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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
I am so fascinated by language’s ability to shape and reflect our reality. Cultish zooms in on that aspect in regards to the use of language in creating vulnerabilities to, encouraging, and maintaining cult behavior in an entertaining manner.
I had to stop the audiobook so many times in order to thing about what I heard (btw- the narrator is great). I appreciated learning new words and thinking more about what I use certain phrases. I’m definitely going to bust out the word glosolalia in the future, but I’m also going to stop using the term “Drank the Kool-Aid.”
The overall tone of the book is conversational and not scholarly. I wouldn’t use it as a reference for a research paper, but it’s fascinating and sparked conversations with friends. The book is a great length and every chapter adds something more to the discussion.
I had to stop the audiobook so many times in order to thing about what I heard (btw- the narrator is great). I appreciated learning new words and thinking more about what I use certain phrases. I’m definitely going to bust out the word glosolalia in the future, but I’m also going to stop using the term “Drank the Kool-Aid.”
The overall tone of the book is conversational and not scholarly. I wouldn’t use it as a reference for a research paper, but it’s fascinating and sparked conversations with friends. The book is a great length and every chapter adds something more to the discussion.
informative
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
“𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎; 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍, 𝚒𝚝 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢’𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘.”
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Great book about how language is the most powerful tool anyone can wield, and what happens when people use it to influence masses.
I’ve listened to Amanda‘s podcast Sounds Like a Cult for years now, and this book did not disappoint. It’s like a podcast in a book, very easy to read yet still so educational. Definitely a big recommendation. Everyone go read it.
informative
medium-paced
I listened to this on audio. I had a fine time overall. The analysis of language in the context of cults was an interesting way to go about it, I think, and I liked the insights provided there. There were aspects of this I cared less about than others, however. All of the stuff about work out classes wasn't interesting to me, I sort of understand why it was there, just didn't care for it. I did like the stuff about actual cults, conspiratorial thinking, the internet, language, and influence, though.
informative
medium-paced
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
From religious (or non-religious) cults that you’ve seen plastered on the news to MLMs to fitness cults to political and digital media age cults, and many more that don’t really fit into a category, Cultish covers it all. Focusing on the language that is used to enthrall (entrap) the likely and unlikely followers to commit their lives, and money, to such bizarre causes.
I personally loved the style in which the author wrote, but I did listen to this one and it felt like I was listening to a podcast with a fun, informed host with a revolving door of guest ex-cult member guests.
I felt the “fitness cults” portion was a bit long for its content and began to feel repetitive. And although the author does talk about the language used for each cult, and cult type mentioned, being that the book is named after the discussion of the language, the majority of the book was just explaining various cults (which I found fascinating but I can see how some could argue that title is a bit misleading).
I personally loved the style in which the author wrote, but I did listen to this one and it felt like I was listening to a podcast with a fun, informed host with a revolving door of guest ex-cult member guests.
I felt the “fitness cults” portion was a bit long for its content and began to feel repetitive. And although the author does talk about the language used for each cult, and cult type mentioned, being that the book is named after the discussion of the language, the majority of the book was just explaining various cults (which I found fascinating but I can see how some could argue that title is a bit misleading).