Games & Rituals is a collection of eleven, character-driven short stories. It begins with a story called “Chicken Flavored and Lemon Scented” about a group of people who work at a DMV which I think captures the vibe of this collection perfectly — seemingly random and mundane situations that Heiny manages to make intriguing and insightful through her beautiful storytelling.

I absolutely loved the first six stories, but I think the second half of the collection lost steam for me; they had a little too much mundane and not enough intrigue. She also unfortunately hit on a couple of my bookish pet peeves. For me, there’s nothing like a book mentioning TikTok or Covid to really jolt me awake and kill the mood. However, she brought me back with the last story titled “Sky Bar” about a woman waiting out delays with other travelers at the airport bar, which ended up being one of my favorites of the entire collection.

This book is the definition of “no plot, just vibes,” and I fully support it. It’s funny, emotional, relatable, and epitomizes the sad, worn out, angry girl character that I can’t help but love to read about. I definitely recommend this, and I look forward to reading more of what Katherine Heiny has written!

I mostly enjoyed this collection of short stories. The stories were quirky and felt complete, almost like jumping into someone's life for the afternoon and deeply understanding everything about them for that specific moment and then jumping out and moving on with the day.

My favorite story was the first one set at a DMV, the story stayed with me long after I finished.

I am rounding up from 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley & Knopf Publishing Group for the advanced reader copy!

This is one of my favorite authors! I haven't read any short stories by her so was pleasantly surprised to get the ARC of this book. I think the first story was my favorite but they are all great.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Here are 11 quirky short stories that will make you feel! I loved each one, each so different from the last. All were written with a humorous side, making you feel as if you were listening to a friend tell the story over a cup of coffee. There are tales of coping with an elderly parent (who mistakes his hearing aid for a cashew and fires his caretaker on a regular basis), finding a Starbucks receipt that leads to the end of a marriage, motherly love, coping through the pandemic, the end of romance, and finding second chances. They are stories that capture our connections, and disconnections, from each other individually and collectively.

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I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. The stories are quirky but also very relatable. I was immediately drawn in by the characters at the DMV in “Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented.” I think “561” was my favorite story in the collection, but I liked them all. All of the stories dealt with relationships, past mistakes, and present emotions. I highly recommend this collection and look forward to teaching some of these stories in the future.

I started reading this at night and couldn't put it down! I was so drawn into the characters and their lives. The author's writing style definitely appealed to me and I'm so glad I read it.

Katherine Heiny Is one of my all-time favorite authors. This new book did not disappoint. I am always a little reluctant to read a series of short stories, because I’m so afraid I will be disappointed when each story ends. That being said, I did not feel this sense of loss, because each new story seemed almost better than the next. Truly, one of the finest short story collections I have read in my 70 years. I was invested in every story, and I was truly involved with every character in the book. One of the best books I’ve read all year. Thank you so much for my advance copy I will look forward to many more books by this excellent author.

I enjoyed this well-written and interesting collection of short stories! My favorites were Damascus, and Twist and Shout.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Having read both of her short story collections I’d say it’s clear that Katherine Heiny has a talent for capturing relationships, both romantic and familial, in snapshots. I definitely enjoyed this collection, and though I wasn’t a massive fan of all of the stories I really adored some of them, specifically Twist and Shout, 561, and Turn Back, Turn Back. These stories all delivered such a gut punch that I felt like I was left reeling after reading them (in a good way).

I do feel like Heiny seems to have a tendency to focus her short stories on tales of WASP-y families and affairs so her writing can sometimes begin to feel a bit one-note, but then again she is so good at writing this sort of story that I can understand why she stays in this vein.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a great collection of emotionally-charged short stories regarding the games and rituals we, especially as women, play to get to the next day. Did every one of them connect with me? No (the title's sake), but the ones that hit hard went for the jugular. For example, "Turn Back, Turn Back" kicked and screamed at my heart so unexpectedly that I had to sit with it mentally for a while.

Highly recommended.

I have been a fan of Katherine Heiny since reading EARLY MORNING RISER and have been thinking that charming book for nearly two years. Her newest collection of stories was one of my most anticipated reads for 2023.

Heiny’s short stories about human connection, memories, aging and relationships are filled with warmth, wit, and a touch of darkness. I sometimes find it hard to connect with short stories, but the honesty and humanity Heiny infused into these stories made it easy to get invested in and relate to these characters. My favorite stories were “Chicken-Flavored and Lemon-Scented,” “Twist and Shout,” and “Turn back, turn back.”

This is such a great character-driven, slice-of-life short story collection! The stories mainly focus on relationships, whether they're romantic, familial, or platonic. I loved the witty and humorous, yet thought-provoking and sentimental writing style that was always present throughout—it reminded me of Curtis Sittenfeld's writing, which I also really enjoy. My personal favorite stories were "Turn Back, Turn Back," the titular "Games and Rituals," and "561," but each one left me feeling invested in the characters and often wondering what would happen next. This was my first book by Katherine Heiny, and I'm now looking forward to reading her other works! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed these short stories, there is no doubt Katherine Heiny comes up with very novel ideas. I appreciated the the witty and humorous tone of the stories.

Good short stories but (typical to this form) they left me wanting more. The author is an excellent writer and comes up with such interesting ideas….I confess that I hope she’ll go back to novels from this point on. All to say…recommended for readers who like their reading in quick, fully formed doses.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

A collection of short stories that are entertaining enough but will be forgotten an hour after you read them. Does not live up to her earlier works

Each short story was beautifully written. This book was a definite comfort read that exposed life, heart, and pain. Looking forward to more from this author!

So many short story collections can be overwhelmingly bleak and dark. While there are some dark stories in GAMES AND RITUALS, the author's witty humor provides a nice touch. I especially enjoyed her detailed observations about daily life. The characters are varied, and the themes are entertaining. There is some repetition in the storylines, which did not necessarily impact my enjoyment.
Highly recommended.

I have become such a fan of Katherine Heiny. I read and loved two of her novels last year, Early Morning Riser and Standard Deviation, so I jumped at the chance to read her new book of short stories! Although I had some favorite stories within the collection, Twist and Shout was one of them, I enjoyed every single story. Thanks to NetGalley and aaknopf for the early copy.

I had really liked Early Morning Riser by this author so I was excited to check out this short story collection, a format I usually enjoy. This collection did not disappoint and I found that many of the stories had the same kind of subtle insightful commentary about human nature that I found in this author's debut. My favorite story in this collection was "561".

Games and rituals is a collection of 11 short stories that primarily navigate relationships, both romantic and platonic. Some I enjoyed more than others (Damascus, games and rituals, cobra and pandemic behaviour were my favourites). There seemed to be a theme of a much older man/woman going for someone 20 years younger than them which I found to be quite repetitive. Overall I did enjoy these stories and would recommend picking this up!

3-3.5/5