This was one of the best books I read in 2022.

The subtitle sums it up: how SEEMINGLY senseless acts make life worth living.

In recent decades there has been a ton of talk about the emptiness felt by those of us in the modern world. I think this topic of rituals gives us a lot of clues about why we are so unfulfilled in this SEEMINGLY rational society.

This book gives a lot of insight AND data about the idea that rituals with no practical purpose are indeed some of the most important acts responsible for our wellbeing.

Rituals might seem to go against rationality and efficiently, but the author does a great job of outlining why it might be MORE efficient, and thus more rational, to incorporate more “irrational” rituals into the worklife.

I believe that the lack of rituals is one reason for our psychological isolation, lack of community, and ultimately lack of fulfillment. Knowing this, it’s a pretty simple fix - embrace more rituals.

I hope I didn’t give too much away. The book is very worth your time and money, and I don’t know any other public audience books that cover this so well..Very easy to read, very interesting, highly recommended.