04/29/2024

Linguist Montell follows up Cultish with a ruminative examination of “self-deceptive thought patterns,” which she contends are a powerful substratum of the modern psyche. While “magical thinking,” or the belief that one’s thoughts can affect the real world, may function as a necessary mental shield in certain situations (Joan Didion famously wrote about its importance for dealing with grief), Montell argues that “magical overthinking” is that same tendency set into irrational overdrive by the internet era’s overabundance of information. To illuminate this phenomenon, she dissects pop culture oddities and contemporary relationship issues to show how they are symptomatic of otherwise anodyne “cognitive biases” run amok. One standout chapter posits that fans’ “parasocial” relationships with celebrities, which rely on attributing to the celebrity an invented personality based on scant evidence, are an instance of the “halo effect” (the “unconscious tendency to make positive assumptions about a person’s overall character”). Originally documented decades ago as characteristic of how people think about close associates, this cognitive bias is made irrational by “closeness” to celebrities via social media. Other chapters analyze the “sunk cost fallacy” in relationships and “confirmation bias” in astrology. Montell’s arguments sometimes hinge on reductive generalizations (e.g., everyone believes they are a good person), but she makes more than enough astute connections to compensate for occasional glosses. It’s an alluring diagnosis of what ails modern minds. (Apr.)

Written with wit, smarts, and self-deprecating charm, The Age of Magical Overthinking is at once a guidebook for the era of misinformation and an illuminating, palm-to-the-forehead reveal of the delusions that underlie our own beliefs. Rarely have so few pages explained so much, so entertainingly.” —Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of Stiff, Gulp, and Fuzz

“Anyone who’s ever been trapped in their own head can find solace in Amanda Montell’s latest work, a delightful blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores the modern information age, our brain’s overloaded coping mechanisms, and societal irrationality.” —NYLON

“With her nonfiction books Wordslut, Cultish, and most recently, The Age of Magical Overthinking, and her popular podcast Sounds Like A Cult, Montell has opened broad avenues for her fans to track the race between language, psychology, and their own bizarre behaviors.”—Elle

“In her latest, [Montell] unpacks the loopholes in the mental tricks and cognitive biases that we all tend to use as coping mechanisms. Montell connects the halo effect to Taylor Swift, the way sunk cost fallacy keeps us in situations we simply should not be in anymore, and so much more. And she writes about it all so gorgeously that you’ll be reaching for a pen to annotate.”—The Skimm

“If you've ever wondered how social media has changed how you see the rest of the world, The Age of Magical Overthinking is exactly the book for you. Montell explores how the Internet and constantly being online has made us chronic overthinkers and anxious, irrational beings. And, of course, she offers a reprieve from the chaos of the modern age.”—Men’s Health

“[Montell] turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet. . . razor sharp, deeply funny . . . Montell’s prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves.”—Sunset

“Have you noticed you have a tendency to overthink? Join the party because we've all been living in an analytical bubble, but there may be hope! In The Age of Magical Overthinking, author Amanda Montell breaks down the things we tend to overthink and why they occupy our brain so much.”—Brit+Co

“An engaging package suitable for anyone who wants to better understand the chaos of our modern society. Montell’s take on how irrationality went mainstream is informed by erudite wit and an eye for telling images.”—Kirkus, starred review

“Refreshingly entertaining and informative...[Montell] exemplifies the power of compelling stories by employing her own memorable metaphors and disclosures as an invitation to consider more deeply what we choose to consume and share.”—Booklist

“Montell combines erudition with humor and self-deprecation...Reading The Age of Magical Overthinking feels like listening to your smartest friend give excellent advice. Hopefully, we’ll take it.”—BookPage

★ 2023-12-05
A leading social commentator puts the weird trends of our time under the microscope.

Montell, author of Cultish and Wordslut, examines a profound, timely question: How do we get out of the constant cycle of confusion, obsession, second-guessing, and information overload? The author approaches the dilemmas of the 21st century with her tongue firmly in her cheek, although she recognizes the way that “magical thinking,” or the belief that internal thoughts and feelings can affect unrelated events in the external world, is slowly unraveling our society. The book is more a series of essays than a cohesive narrative, but Montell ably demonstrates the fundamental mismatch between the way our brains operate and a world defined by the internet, media saturation, and AI systems. It’s become almost impossible to separate truth from marketing ploys, so there’s a tendency to retreat into cynicism—or, even worse, conspiracy theories. Everything seems to be a crisis, pushed along by attention spans that continue to shrink. Montell covers a great deal of ground, from the “stans” (that is, stalker-fans) of celebrities, to mental health gurus selling “vibes,” to the allure of commercialized nostalgia. On the psychological side, the author leads us through the thickets of confirmation bias, the recency illusion, and the sunk-cost fallacy, and how such flawed thinking can undermine our attempts to make sense of the world. Montell is better at analysis than providing answers, but she believes that a good dose of considered self-awareness can go a long way. Getting away from the screen and doing something physical, even assembling furniture, can also be an antidote. The author presents an engaging package suitable for anyone who wants to better understand the chaos of our modern society.

Montell’s take on how irrationality went mainstream is informed by erudite wit and an eye for telling images.