Book Review #1 ~ “Cultish” by Amanda Montell

     At my local library, there is a reading challenge where I was given a bunch of prompts on a Monopoly board for books to read. One was to read a nonfiction book, which I don’t usually read but I picked up “Cultish” by Amanda Montell. I’ve always been interested in different religions, and that means that a book about “cults” is inherently interesting to me. The main premise of this book is to analyze groups from Scientology and Heaven’s Gate to SoulCycle and MLMs. Montell then showed in her book how language was used to get people enthralled in these groups and do actions that could be seen as odd and to some extent, idiotic or foolish, by other people. Montell explained in this book that change in language could be the first step into joining a so-called “cult.” In her own words, “speech is the first thing we’re willing to change about ourselves…and also the last thing we let go” (page 43). 

    Montell explored many different groups in this book, which was very enthralling to me. However, sometimes it seemed like her writing was unorganized and that took me out of the book. I also found the first part of this book WAY more interesting than the second half. I was more intrigued in the discussion about past religious groups and “cults” than SoulCycle and Instagram influencers. That’s just my personal preference, since I despise when social media slang and topics are brought up in books, since it ages the book and just makes me mad. 

    Overall, I do recommend this book and gave it 4.25/5 stars. I think it is important to be aware of groups that could be considered “cults” and how to identify them, even if that’s through the language people in the group use. This was my 68th book of 2025 and I finished it on July 7th. See you soon! xx Autumn