Thank you to NetGalley as well as Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for allowing me a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’m not usually one for short stories as they tend to not grab my attention too well however, the cohesion of Games and Rituals is something I can get behind.

Each story has its own subtle impact all with similar themes, turning multiple stories into one.

Despite this it was still not my cup of tea but would recommend to readers interested.

For this I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Usually I prefer a longer novel to short stories, but these stories were so good that I wished each could be a novel by itself.
The writing was like a comfortable conversation and I could relate to many of the different characters. Not all of the stories were ones I liked, but I liked the writing style even if the subject was not for me.
I would love to sit down with this author and just chat over wine or tequila (even with the headaches!) as I like the way she creates her characters and makes them real.
A new author for me!
Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories! I read it while in New York City, and many of them were set there, which made for an even more fun read.

The stories looked at different types of relationships—romantic, friendly, unfriendly, familial—and all of them depicted love in some form.

I found myself laughing at so many of these and so frustrated with others (but not because I didn’t like them - just the situations in the stories!). Some of my favorites in the collection were “Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented,” “Turn Back Turn Back,” “CoBra,” and “Pandemic Behavior.”

The stories were brilliantly written, and made me want to read more short stories (and take a stab at writing some too!). I recommend you pick this up for a quick read with lots of fun characters to meet.

Thank you to Alfred A. Knopf and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

Katherine Heiny's writing is always such a breath of fresh air—empathetic, memorable, funny, and complex. These stories were no exception, and a very worthy sucessor to the fantastic "Early Morning Riser." No spoilers for the stories, you must read them yourself! Such a fan of Heiny and her work.

Katherine Heiny, where have you been and why haven't I heard of you before? Because I loved every single one of the stories in "Games and Rituals"--they were witty and funny and wrenching and fantastic. I really couldn't pick a favorite, but if I had to, maybe it'd be "CobRa," told from the point of view of William, who is dealing with his wife Rachel's sudden obsession with Maria Kondo-ing their lives--and his fear that he will be the next household item she consigns to the curb. (Rachel's last name is Coburn, making her Japanese nickname CoBra--hence the title of the story and the name by which William refers to his wife throughout. Just one of the reasons I loved this book.) Or maybe my favorite would be "561," the blackly humorous story of a second wife (Charlie, one of my favorite recent characters of fiction) coerced into helping her husband move his first wife move out of their original family home. Or maybe it would be "Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented," if just for this one observation from driving instructor Colette: "It broke Colette's heart when she saw some elderly person shuffle out to take their test and knew that that person had once been lithe and slender, brimming with intelligence and verve. And she knew that the old people still thought of themselves that way. They had no idea the younger, more capable versions of themselves had decamped decades ago." But really--why choose? Every story here is a gem, a rarity in my experience with story collections. I am thrilled to know that I have Heiny's back catalogue to devour and hopefully many future books to look forward to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Borzoi Books/Knopf for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review. I loved it!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

REVIEW TO FOLLOW.

This book is an assemblage of various storylines where you get to experience situationships that are delicately eclectic and enticing. The author explores a multitude of human emotional variations in all of her plots. The immaculate endings of stories with unspoken yet predetermined endings was delightful. I especially enjoyed how each of her stories tied in with each other yet remained perfectly unique in creation. I thought it was clever that the author took a bold opportunity to switch her narration style between each stories from linear/non-linear to a POV.

I found various amusing and personable characters in these stories and I hope the other readers do to.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read an arc of this book!

I must admit, I've not read many short story anthologies before. I guess I never really thought about them before. When I came across this on NetGalley, I knew I wanted to give it a try and I'm glad I did.

As a whole, I enjoyed this. There were stories I really liked, some that I found just okay, and one I really disliked. What I liked most though is that throughout every story, the writing remained solid and each character had their own voice. Each story felt different than the one before it. I was never bored and I never felt that it was getting redundant.

My favorites:
- Damascus
- Turn Back, Turn Back
- 561

My least favorite:
- Sky Bar

Would I be willing to read more Katherine Heiny in the future? Absolutely!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.

My rating for this book is 3/5. I don’t usually gravitate towards shorts stories, but I became interested after clicking on the cover which reminded me of Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan. This book honestly took me a really long time to get through probably because there wasn’t really anything that made it “can’t put down book” which I guess comes with short stories. I guess i would say this book didn’t bring me much joy. I did like how each short story was about a relationship of some kind. My favorites were “Damascus,” “Games and Rituals,” and “Pandemic Behavior.” This was my first time reading from the author but maybe I will check out more of her work.

Fun and entertaining collection of short stories, Heiny has a strong sense of her own style. With a balanced wit and quirky, unique characters, the entire offering of stories here is introspective and observant. Whether intentional or just evident of the very segment of human nature to which Heiny is drawn, there are connected ideas running through various stories, particularly in the order given. From dresses, to cocaine, to reinvention, Heiny plays with ideas and characters like pieces on a chessboard. Sometimes you lead with the pawn, and sometimes the pawn is simply a tertiary blur of a character in another story.

