Katherine Heiny's Games and Rituals is a delightful collection of short stories that offer a sharp and humorous lens on the absurdities and complexities of human life.

Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny is a collection of short-stories. They mostly revolve around different types of relationships and some are based around the Covid pandemic times. I don't really like reading about the pandemic but I though the collection of stories were all very well done. I enjoyed these stories as I could read one or two at a time and I got through the book fairly quickly.

I am an absolute sucker for a well curated short story collection. Always my go to when it comes to getting out of a reading slump. This did that for me. I love the characters that were created in this. Felt so real and so deep.

I am not usually a big fan of short stories but i did thoroughly enjoy these. Well written and CRISP. They may have just changed my mind.

Some of these stories appealed to me more than others, but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this short story collection. Katherine Heiny has managed to build emotional connections to characters in these short stories, which is not something I have managed to find before.

"Already you're struggling to breathe and it will only get worse. It will be so much harder to move through the world, now that you move through it alone."

I requested this ARC after seeing how much everyone loved Katherine Heiney's work, and I'm not disappointed, at all.
It's incredible how she manages to turn very short stories into inspiring and impacting life stories.
Each one is a lesson in their own way and it made for an incredible read.

Thank you NetGalley, Knopf and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This short story collection revisits the format where Katherine Heiny first made her mark, showcasing her knack for capturing the quirks and complexities of human connection. From office flirtations to familial bonds, Heiny’s characters navigate life with humor and tenderness, even as they occasionally veer into questionable territory. Each story offers poignant insights into the human condition, with moments that are both uproariously funny and deeply moving. With her signature wit and generosity of spirit, Heiny once again proves herself a master of the short story form, delivering a collection that is sure to delight readers old and new.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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..

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.

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.

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.