This was a very okay collection of stories. Some stories I loved and the rest either felt incomplete or were forgettable. I read Heiny's Early Morning Riser pretty recently and I liked how she wrote the characters and how she can turn mundane human lives into a compelling story. Although, the way she describes how other people look (people of different sizes, races, or just different in general) felt unnecessary and came off really weird to me. I was hoping that Games and Rituals was different and turns out it isn't. The writing is still okay overall and I still enjoy the mundaneness.

This is a beautifully written collection of short stories -- I found everyone to be a winner! That is rare for me to like every single story in this collection but I did. The author was able to effectively embody different characters - mothers, single women, daughters of and elderly father, mistress (turned wife). All of them had some level of humor and I laughed a lot at the story of a wife using the Marie Kondo method on her house and her life. The author is able to capture the essence of each character in a few pages and that is why this is such powerful writing. I definitely look forward to reading more of her work. I highly recommend these stories.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an ARC and I left an honest review voluntarily.

w o w. Katherine Heiny really knows how to write intricate, detailed characters in just a few pages. Reading these stories is like opening a window in the mind of your fellow train passengers, and you get a glimpse of their daily lives outside of that train. Incredibly vivid, credible stories of actual people.

There were more depictions of infedelity in here than I am comfortable reading about, but even those are written with a nuance from several perspectives that it is nothing short of (pun intended) a great collection of stories.

Here are some thoughts on the individual stories:

Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented
I swear my driving instructor also always let me drive through the McDrive for a coffee and a McEgg!!! Incredibly realistic.

Damascus
A tale as old as Damascus, of parent trying to prevent kid from making the same mistakes as her.

Twist and Shout
Buckets of tears. Incredible writing, and an incredibly painful but all too recognizable depiction of a father-daughter relationship.

Turn Back, Turn Back
Hauntingly depressing. A fairytale nightmare I felt chilled by.

Games and Rituals
I love how life actually is a series of games and rituals, and this was the 'holding up a painfully accurate mirror game'.

CobRa
Probably my favourite tale, as this is exactly what I hope the love of my life will come to realize after a marriage that long too!! (Though I hope not to be as sexless OR ever threaten to get rid of books. Horrible perimenopausal woman.)

561
ANOTHER FUCKING NIGHTMARE, but then from the perspective of the nightmare herself. I never hope to be such a vindictive bitch but I can totally see why Barbara sticks to the 561 nickname.

Pandemic Behaviour
A relatable fucking pandamic tale if I ever saw one.

Bridesmaid, Revisited
This might be my favourite too. She did Rhonda dirty but I am here for it. Hilarious.

King Midas
Ugh, Oscar is the worst.

Sky Bar
Surprisingly funny with a hint of desperation. Enjoyable story to conclude the collection!

All of the short stories in Games and Rituals are winners - there's not a bad one in the bunch, which is highly unusual for me. What I loved about each short story was that I was satisfied with the length and the character development in each one. And I appreciate that I was immediately able to identify the thread of games and rituals in various relationships that carry through in each story. Early Morning Riser has been on my TBR since it was published, so I can't wait to dig into it now!

Ya’ll why aren’t more people talking about this book?! It’s so good! It’s a collection of short stories. I don’t usually love short story collections because I find myself wanting more from the characters in each story, and then I find it jarring to just switch gears to knew characters and situations. And while that was true to some extent with this (I wanted MORE from almost all of the characters) I ended up loving each story so much that I was simply delighted to see what each new story was going to bring. These characters are flawed and stumbling through their days just like the rest of us. And, these stories are funny, empathetic, and kind, and they get right to the heart of how life can be both messy and incredibly mundane all the same time.

Did I mention that it’s funny? Funny in the same way it’s funny when you leave your house and realize your still wearing your slippers. Or, funny like all those times you tried to brew a cup of coffee in the morning but forgot to put the coffee pod in the machine and just ended up with a steaming mug of light brown hot water (or is that just me?).

Go buy this, or borrow it from the library, or do whatever you have to do to get it into your hands. And then come back here and talk to me about it. If you’ve already read it, or if you end up reading it, tell me…which was your favorite story?

(Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

3.5 stars. This was a book of eleven short stories with different themes of love, friendship, family and other complicated aspects of life. There were some stories I really enjoyed and others that fell flat. There were many stories that I wanted to know more or that deserved its own 300 page book. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received this from Net Galley and I'm so thankful. I loved this collection of stories that were funny and touching. She captures what real life sometimes feels like.

I am a fan of Katherine Heiny and enjoy her style of writing. Games and Rituals does not disappoint! An anthology of short stories that are funny, witty, poignant, and real. A rare collection in that I loved each and every one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

I absolutely adored Katherine Heiny's book "Early Morning Riser," so I was excited to get this ARC of short stories. I unfortunately did not enjoy this book. It started out fine and then became a total disappointment for me. The stories were random, but the subject matter surrounded things that just didn't hit the mark for me. (Abortion, drug use, affairs, etc.)

I am so bummed! I will still keep this author on my watch list because the last book I read of hers was a true gem

2.5 stars.

Games and Rituals was an incredible story collection. The stories were funny but also poignant. I loved her writing style of really digging deep into characters. Every character had some kind of flaw, but that also made them more interesting and relatable.
My favorites were "Twist and Shout," about the frustrations of caring for an elderly father, and "Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented" a character study of DMV driving test examiners.
I certainly will be checking out Heiny's recent novel, Early Morning Riser!