One story that stuck out in particular appears to have been previously published separately. The short story, 561, fit right in with the others — ideas and gambits all squared nicely within the framework implied by the title.

Shockingly, this is my first work by Heiny, but I think I'll check out Early Morning Riser pretty soon and I'll be on the lookout for any upcoming novels with her name stamped on it.

I read and enjoyed 'Early Morning Riser' by Katherine Heiny earlier this year. It was fine, not fantastic, but definitely enjoyable.

This collection of stories feels that same way. It was an enjoyable time, but nothing that will stick with me long term.

There is a wide variety of stories so there is definitely at least one for each person. But as with a lot of short story collections, most stories felt unfinished. They just ended.

Games and Rituals is a collection of short-stories; stories of love, friendship and family. At times, laugh out loud funny and others heart-jerking. Another commonality, each of these stories shining a light on the ugly or uncomfortable parts of life, and encouraging one to see the light.

While the stories were contemporary in that they referenced current affairs and pop culture, the stories lacked representation of contemporary views in the characters themselves and other story elements. For example, the inclusion of male characters that objectify women, the unnecessary and at times stereotypical mention of a characters ethnicity, as well the overused infidelity storyline. While in reflection I can acknowledge that perhaps I am not the target audience for these stories, with characters much older and of differing life stages to myself, it is not so much their inclusion that did not sit right with me, but rather the story’s lack of rebuttle to the misogyny or outdate views that was unsettling.

Of the short stories, Pandemic was one in which I was most engrossed. As a young woman who lived through similar circumstances, contained to home with little company other than my housemate, no obligations for months and excitement in small moments of pleasure to get through, it felt familiar, and I was even nostalgic for the time of such simplicity.

Katherine Heiny is one of my favorite short story writers and her new collection doesn't disappoint. My favorite was "Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented," which takes place at a DMV office with driving test examiners serving as main characters. The whole book, though, was a delight.

I absolutely loved Early Morning Riser and when I saw Heiny has a book coming out I immediately requested the advanced copy. And then I found out it was a short story collection. I wouldn't call myself a short story reader. I like reading books in a couple of sittings. And one cannot read short stories one after another without reflecting on them. Or at least that's my approach to reading short stories. Do you see my conundrum here? 🙃

Some made me smile, some made me sad, some made me think.

There are a total of 11 stories. My favorites were: Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented, Twist and Shout and Turn Back, Turn Back. There are humor, kindness, all sorts of complicated human emotions in these stories.

Short stories centered around small moments and imperfect characters. This collection is both extremely funny and quietly devastating.

I was so excited to dig into this book because I loved Katherine Heiny’s Early Morning Riser. My excitement was met, and exceeded – I am obsessed, I am changed. These short stories are for the thoughtful, the moody, the introspective, the reader’s reader.

Each new world in this collection won my heart all the way through: the idiosyncrasies of DMV employees and their relationship to the hopeful drivers they evaluate, a mother’s loving and consuming worry over her young son as he grows up and away from her, the airport bar serving as a portal from a plain and shame-heavy past to a glamorous but contrived new life, the lead-stomached heartache of a man intoxicated by a romance he knows is bad news. These stories touched me, broke me, built me. My heart. My soul. I can already tell I’ll be revisiting these stories and prescribing them to friends in need again and again for years to come.

Ah, short stories…what can I say about my complicated feelings for them? This collection is beautifully written but, at the end of the ones that I truly connected with, I felt like I had the most epic emotional hangover. I get so attached to these characters and their lives only to be left hanging in the end. I’m left wanting more and I don’t like that feeling.

Katherine Heiny is a master of creating complicated relationships and then showcasing them in every day situations. These are beautifully written.

Of the 11 stories featured in my e-ARC I would say I loved the first 6 of them and liked the last 5. Even for readers who don’t normally go for short stories, this is worth picking up.

At the DMV, four driving examiners’ work-life balance is challenged when one falls in love with the new hire. A mother is in denial that her son is making the same mistakes she did as a teen. A husband is worried that his wife’s new cleaning fixation might result in his own disposal. These are some of the narratives spun in Heiny’s collection of 11 stories. The unifying element is love, be it familial, workplace, unrequited, or platonic. Heiny’s writing is sardonic, funny, relatively family-friendly (for the most part). The stories are wry and clever, at times poignant.

This was just a very delightful collection of short stories. I always wonder how to read a short story collection… straight through? A little at a time? I think I’ve finally determined that this is a great book to pick up in between longer reads… just a little transition story before diving into your next full length piece. This author did a great job creating an instant connection with the characters. Without much time to waste, she gets right to the point and draws you in instantly. I was thoroughly entertained! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC!

This is a cool book about short stories from perfectly imperfect people. The stories unfold much how real life unfolds. There aren't great plot twists and fireworks from emotions. It is mostly mundane life events that hold great value, but they aren't portrayed with the flare and extravaganza novels would give them. Each of these characters we can see our own flaws portrayed. I specifically liked "Turn Back, Turn Back" and also "561". Both about affairs but through different perspectives and timeframe. I would definitely recommend this book for people.