My first encounter with Aiden Arata's work was her TikTok "Guided meditation: you are under the mist machines in the produce aisle." I enjoy the hyperspecificity of her online presence and was excited to see what she would do with a full book. At one point in the book, she talks about the challenge of talking about serious topics like depression online: "You think maybe the only way to talk about anything is to circle it." However, she spends most of her book doing exactly that: circling around issues instead of talking about them directly, and getting distracted from her own ideas instead of seeing them through. My favorite essay from this collection was about her experience of falling in love with her now spouse and being surprised by the strength and depth of her own emotions, which makes me think that Aiden is a skilled writer when she can commit to her ideas and give herself long enough to cook. Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Arata, and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read this title! I had to take my time with this one, but it was so unique and smart, capturing an Internet era that continues to transform and change the way we connect with one another. The writing style lost me at times, but I pushed on and was rewarded. I am not actually familiar with Arata's online presence, so this book was my first introduction to her. I wonder if it would have been more satisfying had I known about her beforehand. I'm looking forward to recommending this to patrons!

This reads like my own internal monologue and somehow balances the overwhelming despair of caring with existing as a woman on the internet. I love essays and I love living and I think this book just found me at the exact moment it needed to. I cannot wait to see what she does next, and I'll be reading whatever it is.

I admittedly had no idea who Aiden Arata was picking up this book. I fell in love with the cover first, concept next, and the Phoebe Bridgers cover blurb had me sold. I was captivated by Arata's essays of life online and her writing style. There was a level of chaotic stream of conscious that made it enjoyable only in small bursts, but honestly that gave time to really sit with Arata's words. Some of the essays were less global and more memoir, but I did find most of them quite worth while. This is another book that took a while to get through, since not every day are you ready to tackle such topics.

Thank you Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this eArc!

Aiden Arata’s "You Have a New Memory" is less a book of essays and more a curated download of what it feels like to be alive (and online) in the new and old ages of the internet. Her writing is concise yet metaphorical, sometimes... slippery, but always emotionally precise.

The early essays were the true stand-outs of the collection: “America Online” captures the unease of digital connection with eerie clarity, “What’s Meant For You Won’t Miss” pulses with low-key grief, and “The Museum of Who I Want To Be For You” is both cutting and tender. Arata doesn’t just describe feelings- she builds spaces for them, especially the ones that glitch or loop. The collection’s second half wanders more inward, less immediate, but the shift feels intentional: a kind of slow log-off a la Homer Simpson fading into the bushes.

The final pages don’t promise clarity; more like a tentative truce or coexistence with the fog. This book won’t hold your hand; but it will call-to-light the weird little ache of wanting to be SEEN in a world that is always watching.

Lucy Dacus said it best- Arata belongs in the lineage of Didion and Babitz.

"You Have a New Memory" drops tomorrow 7/22/25. Thank you to Netgalley & Grand Central Publishing for the ARC.

I didn't know Aiden Arata and her work before coming across this book, but I was immediately intrigued by this essay collection's description. I love to read about media, online culture, and identity in the digital age, so You Have a New Memory was right up my alley. Arata digs into influencers and niche content creators, meme culture and the language of the internet, how we exist and slide between online and off, and more. Like many essay collections, this is somewhat uneven, and the writing can be dense or abstract, but Arata's thoughtful examination of this specific age of the internet effectively captures online life and culture with the eyes of someone who really knows it.

hmmm, these essays were pretty solid! some hit harder than others, which is to be expected,d but the collection overall flowed really cohesively. I love writing that explores the modern age of social media and human connection, and while this collection was more personal than I expected, I thought it all tied together nicely and I related to a lot of Arata's reflections. sits somewhere around 3.5 to me, rounded down~

This wasn’t for me. The only essay I enjoyed was the first one and after that, they all fell a little flat. Although relatable in some parts, I just wasn’t connecting with the writing.

you have a new memory is for the girlies. not girlies in the gendered sense, but in the spiritual one. the chronically online, meme-fluent, a little-too-self-aware crew who grew up feral on fanfic forums and somehow ended up trying to live intentionally without logging off. this is a book of essays that doesn't pretend to offer answers, it simply tries to trace the digital mess of how we got here.

the collection is strongest when it lingers in the personal. two standouts: "how to do the right thing", an essay about the aftermath of a sexual assault, and how survivors often pay more than perpetrators ever will. it's brutal, brilliant, and incredibly necessary. the second, "an endless sound loop", reads like fiction - an ethically non-monogamous love story that unfolds like magic, reminding you that sometimes people find each other in the blur, and it matters. these essays cracked something open for me.

other pieces, like "america online" and "in real life", channel that early internet nostalgia, the chaos, the freedom, the AIM away messages and sex via lord of the rings characters. it made me miss the lawless world we came from. "pink skies over the empire" and "on vibing" take aim at what replaced it: a performative, flattened internet full of influencers, trend cycles, and 'vibes' that have replaced real thought. vibes, arata argues, are just soma. distraction. curated numbness. this might be one of the most biting critiques of modern culture i've read recently, especially because it's coming from someone inside the machine.

