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seventhswan 's review for:
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
by Amanda Montell
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
This book was interesting enough and written in an entertaining style. I preferred the chapters about "actual" cults - particularly Scientology, which is fascinating - to the latter half, which was more about the use of culty language in social groups that don't particularly harm or exploit anyone, such as fitness classes. I do think I prefer Montell's podcast, Sounds Like a Cult, to this book, but I couldn't really articulate why. Perhaps the broad range of topics made the chapters feel a bit disjointed? Overall, there was plenty to like here and nothing glaringly unenjoyable, but I haven't come away feeling that this is a must-read or with my views on the topics greatly changed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Suicide, Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Sexual violence