🪥Games and Rituals🪥

A belated happy pub day to Games and Rituals (out 4/18)!

This was a sweet short story collection that follows people through the prosaic day-to-day life.

This was a cute, quick read! Many of the stories were a little quirky, but relatable. I enjoyed a few more than others: Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented, 561, Sky Bar and Pandemic Behavior. I like the idea of short stories, so I keep picking them up, but I also struggle with not fully getting to know each character.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for this eARC! Games and Rituals is out now!

Katherine Heiny is one of my favorite authors and she did not disappoint with this short story collection! Heiny's writing is witty, smart, and she treats her characters with care. While this book isn't light, her characters are each dealing with difficult things, Heiny has a way of bring levity to her writing and making me actually laugh out loud. I loved this short story collection and could not stop turning the pages! This is perfect for readers who are interested in trying a short story collection, fans of Laurie Colwin, or want to explore literary fiction that feels accessible.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for gifting me a digital copy of the new short story collection by Katherine Heiny - 5 stars!

I typically am not a huge fan of short stories but absolutely loved this collection involving all things human, told with a sense of humor and love. I think there's a story here that everyone will relate to. My favorite was Twist and Shout, the story of a woman dealing with her elderly father. I also loved Damascus, dealing with parenthood, and Chicken Flavoured and Lemon Scented, a hilarious look at driving test examiners. 561 is the story of exes still being somewhat involved in each others' lives and had a very poignant side story. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for an eARC of this short story collection in exchange for an honest review.

Having never previously read any of Heiny's work, and though I'm not usually a fan of short story collections, I was pleasantly surprised by the original and poignant stories. Each story had the perfect blend of humour and meaning - although I did have some favourites, and some that were simply okay for me. Each story contained a different aspect, experience and take on life with some that left me wanting to follow the characters past the ending, and with some sufficiently resolved.

My favourites, in no particular order, were:
- Twist and Shout
- Turn Back, Turn Back
- 561
- Sky Bar
(Special mention to Pandemic Behavior for being SO relatable)

Absolutely LOVED this one! Book of the summer for sure. Highly recommend. Could see it being book club picks.

I wanted to read Games and Rituals because I enjoyed Heiny’s writing in her novel Early Morning Riser and I was drawn to this cover.

Games and Rituals is one of the most enjoyable short story collections I have read. I highly recommend this collection of tender and, at times, humorous stories of personhood.

If I had to choose a favorite, I would choose the first story “Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented” (the title alone had my attention). The clever and relatable “CobRa'' story also stands out in my mind and makes me smile. I truly liked each story and wanted to keep reading.

I found the stories poignant and thoughtful, but still light and pleasing. The stories capture day-to-day human behaviors and stages of life and regrets.

This review is posted on Instagram and Facebook @beginandendwithbooks and Goodreads Michelle Beginandendwithbooks

Games and Rituals is a compilation of interesting, humorous, and emotional short stories. I actually really enjoy short stories because they can be a nice break after reading a big emotional book. They aren't long enough to get super attached to the characters or stories but just long enough to keep you interested until the end. With 11 stories in total it's difficult to summarize but each were unique and I enjoyed them in their own way! I highly recommend it you enjoy short stories and quick reads. I think this would be perfect to bring along while traveling.

Thank you to @netgalley and @aaknopf for allowing me access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny is a unique collection of stories about love that feature fascinating characters. The stories are not connected, but Heiny takes each plot and makes the ordinary extraordinary. The collection begins with Colette and her coworkers who are driving examiners. . Heiny's compassion and humor give the reader an insightful look into Colette's life at work and home. Each story is spellbinding, and although short in length, very well developed. Games and Rituals is an entertaining and thought provoking collection. I look forward to reading whatever Heiny writes next.

GAMES AND RITUALS
Katherine Heiny

More than a book about infidelity GAMES AND RITUALS by Katherine Heiny is out today where books are sold.

Most of the stories in the book are observational and affirmative in nature. There is a story about how much we drank during the pandemic (PANDEMIC BEHAVIOR), a story about DMV employees every driver can relate to (CHICKEN FLAVORED AND LEMON SCENTED) (one of my favorites), and even a story about being organized out of your life by your partner (COBRA).

Overwhelmingly this short story collection is about infidelity. Infidelity is discussed and explored in more than half of the stories featured in this collection. The book is called GAMES AND RITUALS and its namesake story is about the relationship games people play.

Although infidelity is discussed at length, going beyond that, the theme running throughout the stories is grief. Namely, an exploration of grieving how things are different from how you thought they would be, different than you planned them to be, and different than you wish they were.

It’s an exploration of the million little deaths we die every day. Everyday deaths and moments of loss that we move through as time eventually passes.

If you read GAMES AND RITUALS, come back and tell me your favorite story.

It’s out today and the audiobook version was an additional enjoyment.

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Random House Audio, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the advanced copies!

GAMES AND RITUALS...⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I just loved this book of short stories. Katherine Heiny has the ability to give you an understanding of fully-formed, complex characters in just a few lines, so her stories feel rich and full and complete. She deftly walks the line between light humor and depth and I just love her writing style. I adored her novel Standard Deviation, and I will be reading the other books in her backlist asap!