While, unfortunately, I didn't have time to finish this book, I really enjoyed the first quarter. I think it's a helpful and easy-to-understand self-help book about rituals and habit-building in life. Some criticism I've seen is that ritual and habit are synonymous, but I think Katz makes a slim but important distinction between the two. While the psychology behind Everyday Rituals isn't especially groundbreaking, it's presented in a way that I think will appeal to a broader audience than traditional self-help books on habits.

This book was repetitive and not as intriguing as an older book entitled Daily Rituals which gives the reader a peek into the rituals of some famous persons living and past.

This book was an interesting read. From the cover and descriptions I was expecting a much different book, so it wasn’t for me. I would still recommend this book for readers but those looking into what is behind rituals and not different ways of living it out.

Unfortunately, this book was not what I expected. I prefer (and I found that they help me more) books where the text is presented in a lighter to understand manner regarding the format and this was not it, which surprised me after I've seen the cover. Apart from that, the ideas were a bit repetitive and a bit one-sided at times. What I liked was that usually there was a conclusion at the end of the chapter. Regarding the actual content, I was looking for the book to talk more about routine (since it had "everyday" in the title), but it's focused on more types of rituals (traditions, etiquette, unwritten rules). It is totally the type of book you get so you can reflect on some ideas more than highlighting solutions for some types of problems.

Personally, I didn't find the book as helpful as I would have liked, but it can be an interesting read if you have the time to contemplate how rituals affect life in general.

I thought I would enjoy this book a lot not than I did, but I ended up DNFing around 40%. I felt like it was a bit repetitive, and didn't go into the depths that I had been hoping for. Just not the book for me, i think.

I feel less judged for having a routine to maintain my life, and calling them rituals makes it seem more special and less neurotic.

Such an insightful book which makes you look at rituals in a way you haven't ever before. I'd never considered how important and freeing they are.

This is a very interesting book which is well written, carefully crafted and leaves you looking at life in a different way.

I am a routine oriented person who has found such strength and personal success with creating and maintaining personal routines.

This title is a bit misleading as I assumed it was about routines but it is more about the idea of rituals and the various types of rituals.

An interesting read, but not what I’d hoped. Ritual needs to be in the title, not routine.

This was a very mesmerising piece to read. I loved how easy it was to understand, especially with the anecdotes.

This book is more of a sociology-style book that explains the power of rituals. I gave it four stars because I thought it was well-researched but the cover and description signal more self-help than it actually is.

I expected a book that explained how to implement rituals in my everyday life. The cover makes it feel like this book will discuss self-care and organization when this really feels like a thesis about the cultural impact of rituals.

Whilst this was an interesting read into the significance and importance of everyday rituals it had a broader focus than I expected so it was less a self he'll book and more a study into culture. The synopsis needs to be clearer as I think other people will pick this up as a self help book

A fascinating book, full of coping strategies for life, from the mundane to the creative.
This is a carefully crafted work. I found it captivating and amazing.

This was an interesting exploration of the meaning and importance of rituals. The title may be a little misleading so please be aware that it‘s not a guide to enhance your own life through rituals. Instead it‘s more of a popular science approach into why rituals are a fundamental human desire. I enjoyed this book but found that a lot of the things the author argued were just common sense and nothing new - therefore my three star rating.

This book rubbed me the wrong way from the start. Katz defines rituals as everything - routines, ceremonies, etiquette, customary procedures and habits, and she defines freedom as an intellectual state of mind, and nothing to do with the body. Then she throws in some generalisations - for example she states as a fact that most adults read at the same place at the same time each day. Also, she talks about a wedding where they didn't follow traditional rituals and no-one knew what to do, which feels like a very reactionary take on a badly organised day. She repeatedly writes about how people lost their rituals during the COVID-19 lockdowns, but doesn't explore the impacts of this with any depth or the new rituals some of us formed.There are lots of anecdotes from (allegedly) real people, reflecting Katz's background as an anthropologist, but I never felt the threads of these interviews coalesce into anything more meaningful. What this book lacks is a clear purpose. The main point could be a TED talk, and is both summed up in the blurb and not very interesting. There is no call to action to create our own rituals, or examination that some rituals can be very damaging. Disappointing, especially because the cover is so fun. This book was clearly not for me. I can't tell you who it might be for though.

I received an e-Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Don’t come into this thinking it’s going to be a guide to rituals to enhance your daily life.

This is more about the research of rituals.

Well written and interesting!

I enjoyed this book and found the views on the power and importance of routines in our lives to be interesting. However, I had initially thought that the book would be dealing with developing routines on a more personal level and how this could impact day to day living. Despite this it was still well worth a read. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read.

This was a thought provoking read. I loved this quote “One must observe the proper rites.” “What is a rite?” asked the little prince. . . . “They are what makes one day different from other days, one hour from other hours,” [said the fox].—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry … rituals are those things that mark our days, our months, our years. A fascinating look at how rituals can be freeing and supportive in daily life.

NetGalley app review

Absolute interesting read. May not be for everyone in that is more a learning of rituals roles within life, society, and more. For someone who uses and studies rituals as a practice for self and practice of yoga, I found it to support the teaching I study from another perspective (a modern take and view).
Also the author uses sources and references to support their writing, that is hard to find now with the world of AI written works out there.

This was a decent exploration of the different types of rituals - though I think the title itself is a bit misleading and I kind of assumed it was focused more on individual rituals and less on the overall concept of rituals and what each can and do for everyone. I think this book is more for the academic interested in rituals as a concept and less for the everyday individual. 3/5

Interesting read.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearings on the rating I gave it.