An interesting look at various forms of magical thinking- the structure sometimes felt a little all over the place, but overall incredibly interesting.

3.5 I think this is really well written, and definitely has an audience, maybe among new adults or 30 somethings. However, I don’t see it really being useful in a high school courses. It is relevant and of the moment. It does make important points about the danger of a single story and the absurdity of human belief. Good read, just not for my target audience.

I loved Montell’s previous book (Cultish) and I dare say this was even better. In The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell breaks down the various cognitive biases that impact us in our post-COVID, hyper-online world. In “Are You Our Mother, Taylor Swift?”, she examines why we’re led to exalt public figures on a god-like level, and then get angry when they don’t match the impossibly-high pedestal they never asked to stand on in the first place. In “A Toxic Relationship is Just a Cult Of One”, she speaks about how social media makes us value the story of our lives more than the lived experience of it, and why we might invest even *more* energy and time into a situation that isn’t working just to maintain the narrative we’re trying to tell. If you’ve ever felt like the universe sent you a divinely ordained message in the form of a Tiktok tarot reading, felt super confident you can recreate that Pinterest DIY only to end up with a pile of garbage, or repeated a fact you heard without fully knowing if it's true, this book is FOR YOU. And, let’s be real, we’ve all been there.

Montell doesn’t speak about these things from a holier-than-thou, self-help and betterment perspective. She’s candid and genuine in these essays, speaking lots from her own experience. She talks first-hand about having been in a toxic relationship and not being able to leave, about getting sucked into the world of ‘beauty influencers’ and spending all her money on unnecessary products, about having a presence on social media even when she knows how harmful it can be. But she ties these experiences into a well-researched, well-articulated, and relatable piece of writing that perfectly captures our cultural moment, untangling the complicated web of why it feels so hard to just exist as a human being right now.

I read Amanda Montell’s last book Cultish last year. Her voice on the language used by historic and modern day cults was incredibly sharp and valuable. She continues to impress me with this latest. In The Age of Magical Overthinking, she explores the cognitive biases of us humans, markedly in the 21st century,

In her essays, she brings us all over the map of cognitive bias, touching on an array of concepts. Amanda is a very likable narrator. She’s funny, gentle, and very incisive. She invites us to be a little softer with ourselves. It’s a difficult time these days, with so much going on, so much for the mind to sort. She lends us her own mind here, to help us restore some peace.

I hold a lot of respect for Amanda Montell, after Cultish and more so this latest work. I recommend all of her work, including her podcast, and will be waiting patiently for her next book!

This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! This was fascinating from start to finish. This was my first Montell book and I am now planning to read Cultish as soon as I can. This book was so well-articulated and well-researched and I truly enjoyed every moment. Montell has such sharp understanding of current culture, but she doesn’t shy away from personal anecdotes that make this book relatable and often times, hilarious. Near perfect! I will be recommending this to everyone I know.

4.75 - Amanda Montell is back, and she is excellent once again. This book is one of those ones you want to press into the palms of everyone you know and beg them to comb through with a highlighter and an open mind. It massaged my millennial worries and has me excited to exist in 2023, not with the immense anxiety I feel I carry. I loved this one a lot - there was one essay that started to lose me a little, hence my non-perfect 5, but that felt personal and not a reflection of Montell's brilliant wording and careful research. She truly knows how to administer information in a beautiful way.

Sharp and insightful breakdown of a multitude of logical fallacies that we commit on a daily basis. Conversational writing style that is both personal and informative.

I’m a fan of Amanda Montell’s podcast and previous books which really buoyed this one, as I could hear her voice and viewpoints clearly. Each chapter was really concise and genuinely triggered self-reflection that I hope to carry with me. There were some times that the metaphors or similes turned unnecessarily purple in prose, but generally the language was clear and informative while still accessible and humorous.

i think the magic of cognitive psychology is that phenomena or theories or effects are observable no matter where you look. for every new idea you learn, it's something that almost seems unavoidable once you've stored the concept in your brain. montell takes this basic, but obsessive need that people have to understand how other people think and places it directly into our current culture. laced with other pre-2000s history, it's the anecdotes that stand out because the experiences feel familiar and relatable. however, as someone who's heard of and is researcher some of these behaviors, there's nothing new on the setup ideas like the sunk cost fallacy, overconfidence bias, confirmation bias, etc., but for those who've never heard of these things before, this is a great place to start.

(+ this is biased but as someone who studied at Berkeley, Dacher's awe research is something that makes me love the field so much.)

