A very interesting reflection on our motives behind our actions in the manner of Malcolm Gladwell. What seems apparent to us has so many meanings behind what we are conscious of, and Montell explores what really goes on when we feel superior, when we feel inferior, when we try to convince ourselves that we are who we want to be. Interviewing scientists as well as laypersons, she finds the motives behind our actions,many of which we are not aware of. Thought-provoking as well as revealing the obvious that often eludes us, this is an engrossing read.

This wasn’t at all what I expected but I still very much enjoyed it. Montell doesn’t pull punches - she goes for the swifties, the Disney adults, and the manifesting queens right from the start. I love Montell’s writing but I found this book to be very cynical. It’s about the brain and biases, but chapter 2 felt especially negative. This book was so much more personal than I expected, but I loved the personal anecdotes. Montell tells about her relationship with her mother, how she met her best friend, and her past abusive relationship. It was so different than her previous books.

4.5 stars! The Age of Magical Overthinking was a fast, fascinating read that captivated me from the first chapter. Ever wondered why you're so drawn to a certain celebrity? Or why you stayed in a toxic relationship or friendship for so long, despite knowing you deserved better? Amanda Montell dives into the answers to all of these questions and more in her exploration of cognitive biases—and how they impact our lives in this modern age. I was familiar with many of the topics discussed, but still found this book really informative and insightful, and learned so much from it! Montell's writing style is witty, readable, and accessible to a wide audience, and she effortlessly balances a more academic, research-oriented tone with stories of her own personal experiences. I think so many readers will be able to enjoy and relate to The Age of Magical Overthinking, and would especially recommend it to anyone interested in psychology (particularly social psychology)! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC, provided in exchange for an honest review.

The Age of Magical Overthinking is a thought-provoking and reader-friendly exploration of different cognitive biases, starting with the halo effect and ending with the IKEA effect. Montell really delivered in The Age of Magical Overthinking, striking the perfect balance between research and personal anecdotes. Even though I knew about some of the cognitive biases discussed in The Age of Magical Overthinking beforehand, Montell pushed me to view things differently, e.g., how the phenomenon of "manifesting" is a conspiracy theory, how the "sunk cost fallacy" drives people to stay in horrible relationships . . . 4.5 stars, rounded up. I have a feeling that this will be *the* book to read in 2024 (like Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion in 2019).

Following her book Cultish Montell continues with her brilliant work as a modern linguist and cultural observer to breakdown different cognitive biases and the role they play in our daily lives.

This book was a little sadder then her previous works, and I don’t mean in a critical way, the entire piece has a sense of doom relating to the several types of Magical Thinking that’s discussed. Amanda gives vulnerably of herself in this one, delving into some very personal details she’s only hinted at during the podcast and previous books. Her anecdotes beautifully illustrate each point and felt relevant.

The Age of Magical Thinking is insightful without being over the top and I would recommend it to anyone.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Publishers for this eARC!

As a psychology lover and fan of both Cultish and its spin off podcast, Sounds Like a Cult, this was the perfect book for me. I read and really enjoyed Cultish in 2022, so getting to read this book ahead of publication was a real treat.

Amanda Montell has a gift for weaving storytelling with fact. I was upset when I got to the end... I could read a 500 page book written by Amanda Montell about cognitive biases and it still wouldn't be enough! This book is great for anyone who wants to understand general human behavior or wants to understand their own. Would 11/10 recommend to anyone. This is nonfiction at its finest! Can't wait to buy the physical copy when it comes out because in addition to the fantastic content in the book, the cover is also stunning.

**ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Raise your hand if you were an AP Psych girlie in the late 2000s ✋🏻 The Age of Magical Overthinking is a great look at the trickery our brains play on us - whether it’s to reinforce our beliefs in the face of obvious proof to the contrary or the value we believe things hold that we made, simply because we are the ones that made them.

Each chapter dives into a different bias or effect, with Montell sharing along the way how she herself falls into each of these. You’ll see yourself in many of the chapters as well, noting how the modern world is warping our brains a bit but hey, our brains have been warped forever so it’s not just you!

If you have any interest in psychology or biases, pick this one up for a read that’s a lot more fun than a textbook.

A timely, compelling read that ventures to explain how our surroundings, social networks, and the Internet are shaping the way we (over and maybe even under) think. This is my first read by this author and I enjoyed her sharp yet vulnerable (and accessible) writing style. The anecdotes beautifully illustrate each point and felt relevant. This is insightful without being preachy and I would recommend it to anyone.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Montell's latest collection of essays uses cognitive biases to make sense of many modern phenomena, and reading it felt like a pat on the shoulder saying: yes, the modern world is making us all a little crazy, and it's explainable, and you're not alone. The combination of irreverent voice with some vulnerability of her own made this a soul-filling read—I'll be excited to return to it over time.

Another Amanda Montell read thoroughly ate up and devoured and I couldn't be more content. I am beyond thankful to One Signal Publishers, Atria, Amanda Montell, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital and physical access to this thought-provoking read before it hits shelves everywhere on April 9, 2024.

The way we, as people, think and overthink nearly every life situation is pertinent to how we live our lives, even if maybe some SSRIs are needed to function. Montell covers nearly every known confirmation bias and way of processing thoughts with real-life examples and stories to help us all feel a tad bit more normal and heard. Passage after passage, I found myself saying "Hey, I do that!" with established gusto. I admire our author's assertive, yet comforting diction and tone and will be consuming more of her art going forward.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this earc. First I want to start off and say I love Amanda Montell so when I so glad I was approved for a copy. This book did not disappoint at all, it's so well written, and I was hooked from start to finish. I will be recommending this book to all my friends.

