I will confess that short stories are not my go-to, but I have been wanting to read this author’s writing for a while now, so when I saw that she had a short story collection coming out, I thought that it would be a perfect sampler.

At first I decided to slip one of her stories in between each of my longer novels, as a type of literary sorbet, so to speak, but that method was not long-lasting. After the first few stories, I was more and more intrigued by her writing, and my curiosity was piqued as to what topics she would be writing about in her subsequent stories. I found myself reading a couple of stories each time I sat down to read. I looked forward to being introduced to each new character and simply being entertained.

There was something for every reader in this collection, and while some stories appealed to me more than others, I found them all enjoyable. I found myself smiling, laughing, and even getting teary-eyed during one particular story. The stories dealt with everyday life: relationships, employment, and love. There was plenty of humor, heart, and hijinks.

Games and Rituals was a wonderful introduction to Katherine Heiny’s writing. When an author can write eleven short stories and keep her readers thoroughly entertained throughout, it only makes me want to dive into her full-length novels that much more!

*4.5 Stars

If you like slice of life stories with quirky/interesting twists, then I highly recommend this book! Heiny is a really talented writer. These stories were well-developed and had that perfect punch that I look for in short fiction. As with any short story collection, there were some stories that I enjoyed more than others, but otherwise, I'd highly recommend this one!

Katherine Heiny is one of my favorite authors her latest Games and Rituals a book of short stories was so well written so entertaining.From the opening story taking place in the dmv I was totally engaged and charmed.Her characters come alive engage you in their lives.A gem of a book of short stories.#netgalley #gamesandrituals

As soon as I finished the first chapter, I knew I liked this book. This is short story collection but the author didn't let that keep her from telling rich stories with lots of character development and plot mixed in. The entire collection was great and each story felt like a detailed snapshot into a world of their own.

Thanks to Netgalley for letting me enjoy this book early in exchange for an honest review!

Katherine Heiny writes like no one else about the day to day experiences of her characters, finding sly humor and deep meaning in the things that often glide right by our notice. Her stories tell of experiences that feel emotionally magnitudinous without seeming out of the ordinary, making each character and every story relatable. Her writing is a delight to read and these stories are lined up like the exquisitely crafted tracklist of a great rainy-day album. Get comfortable and enjoy the stories collected in 'Games and Rituals.' I certainly did.

Many thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for the eARC.

What I admire about Katherine Heiny's stories is that she writes characters with so much tenderness and humor that you just want to spend hours with them as they grapple with the everyday troubles of modern life. This collection of stories is about relationships in various forms: parents/children; divorced couples; co-workers. One of my favorite stories is about people who work at the DMV giving driving tests and how they choose which drivers go with which tester. Another is about an a small life adventure at an airport after all the flights have been cancelled. Every once in a while, there will be a sharp jolt of recognition by the character about the reality of existence. All this being said, there is a sameness to the emotional temperature of these stories that might blur them together in tone. But since it's a tone I like, that's okay with me.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully written with the quirky characters that Katherine Heiny writes best. Loved the humor throughout. Short stories can be a tough sell, but this one should be an easy yes for many customers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for this eARC of Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny!

I enjoyed this so much. I love short story collections because they really are the best things to breeze through. I had been in a book slump and this plucked me right out of it. I loved the first story, Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented. To be honest, I could use a whole lot more of that DMV group. I liked how the characters in these stories were relatable, how witty the humor was, and how the mundane was given life. This was my first book by KH but now I am going to have to read everything she has written (also everything she will write in the future).

3.5

witty, sharp, dry humor! overall, it's a great collection that does a fantastic job at keeping things light whilst also having some depth

some stories did fall short for me; i always end up giving collections in the 3 star range. but there were a few in here that were gems!!

This was a solid 4.5 star read for me. Games and Rituals is a short story collection all focusing on relationships, the nuances of life, etc, and it is just lovely. I loved the writing style and most of the stories. As with all short story collections for me, not every story was an absolute win so I do not feel right giving this a complete 5 stars... but it's pretty dang close!!!

Thank you to the publisher for the e-arc.

I am new to Heiny's writing but I am in love with and she is a new favorite. Heiny's entertaining and astute writing has you connecting with characters who's love lives are relatable to in some form or another from feeling the sting of an unloyal partner to being in love with that one person who you think could never love you. There is something in this for everyone in "Games and Rituals".

