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Amanda Montell: The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality (2024, Atria Books) 4 stars

Overall good I think

4 stars

This book wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it was more of a 'self help' style book but instead its more cultural commentary with a lot of connections to psychological studies. It felt a bit half and half as to if a certain chapter landed with me or not. I started to get a bit bored with her writing style and chapter structure of "share personal experience, connect it to pop culture, reference term and psychological study, end on a witty note back to her personal experience" I don't know if I needed each chapter to have a psychological study to back it up as it just all felt very monotonous and expected.

Nonetheless, the fact that this was a book that I was drawn to finishing and reading for long periods of time (which, as a person with ADHD, is a rarity), I think, says something generally positive about the book.

My favorite chapter is probably the last one.