Another amazing read from Amanda Montell. This one was a little sadder, and I don’t mean in a critical way, just that the entire piece has a sense of melancholy relating to the several types of Magical Thinking that’s discussed. Amanda gives vulnerably of herself in this one, delving into some very personal details she’s only hinted at during the podcast and previous books. This book both explains the Millennial experience and the psychological explanations we’re aware of to give a picture of why our society is dividing deeply into “us” versus “them.” Enjoyable read that did give me some serious thoughts about our world today, and frankly that was the point.

Favorite Quote: We’re living in what they call the ‘information age,’ but life only seems to be making less sense. We’re isolated, listless, burnt out on screens, cutting loved ones out like tumors in the spirit of “boundaries,” failing to understand other people’s choices or even our own.

Synopsis: The term “magical thinking” is the belief that one’s internal thoughts can affect external events. In her latest book, Montell takes magical thinking to its next level: magical overthinking. With so much information bombarding us and accessible with a few taps of our fingers, people are beginning to ascribe their beliefs to external events — which is not always reality. The Age of Magical Overthinking dives into the halo effect (why we revere Taylor Swift and Beyonce so much), survivorship bias (why we think those who die or survive are “meant to”), and the overconfidence bias (the Dunning-Kruger effect: the less of an expert you are, the more confident you proclaim to be on a topic).

Magical thinking has its place: when processing grief or experiencing high stress or even trauma. It helps our brains adapt to situations we are unfamiliar with. However, when it feels like all situations are ones we are unfamiliar with, society has become full of magical overthinkers. People manifesting their way out of diseases, into wealth and fortune, or into relationships.

Why does this book beguile? Amanda Montell delivers complex topics with thoughtful nuance and punchy prose in The Age of Magical Overthinking. If you’ve ever met an “astrology girl” or seen a “health-fluencer” on social media and had questions, this is the book for you. In a straightforward yet delicate way, Montell doesn’t discourage anyone from doing things that work for them or make them happy but seeks to add rationality to an increasingly irrational world to help balance the scales.

An interesting look at various forms of magical thinking- the structure sometimes felt a little all over the place, but overall incredibly interesting.

3.5 I think this is really well written, and definitely has an audience, maybe among new adults or 30 somethings. However, I don’t see it really being useful in a high school courses. It is relevant and of the moment. It does make important points about the danger of a single story and the absurdity of human belief. Good read, just not for my target audience.

I loved Montell’s previous book (Cultish) and I dare say this was even better. In The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell breaks down the various cognitive biases that impact us in our post-COVID, hyper-online world. In “Are You Our Mother, Taylor Swift?”, she examines why we’re led to exalt public figures on a god-like level, and then get angry when they don’t match the impossibly-high pedestal they never asked to stand on in the first place. In “A Toxic Relationship is Just a Cult Of One”, she speaks about how social media makes us value the story of our lives more than the lived experience of it, and why we might invest even *more* energy and time into a situation that isn’t working just to maintain the narrative we’re trying to tell. If you’ve ever felt like the universe sent you a divinely ordained message in the form of a Tiktok tarot reading, felt super confident you can recreate that Pinterest DIY only to end up with a pile of garbage, or repeated a fact you heard without fully knowing if it's true, this book is FOR YOU. And, let’s be real, we’ve all been there.

Montell doesn’t speak about these things from a holier-than-thou, self-help and betterment perspective. She’s candid and genuine in these essays, speaking lots from her own experience. She talks first-hand about having been in a toxic relationship and not being able to leave, about getting sucked into the world of ‘beauty influencers’ and spending all her money on unnecessary products, about having a presence on social media even when she knows how harmful it can be. But she ties these experiences into a well-researched, well-articulated, and relatable piece of writing that perfectly captures our cultural moment, untangling the complicated web of why it feels so hard to just exist as a human being right now.

I read Amanda Montell’s last book Cultish last year. Her voice on the language used by historic and modern day cults was incredibly sharp and valuable. She continues to impress me with this latest. In The Age of Magical Overthinking, she explores the cognitive biases of us humans, markedly in the 21st century,

In her essays, she brings us all over the map of cognitive bias, touching on an array of concepts. Amanda is a very likable narrator. She’s funny, gentle, and very incisive. She invites us to be a little softer with ourselves. It’s a difficult time these days, with so much going on, so much for the mind to sort. She lends us her own mind here, to help us restore some peace.

I hold a lot of respect for Amanda Montell, after Cultish and more so this latest work. I recommend all of her work, including her podcast, and will be waiting patiently for her next book!

This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! This was fascinating from start to finish. This was my first Montell book and I am now planning to read Cultish as soon as I can. This book was so well-articulated and well-researched and I truly enjoyed every moment. Montell has such sharp understanding of current culture, but she doesn’t shy away from personal anecdotes that make this book relatable and often times, hilarious. Near perfect! I will be recommending this to everyone I know.

4.75 - Amanda Montell is back, and she is excellent once again. This book is one of those ones you want to press into the palms of everyone you know and beg them to comb through with a highlighter and an open mind. It massaged my millennial worries and has me excited to exist in 2023, not with the immense anxiety I feel I carry. I loved this one a lot - there was one essay that started to lose me a little, hence my non-perfect 5, but that felt personal and not a reflection of Montell's brilliant wording and careful research. She truly knows how to administer information in a beautiful way.

Sharp and insightful breakdown of a multitude of logical fallacies that we commit on a daily basis. Conversational writing style that is both personal and informative.