I truly think everyone should read this book, especially those who feel they are trapped in the “chronically online” state. I was a big fan of Montell’s previous book Cultish, so I jumped at the chance of getting to read this ARC. The commentary Montell provides is incredibly insightful and puts to words so many concepts that are today’s basic human nature. Will make you feel less alone in your suffering of this capitalist hellscape we live in, by breaking down psychological concepts that aren’t as unique to us as we may think.

"The Age of Magical Overthinking" by Amanda Montell explores the intersection of cultural criticism and personal narrative, focusing on the cognitive biases that influence our thoughts and behaviors. Montell, known for her previous works "Cultish" and "Wordslut," delves into the concept of "magical thinking," the belief that internal thoughts can impact external events. The book examines how these cognitive biases play out in modern society, especially in the information age.

Montell explores various cognitive biases, such as the "Halo effect" that leads to the worship or hatred of celebrities and the "Sunk Cost Fallacy" that keeps individuals in detrimental relationships. The author uses her wit and brilliance to dissect these biases, offering sharp insights into the irrational tendencies of the human mind. Through a series of humorous and insightful chapters, Montell aims to shed light on the ways in which our coping mechanisms have been overloaded in the face of modern challenges.

The prevailing message of the book is one of hope, empathy, and forgiveness for the anxieties and irrationalities that characterize the human experience. Montell seeks to help readers make sense of the often senseless nature of our thoughts and behaviors. The book encourages self-reflection and understanding, providing a window into the complexities of the human mind and offering a moment of reprieve from the cacophony of modern life.

The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell was entertaining but I don’t think it was groundbreaking or that original. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my time reading it and thought that she brought up some really good points. I thought it was well written and it kept me reading. I just didn’t think she brought anything new to the table. It feels like a collection of a bunch of magazine articles I’ve read. I guess, it just didn’t feel like she dug deep into a lot of the topics she was discussing. It all felt very surface level. I’m glad to have read the book and I know it will thrive with people who enjoyed her previous book.

I loved this book. It made me feel the nostalgia of researching my thesis, ensconced in the university library with my stacks of academic sources (yes Montell, I recognize that during that time I did feel like I might die if I had to lug another bag of books home or write another line of text but compared to the rigour of my current day to day teaching life, in retrospect it feels positively relaxing).
There are so many facets to this book that I enjoyed - the quantifying and naming of cognitive biases that I myself fall prey to but also notice in others (my students in particular). It allowed me to re-open my rational, data driven brain to understanding why my world feels so topsy-turvey for the past decade. It gave me moments of clarity and moments where I was like “omg yes! This is why I love to embroider!” It also helped me understand a bit more about how the cult of T Swift came to be (a phenomenon I still can’t quite grasp. I like her, I like her music, but I can’t quite bring myself to buy in more than that). Overall, if you feel confused by the collective cultural messaging in western modern society and where our brains struggle to process and manage and interpret, this book will give you just a little bit more clarity to help you realize that we are all more similar than we are different and that despite our advancements in technology, our little lizard brains are still just trying to make it day to day.

This is the second Amanda Montell book that I have read and I absolutely loved it. Her writing style is engaging and her storytelling helps pull you in and illustrates meaningful points all at once. Can’t wait for her next book!

This is the first and only book I have read by Amanda Montell; I’ll likely read more from her. I enjoyed her prose and read through her book fairly quickly for a non-fiction book. Montell is a linguist and it shows in her word choice. While I personally love learning new words, I can see her choice of vocabulary to be a barrier for some readers. My advice is to read it as an ebook so that a reader can quickly look up word definitions on the spot. (I challenge you to use the word “pulchritudinous” in casual conversation and see how your people look at you.)

Overall I enjoyed this book and it has given much to think about and share. Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Shuster for this ARC.

Amanda Montell's THE AGE OF MAGICAL OVERTHINKING is a funny and accessible pop culture exploration of psychology concepts like proportionality bias, the sunk cost fallacy, survivorship bias, etc.. I recommend this social psychology book enthusiastically; I'd listen to Montell's take on anything. I moved through this read quickly, especially enjoying chapter titles such as "Are You Our Mother, Taylor Swift?," "Sorry I'm Late, Mercury Must be in Retrograde," and "The Life-Changing Magic of Becoming a Mediocre Crafter." Montell's work should be required reading for the stressed Millennial, managing to balance humor, advice, and thoroughly researched fact with ease.

A beautiful follow-up to her smash hit CULTISH, THE AGE OF MAGICAL OVERTHINKING is just what our culture needs in this moment. A brutal, fact-driven takedown of the magical thinking our society has placed as its truth, I know this will be highly discussed and read when its released next year.