Another fantastic Amanda Montell read. I think this day of not only misinformation, but also "magical thinking" it's important to be aware of cognitive biases and pitfalls. These points were well-drawn with topical internet and pop culture references.

As an avid listener of “Sounds Like a Cult,” I was excited to hear about Amanda’s forthcoming book. Sometimes I find myself falling asleep while reading books like this. I was pleasantly surprised to find I was very interested in each chapter’s focus and highlighted several areas of the book.

If you are interested in bias and the use of language in how we communicate bias, this book is for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I was so excited to receive access to this new book from Amanda Montell. I’ve loved her other books Cultish and Wordslut and love the way she smoothly combines meticulous research and personable writing, helping me learn something new about the world and myself in a fun package. This latest work is no different, and I particularly enjoyed that it was an even more personal topic and treatment.

Thank you to publisher and netgalley for an arc. I enjoyed learning about the different biases within cognitive psychology and will recommend to all those who are interested to pick this one up. I love how Mindel uses everyday examples to explain how the different biases pops into our lives. I was able to learn more about myself and those around us.

Rate: 4/5 ⭐️

Montell's third book is a well-researched and thought provoking look at many of the ways we all overthink, from more commonly discussed biases such as confirmation bias, to lesser-known (at least to me) like the IKEA effect. Her writing continues to get stronger, and her voice is a unique. I always look forward to what she's working on, and her many fans will feel the same way. Those less familiar with her work will be drawn in by the stunning cover and description. While I read this in about a day, I can see others being content to read it one chapter at a time - there's a lot to digest.

4.5/5 stars
Amanda Montell’s work seems to focus on just what we need to learn at that moment; Wordslut and Cultish came to us when language, in particular, was under siege, and this book speaks to a people who’ve emerged after spending far too long inside (both physically and mentally). I found it fascinating.
My one critique—and this may be a personal preference rather than a criticism of Montell—is the sheer number of anecdotes. I love the ones that pertain to Montell’s personal experience (discussing her mom was particularly powerful), but events that happened to friends, acquaintances on social media, etc. weren’t nearly as illuminating.
All said, I will definitely be recommending this book to my students, and would love to someday teach Nostalgia Porn during our American Dream unit.
Thank you for the ARC!

I've been a fan of Amanda Montell's work for a while now, so I have been excitedly anticipating her upcoming book The Age of Magical Overthinking since it was announced. And it did not disappoint. Montell always has a finger firmly on the pulse of times, all of her academic work coming out right when it's most needed. This book is no different. Montell dives deeper into common fallacies that humans have the tendency to succumb too, wisely applying these not so modern modes of irrationality to contemporary settings so that we as readers can better understand how they might (oftentimes unconsciously) impact our lives.

Beautifully researched and written, Montell includes anecdotes from her own life as well, softening the researched aspects of the book and making it feel more personal. It's, in my understanding, her vulnerability in how this "modern irrationality" impacts her own thought processes that makes the book such an engaging and powerful read. I was hooked from the initial chapter on Taylor Swift and the halo effect all the way to the final chapter on nostalgia porn and declinism. My favorite chapter by far was Amanda's exploration into the recency illusion. This is definitely a contemporary must read that will leave everyone better off.

Amanda Montell takes on one bias after another in this addictingly informative narrative on “magical thinking”, defined as believing that one’s internal thoughts have a direct impact on external events. If you have ever encountered a believer in crystal healing that you’ve thought of as a little “woo-woo” or wonder how that relative of yours on Facebook could even remotely believe the headline they’re sharing with all of their friends, you need to check out this book!

I’ll be honest that I don’t read a ton of non-fiction (it comprised a measly 5% of the total of 160 books that I read in the last year). But with the promise of delving into the psychology and science behind not just “magical thinking” but “magical overthinking”, the title and brief premise of this one was just too good to pass up. The tease of learning exactly why people in today’s society do the things they do and have the interests they have was more than enough to draw me in - and I’m so glad I took the chance on it!

Chapter by chapter, Amanda Montell breaks down different types of cognitive biases, from proportionality bias to the sunk-cost fallacy to the recency illusion to name just a few, in an incredibly informative yet completely accessible way. Each section was more enlightening than the last and her quick-witted, honest and personal prose made it all the more enjoyable to take in. She successfully toed the line of helping the reader to understand why say, that one friend refers to their horoscope to explain every single one of their actions, while at the same time, presenting the information in a delicate enough way that a reader won’t take offense if they themselves happen to be that friend.

This was the first of Amanda Montell’s books that I’ve read, and I’m already looking forward to diving into her backlist. I can’t say enough good things about how much I learned from this incredibly well-researched book and how much I enjoyed the experience of picking apart all of the cognitive biases that are so prevalent in today’s day and age. It absolutely wins my personal award for “most highlighted passages”, and I can’t wait to purchase a print copy to revisit again and again. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Amanda Montell and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was pleasantly surprised when I got approved for this ARC! I read Montell's Cultish last year and was really excited when I saw she had another book coming out. This was a really interesting read because a lot of the topics covered are things I participate in myself--I'm a self-proclaimed Swiftie AND I'm interested in the idea of manifestation, so when I saw those chapter titles, I expected to get called out! I think what makes this book so interesting is that we really are in an age of magical overthinking; most of the topics covered in this book are so normalized, especially online, that I didn't realize how invested we (as a whole) are until reading this book. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read.

