I would strongly recommend this collection, particularly to fans of Heiny's other work!

Games and Rituals by @katherineheiny is a highly entertaining, hilarious, honest, and brutal read. These stories range from hilarious to quite sad - centering on marriage, parenthood, mortality, infidelity, grief, and growing up and moving on. From accidentally eating a hearing aid that looked like cashew to getting drunk in your hometown's airport bar with people you’ve just met, you’ll surely find something to smile and laugh out loud about in this book! I hoped we would revisit some characters, but that sadly didn’t happen. However, it doesn’t change how I felt about the book, though, because I loved it either way! There are some pretty intense trigger warnings in this book, such as death, EDs, suicide, and abortion. These stories seemed similar to Heiny’s previous novel, Early Morning Riser, while also being completely different. Games and Rituals is set to be published on April 18, 2023! So please keep this on your radar! 🥰

Fucking FUNNY. The author's humor is subversive and hard to pinpoint, but at the same time straightforward, hitting you directly like cold winter air to face in the early morning.

Each story features a character that you've encountered in real life, but never really thought about — DMV driving examiner, ex-stoner, man having a half hearted affair — and explores their corner of life. Oftentimes more than not, it's a miserable existence they lead, due to something in the past holding them back: a betrayal they committed, a past self they've tried so hard to escape.

I loved the experience of reading this collection. If I had one thing to say it would be that some of the stories came across too strongly and left nothing for implication. But all around solid!

This is a stories collection about human bonds and unexpected connections. A group of test drivers, a couple and an ex-wife, a group of people in an airport, and a bridesmaid with the bride's father. All these relationships take on new meaning thanks to KH's insightful and intelligent prose. Humor and sadness make their appearance where one least expects it and they are both so effective.
All the stories, even the most random ones, are full of elements that allow the reader to quickly identify with either the narrator or one of his characters. The author knows human nature perfectly and that is clearly reflected in the way these characters relate with each other so organically.
I loved the narrative, the different settings, the conflicts, and the conversational writing style that adds intimacy to each story.
I haven't read any of her previous books but I know I will soon.
Thank you publishers for giving me the early access to this wonderful book.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is unlike anything I have ever read before. Games & Rituals is a collection of short stories, each revolving around a different person and their life. I've never read a short story collection before but now I need some more recs!

My favorite part has to be the writing styles. Each story has a writing style that adds to the narrative. It also breaks up the stories and adds distinction. This was super helpful for my goldfish brain.

The lessons aren't overtly obvious, but there is definitely advice throughout the book. When I read through I just thought the characters and their lives were interesting, but as I thought back I realized how useful some of the stories can be. I began thinking about my relationship with my parents and what I want out of my future, reflected on the beginning of the pandemic and assessed my views on love.

This is a beautiful book. I will definitely be reading the rest if Heiny's works.