As I mentioned in a recent blog post, I wrote a book called The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions. It’ll be published by Quarto on July 15^th, 2025. But in the meantime, the first two reviews of the book just came out!

First, there’s a glowing write up of The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions over at Foreword Reviews. Here’s an excerpt:

“A delightful mix of education and entertainment, The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions is a spirited salute to humanity’s quirks—proof that even our silliest beliefs have something to say.”

You can see the whole Foreword Reviews write-up HERE.

And the second write-up comes from Publishers Weekly. It’s also a rave review! Here’s an excerpt:

“Written in an appealingly chatty style, this packs an impressive amount of research into an entertaining package.”

Click HERE to read the whole PW review.

And just in case you don’t have a subscription to Publishers Weekly and therefore cannot read the PW review via the link above, here it is in its entirety:

The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions: Ancient and Remarkable Traditions That Will Captivate Your Mind

Arie Kaplan. Wellfleet, $19.99 trade paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-57715-462-4

Comedian Kaplan (The Encyclopedia of Epic Myths and Legends) wryly and informatively catalogs superstitious beliefs across history, spotlighting the many that are still prevalent in the modern world. According to Kaplan, “superstitions are more deeply enmeshed in contemporary life than you might think.” He notes that certain common practices are actually superstitious at their core, from traditions like throwing a bouquet at a wedding to everyday etiquette like how to speak to a baby (in much of Asia and Eastern Europe, one should never call a baby “cute,” as it might provoke the evil eye). Arguing that the contemporary conception of “superstition” as based on “ignorance, fear…. or a false conception of causation” is “a little judgmental,” he looks instead for the logic behind superstitious beliefs, ranging from the origins of the taboo against opening an umbrella indoors (likely handed down by the ancient Egyptians, who used umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun and had reasonable concerns about doing things that might offend the sun god) to the explanation for the nearly universal belief (documented in Asia, Native America, and early modern Europe) that pointing at a rainbow will bring bad luck (probably just an easy way to teach kids the good manners of not pointing at things). Written in an appealingly chatty style, this packs an impressive amount of research into an entertaining package. (July)

Oh, and one more thing: you can preorder The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions HERE, HERE, and HERE.