the voice throughout is sharp, funny, observant. but what sets this book apart is its refusal to claim superiority. there’s no 'i’m not like the other girls' here. it's more like, 'we are all the same girl, and isn't that kind of beautiful and terrifying?' i felt deeply seen by that. the self-aware influencer, the nihilistic consumer, the person who orders something stupid off ebay to fill a void that can't be named - yeah. guilty. and 'my year of earning and spending' spells it out without judgment. it just holds up a mirror.

not every essay hits the same. 'what's meant for you won't miss' and 'the museum of who i want to be for you' skew more fragmented, sometimes losing their emotional thread. but even then, there's value in the collage, an inventory of modern girlhood, commodified identity, doomscroll culture, and the contradictions we hold between our thumbs.

the final essay, 'it ends and it ends and it ends (on glory)', brings the collection full circle. what do we owe the future? what's the point of trying to be remembered if we never really lived? aiden arata doesn't promise hope, but she reminds us that meaning is made, not found.

if you live online, grew up too fast, miss the old internet, and want to feel something about all of it, this book is for you. it's messy. it's sincere. it's a glitchy love letter to the world we're trying to survive.

Much more personal and ramble-ly than I expected. I expected a more cut and dry inspection of the social media age. Probably more interesting if you’re familiar with the author, but I’m not.

I feel like Arata's debut is a tour de force that captures the zeitgeist of our digital age. The stream of consciousness style is exhilarating, offering readers a visceral experience that mirrors the frenetic nature of the online world. This approach provides deep insights into the modern consciousness.

Arata's talent shines through in her powerful command of language. Her ability to weave complex ideas with accessible prose is truly a joy to read. The author's unique voice – at once witty, incisive, and deeply reflective – brings a fresh perspective to a critique of internet culture. It's a must-read for anyone seeking to make sense of their relationship with technology and the internet in the 21st century.

i had no clue who Aiden Arata was before reading this and was really blown away by how interesting and well developed the writing was.

beautifully—there's a dreamlike, dense quality to her prose that pulled me in but also made me pause often to fully absorb it. Lately, I've noticed this with essay collections in general for me: last year, I devoured them easily, but this year, it's been more of a slow vibe.

This collection explores the strange tenderness and anxiety of being young and online today, touching on meme culture, stay-at-home girlfriend content, emotional commodification, and the often-blurry line between online and offline existence. Arata captures the contradictions of digital life with sharp insight and vulnerability.

There were times I felt like I was almost drowning in the language—getting lost in the current before resurfacing with a new thought or a new feeling. But honestly, that feels fitting for a book about living through the internet's strange tides. If you're looking for a collection that mirrors the disorienting, beautiful mess of modern online life, this is one to sit with slowly.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy!!!!!!

Drawn in by the title and the cover, YOU HAVE A NEW MEMORY ended up not being what I expected. I was not familiar with Aiden Arata before cracking this open and unfortunately, I don't feel like I know her anymore after reading. I was excited about reading a nuanced and emotionally intellectual social media criticism (you can take the media studies major out of grad school but etc etc), but instead it was a bit of a messy memoir that felt all over the place and offered no substantial insight. This may work for others, but the detached quality without any interesting critiques just made this a flop for me.

interesting and nostalgic reflections on the advent of the internet age; the monastery essay was my favorite, even though i don't know if i understand the purpose of that journey, unless it was solely to write about it later. i wish that everyone could be more present and vulnerable with each other but we also all live on the internet.

Holy cow. This was an uncomfortable read for me, due to the stream of consciousness style of writing. However, I think it will appeal to the readers it is meant to--those who have grown up extremely online in a very specific time of technological history. The descriptions of platforms that had their heyday in the past--AIM, Live journal, Myspace, etc.--are authentic.

Really interesting almost stream-of-consciousness reflections that all make sense together somehow. The format being the point of the fragmented digital age.

I went into this one knowing very little about Aiden Arata, but the premise hooked me. This collection of essays explores the ways the internet has shaped identity, mental health, and culture, often blurring the lines between the personal and the universal. Some essays—especially the ones on Me Too and doomsday culture—really stood out to me, offering sharp insights I hadn’t considered before.

That said, the writing felt dense at times, and some essays lost me in their more abstract moments. Still, Arata has a distinct voice and a perspective worth reading, especially if you’re interested in the intersection of social media and selfhood.

Aiden Arata’s "You Have A New Memory" is a sharp, self-aware exploration of the internet’s entanglement with identity, influence, and mental health. Blending memoir, cultural critique, and a deep understanding of the digital landscape, Arata dissects the ways technology has shaped not just our media consumption but also our sense of self. The book reads like an extension of her online presence—ironic yet deeply introspective, humorous yet unsettlingly precise in its observations.

The essays cover a broad range of topics, from the early days of instant messaging to the weight of parasocial relationships, the commodification of personal trauma, and the shifting landscape of social media influence. Some of the strongest moments come when Arata turns a critical eye on herself, reflecting on her own role in the systems she critiques. This tension—between complicity and critique—makes for an engaging read.

Arata doesn’t provide easy answers, but she does ask the right questions—about influence, authenticity, and what it means to exist in a world where every moment has the potential to become content.

*You Have a New Memory* by Aiden Arata is a poignant and deeply introspective exploration of trauma, healing, and the fluidity of memory. With poetic prose and raw emotional depth, Arata crafts a moving and resonant narrative that lingers long after the last page.