I decided to take a chance on this book of short stories because I really love reading this author. I am so glad that I did. This is a great book to have at your side when you don’t have enough time to get into a novel but just have to read before the day ends. Very enjoyable stories. Mini-novels. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the digital ARC. This opinion is my own.

For me, I am starting to realize that I am not the biggest fan of short story collections (unless the stories are interwoven in some way). Some of the stories in the collection were much more impactful for me than others. I did think it was well written and am interesting in reading more from Katherine Heiny in the future.

I’m not always drawn to short story collections, but after hearing about this one on the From the Front Porch podcast, I was intrigued enough to request it on NetGalley.

I was drawn in quickly with the opening story, “Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented,” where the main character ponders how at some point some poor, unsuspecting driving examiner must have entered Ted Bundy’s VW bug and driven off with him, not knowing they were riding shotgun next to Death. I paused, thought “Oh gosh, she’s right,” and decided that I was going to like this collection. And I did. Short stories still aren’t my favorite things to read, but I liked this. (Love? No. But definitely liked. Enough to maybe try another book from Heiny’s backlist.) Each story focuses in on a different type of love-relationship. There is humor sprinkled in along the way, but most stories end on the bittersweet side. I was definitely caught off guard more than a few times by a story’s resolution.

Games and Rituals is a hilarious, sharply written short story collection that made me laugh repeatedly. The first story is about a group of employees at the DMV, while a story with a more serious tone reveals how a woman found out her husband is seeing someone else. One of my favorite stories is about a woman and her husband who get roped into helping his ex-wife move. I really liked this book and was disappointed when it ended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the opportunity to read Games and Rituals for review. All opinions are my own.

I requested Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny based on the glowing praise of her novel, Early Morning Riser, (which still sits unread on my TBR pile) Unfortunately, I was a bit underwhelmed by this short story collection. Heiny's writing is often described as very relatable and human, but I had a hard time connecting with any of these stories or any of the characters in them. There were subtle things crafted into the stories here and there that I could respect, but I still felt I didn't have much to hold onto or think about at the end of each story and none of them really stuck out to me when I had finished the collection.

Perhaps it's just me not connecting with an author's voice here, and that's ok! I'm glad I gave it a chance and I will still pick up my copy of Early Morning Riser soon to see if this author just doesn't work for me.

My first book of short stories - thank you Netgalley for this ARC! I was slightly apprehensive of these short stories going in because I worried about them feeling rushed and fleeting, but each story felt so much longer than it really was. In just a few paragraphs, each character felt so painfully human and real and I wanted to stay with each character long after the story had ended. I’m glad I didn’t rush through these stories and instead read them one at a time; they felt emotionally fulfilling in the same way a perfect novel does, but in far fewer pages, which is a testament to Heiny’s talent. Such an enjoyable read!!

I was surprised by how much I loved Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny. As a devoted novel reader, a collection of short stories immediately felt out of my comfort zone. But I fell in love with Heiny's writing and how she masterfully creates characters that feel beautifully real, complex, and complete. Each of Heiny's stories drops you into a moment in a different character's life and I found myself swept up with each story wanting to stay longer with some characters and even thinking of them days later (I've been thinking of the foursome at the DMV for weeks now). Many writers fail to create compelling characters who feel uniquely flawed and human in hundreds of pages - Heiny somehow does it in a few paragraphs and I found myself ending each short story feeling like I really knew the character I'd spent time with.

Despite being a short read, I took my time with this book savoring each short story and enjoying the time I spent with the characters Heiny beautifully created.

This book was a delightful surprise and a solid 4.5 read for me.

Publication Date: April 18, 2023

Many thanks to Knopf Publishing Group, NetGalley, and Katherine Heiny for an Advanced Reader Copy of Games and Rituals in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully written and endlessly entertaining. Katherine Heiny delivers superb characters in this collection of short stories. Understanding the human condition with such realism, her characters feel like real people to the reader. The chapters were so good, I forgot that they were short stories and thought that maybe the storylines were going to tie together in the end.

This short story collection by the author of Standard Deviation and Early Morning Riser is just what I needed. I have mixed feelings about short story collections in general, but in the hands of a witty writer who portrays human nature so well, these stories felt just perfect. From a DMV worker to a Marie Kondo loving wife (ouch- this one was a little too close to home!), Heiny really gets to the essence of every day people and relationships, even using an economy of words.

I would recommend this to lovers of Ann Patchett or Emma Straub. Katherine Heiny's humor and turns of phrase really set her apart. She is now an auto-read author for you.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.