Happy Friday, readers!
Next week, our family is vacationing in Utah for Spring Break. Weβre heading to Capitol Reef National Park; if you have any family-friendly recommendations for hikes or must-see/must-do/must-eats, let me know!
Naturally, Iβve been planning my vacation reading for weeks, knowing full well that Iβll have way less reading time than I think. Regardless, the quality of vacation reading, in a new place and without the stresses of work in the background, is guaranteed to be superb. The carefree nature of vacation reading is what makes it special, not the quantity.
To satisfy your curiosity: Iβll be reading Jade War and Behind the Beautiful Forevers next week.
This week, though, I get to share one of my favorite reads so far this year, as well as one that underwhelmed. These titles share a common theme on the power of language, which is something Iβve been interested in for nearly as long as I can remember. I suppose itβs only natural for someone who studied both journalism and religion in college.
Letβs jump in.
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
βCreating special language to influence people's behavior and beliefs is so effective in part simply because speech is the first thing we're willing to change about ourselves. and also the last thing we let go.βΒ
If youβve been reading a while, you know quite well that Iβm a sucker for anything in the sub-genre of cults. Memoirs, histories, true crimeβIβm here for all of it. Montellβs 2021 book, Cultish, is something totally unique in the space: a smart, light-hearted, often funny dissection of the language cults use to draw people inβand keep them.
Montell, a linguist, perfectly rides the line between eye-opening insight and hilarious commentary on not only infamous cults like Scientology, Jim Jonesβ Peoples Temple, and Heavenβs Gate, but also modern pop culture βcultsβ like SoulCycle, MLMs, and Instagram influencers.
When it comes down to it, Montell convincingly argues, language is what gives cults such power over followersβ beliefs and actions. And whatβs the first step to doing so? βCreating an us-versus-them dichotomy.βΒ There is no more powerful tool in the cult leaderβs toolbox than separating followers from everyone else.
It happens in politics (obviously), but also more subtly in subcultures like diet fads, fitness classes, online affinity groups of all kinds, and so much more. Distinguishing βcultβ from βnot-a-cultβ isnβt necessarily as easy as it seems.
Youβll never look at Instagram influencers, Barre classes, or even your sports fandom the same way again.
Overall: Cultish is an incredibly fun and insightful book. Highly recommended.
Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown
Iβve always enjoyed Brene Brown well enough, but never been a mega-fan. Her work hasnβt been personally life-changing. Iβm well aware of the power of her books, though. So I had high hopes for Atlas of the Heart, particularly because of the captivating premise of furthering our language around emotions (rather than just calling everything trauma or anxiety).
While the content itself is good, I havenβt found the book to be all that readableβwhich is why I havenβt finished it. yet. The format is more of a textbook/dictionary of definitions and descriptions of various emotions. Thereβs isnβt much of a narrative to keep the pages turning.
And even the style is a touch jarringβBrown goes from research-heavy, formal descriptions to very casually written anecdotes from her own life. Itβs a fine tactic, it just doesnβt work for me in this particular instance.
I certainly appreciate the descriptions of our dozens of emotionsβbeing aware of the sometimes subtle differences between those emotions, and being able to name things more accurately, is a helpful, perhaps critical, life skill.
Ultimately, though, the lack of narrative structure makes it a book Iβll pick up here and there when I have a handful of spare minutes rather than something Iβll go through cover-to-cover in a few sittings.
Thanks so much for reading and subscribing! I really appreciate the time and inbox space.
-Jeremy
Cultish was my favorite book of 2021!
Montell has a new-ish podcast called That Sounds Like a Cult where she (and a cohost whose name Iβm forgetting) digs into things like Trader Joeβs and the Bachelor and how they share qualities with cults. Itβs fab.
Kayla has been reading Atlas of the Heart and enjoying it and I thought it was wild when she told me about Brene Brown giving big shoutouts to Kirk Goldsberry who has used his cartography skills to explain basketball so brilliantly in the book Sprawlball. Anyway, just thought the connection was fun!