Montell's last book, "Cultish," was a hit for me, and "The Age of Magical Overthinking" is the same. In this cool exploration of how our brains work in this post-COVID, super online era, Montell dives into why we act the way we do.

What sets Montell apart in this genre is her unfiltered and candid approach. She lays bare personal experiences, from navigating toxic relationships to falling prey to the allure of 'beauty influencers' and impulsively splurging on unnecessary products. Her essays are a meticulously researched and relatable exploration of our current cultural moment, untangling the complexities of modern existence.

"The Age of Magical Overthinking" strikes an exquisite balance between scholarly research and personal narratives. Even if you know some of cognitive biases, Montell invites you to reimagine them. She challenges the conventional notion of "manifesting" as a conspiracy theory and untangles how the "sunk cost fallacy" influences people to persist in detrimental relationships. This will be a quintessential read of 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed Cultish and the same for Amanda's newest book, the age of magical overthinking. I like the research Amanda does and the way she ties in different angles on her point. I wasn't totally sure what this book would be about but so many good food for thought moments! I've already recommended it to 3 people :-) can't wait for this one to release!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

*i received this arc in exchange for an honest review*

not to commit the sin of the halo effect, which montell employs in her book, but dang! amanda montell is mother!

i love her works, she always provides an accessible piece of well-researched work on the cultural moment.

In The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, Amanda Montell investigates the concept of cognitive bias and the way our thinking has develop within the last few years. She dives into exploring the way we think in relation to our consumption of the media and how we try to reason with ourselves. Exploring concepts within a post-COVID world, and the rise of media influencers and businesses on Tik Tok, Montell explains these biases in an accessible way. She also shares many personal experiences with her message and makes this informative piece feel like a memoir. In her efforts to explain these ideas to her audience, she will make you laugh, relate, and question whether you engage in this way of overthinking. Montell's past work also comes to light within this book, and you can see her exceptional understanding of the linguistic world that was relevant in her last two novels. I think this is a nonfiction piece that anyone can pick up because we can all relate to this kind of 'magical overthinking' that Montell examines.

If you are a fan of exploring the way modern information influences our thoughts and personal anecdotes that you can very easily relate to, you will definitely enjoy The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality.

I was so thrilled to request & receive an advance copy of Amanda Montell’s ‘The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality’ from NetGalley & the book’s publishers. My husband gave me a heads up that this was a book he wanted to read this year, as he’s a fan of Amanda Montell’s podcast ‘Sounds Like a Cult’.

I learned so much from this book about concepts I’d either only heard a little bit about before or never had heard of at all — the sunk cost fallacy, manifesting, cognitive biases, the halo effect.

The way Montell combined her personal narrative and experiences with an eye on modern life kept me reading — it was so conversational and entertaining. She pinpoints the ridiculousness of our times with in-depth research to back up her ideas.

What an excellent read to kick off 2024!

Thank you NetGalley, Amanda Montell and 1SP for the opportunity to read this before publication. This was my second of Montell’s books and I was so excited to read it. It lived up to the hype my brain created around it and surpassed it. This lets us see more of Amanda Montell than her other books and her personal experiences aid in the understanding of the concepts provided. I definitely recommend giving this a read.

I enjoy Montell's writing because she creates a very accessible story for people trying to get into nonfiction and this one is no different. This book focuses on cognitive biases and it was simultaneously informative and entertaining which is really her sweet spot. Highly recommend if you're trying to branch out but are over thinking how to get into nonfiction😉

Thank you so much for this advance copy - I adore Amanda Montell and was beyond excited for this one! It proved to be a very thoughtful yet humorous exploration of humanity’s common thought patterns and foibles, and I found it very helpful as a starting point to understand my own thought orocesses.

I read a few chapters but the author's writing style irritated me, so I decided to DNF. I might come back to it as an audiobook once it is released.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books, Atria/One Signal Publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC.

3.75
This was really solid—Amanda Montell never lets me down. I think this book could potentially fall into a similar trap of Cultish, where some readers were disappointed that the contents didn't completely stick to the title's promises. This book is not at all about overcoming overthinking or anything (thank God, in my opinion). Instead, it's just a really interesting, chapter by chapter analysis of some common cognitive biases that influence how we view the world and each other.
I love reading brand new nonfiction, because it makes me feel like I'm back in college having a discussion. Montell's books are filled with relevant, pop culture examples. Truly cannot believe that Taylor Swift's short-lived relationship with Matty Healy has already been recorded in print.

Montell's last book, "Cultish," was a hit for me, and "The Age of Magical Overthinking" is the same. In this cool exploration of how our brains work in this post-COVID, super online era, Montell dives into why we act the way we do.

What sets Montell apart in this genre is her unfiltered and candid approach. She lays bare personal experiences, from navigating toxic relationships to falling prey to the allure of 'beauty influencers' and impulsively splurging on unnecessary products. Her essays are a meticulously researched and relatable exploration of our current cultural moment, untangling the complexities of modern existence.

"The Age of Magical Overthinking" strikes an exquisite balance between scholarly research and personal narratives. Even if you know some of cognitive biases, Montell invites you to reimagine them. She challenges the conventional notion of "manifesting" as a conspiracy theory and untangles how the "sunk cost fallacy" influences people to persist in detrimental relationships. This will be a quintessential read of 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!