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Which Cult Should I Join?: A Choose-Your-Own Guidebook for the Spiritually Bereft
A lighthearted—but factual—look at some of the craziest cults in modern history.
Do you prefer applesauce (Heaven’s Gate) to Kool-Aid (Peoples Temple)? Do you think carrots are “the food of the Masters” (Church Universal and Triumphant) or that swimming and joking should be forbidden (the Fellowship of Friends)? This is the book for you! We help sort your E.T.-loving Raelians from your Moonies, your snake-handling Church of God with Signs Following from your Branch Davidians.
To make the path to the reader’s chosen cult easy, Which Cult Should I Join? is structured like a Choose Your Own Adventure book—in that the reader makes a series of decisions along the way to come to their chosen cult. And with forty of the most high-profile modern cults covered, we have one to suit every reader.
Do you prefer applesauce (Heaven’s Gate) to Kool-Aid (Peoples Temple)? Do you think carrots are “the food of the Masters” (Church Universal and Triumphant) or that swimming and joking should be forbidden (the Fellowship of Friends)? This is the book for you! We help sort your E.T.-loving Raelians from your Moonies, your snake-handling Church of God with Signs Following from your Branch Davidians.
To make the path to the reader’s chosen cult easy, Which Cult Should I Join? is structured like a Choose Your Own Adventure book—in that the reader makes a series of decisions along the way to come to their chosen cult. And with forty of the most high-profile modern cults covered, we have one to suit every reader.
144 pages, Paperback
Published May 9, 2017
391 people want to read
About the author
Jo Stewart
15 books4 followersJo Stewart's website is not being accepted by Goodreads, and since it can't be posted here, it is www dot JoStewart dot com dot au.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 11, 2021
Really good and fun intro to cults. Has a few endings that are actually just straight up religions but there's only so many interesting cults out there I suppose!
February 3, 2019
An amusing, light-hearted take on an often disturbing subject, Which Could Should I Join? is a choose your own adventure type take on discovering which famous or obscure alternative religious movement you are suited to join. Whether you believe in aliens or the apocalypse or are a fan of psychedelic rock, there is a cult for you to join. For me, it turned out to be Hare Krishna, a rather innocuous group considering some of the others, like Aum Shinrikyo and the FLDS (I had been aiming for the Pastafarians, myself). Though, as the author notes, the entries (some of which are only debatably cults) should be taken with a grain of salt, there were a lot of fun facts about a lot weird groups, from the Unarius Academy of Science and the Gloriavale Christian Community to the Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow and the Source Family. I was especially happy to see local eccentric worshipers of the light and sound of God, Eckankar, included. If you’re careful, though, there is a also way to make it through the choices without joining a cult!
July 25, 2018
Entertaining tour of some of the weird and wacky cults out there, laid out in the form of one of those "write your own adventure" books from my youth. By answering a series of questions, you will find the cult most "appropriate" for you - or that's the joke. Each cult is described in a page or so, which clearly barely does justice to some of the odd-ball beliefs out there, but it's enough to whet your appetite for further study, should you so choose.
Of course what you'll likely end up doing is playing with your answers to see where they lead, to find the kind of cult that would suit a rifle-toting believer in satan and his ways who also likes heavy rock music, or whatever takes your fancy. And of course you could always do what I ended up doing, which is reading it all from the beginning.
All in all, a well-written series of brief accounts of the stranger fringes of our world, well worth making a present of to someone you know - so long as you get to play along as well.
Of course what you'll likely end up doing is playing with your answers to see where they lead, to find the kind of cult that would suit a rifle-toting believer in satan and his ways who also likes heavy rock music, or whatever takes your fancy. And of course you could always do what I ended up doing, which is reading it all from the beginning.
All in all, a well-written series of brief accounts of the stranger fringes of our world, well worth making a present of to someone you know - so long as you get to play along as well.
February 1, 2022
The perfect book for indecisive cult seekers. The author, Jo Stewart, breaks down popular cults throughout the decades, ranking them by their use of mind control tactics, money swindling abilities, need for isolation from family, beliefs in aliens, sex policies, weaponry/murder, love for Kool-Aid, outfit requirements, and so much more! With tongue firmly in cheek, the author certainly has a sense of humor, yet reports detailed facts about each cult with insight and curiosity.
March 31, 2018
3.5 stars. Fun choose your own adventure book.
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August 8, 2019If you are looking for me, I will be at the Eckankar temple.
(PS - I read this because it fit a category in two different book challenges, not because I'm planning to join a cult.)
(PS - I read this because it fit a category in two different book challenges, not because I'm planning to join a cult.)
June 30, 2022
Brilliant idea for a book: flow chart of questions leading to your "ideal" choice of faith.
Hilarious/tragic/interesting!
Hilarious/tragic/interesting!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews