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A lot of time has passed since the full horrors (and oddities) of Scientology were revealed. Even still, this incredibly researched and dense inspection of the so-called religion packs a mighty punch.

This was mostly interesting, but there were times where I just couldn‘t focus. I think I find the personal stories the most interesting (including the other books I‘ve read), though this is a very well-researched detailed account. It‘s pretty scary, though, that journalists, people who have left, etc, anyone who says anything against Scientology appear to be harassed, and in some cases, even framed for crimes they didn‘t commit!

For the publishing year 2013 I selected this one. This book covers the insanity that is this “religion.” Call it what you will this is a cult and it‘s beyond disturbing what goes on and how people are willing to turn their backs on their loved ones for this terrifying group of people. #19822022 #readingchallenge2022 #marchreadinglist @Librarybelle

Crazy, weird and they think they are not a cult. Unbelievably believable. They need to be taken off of the nonprofit list.

What a doozy of a book

#currentlyreading #beyondbelief #cults #crazyshit #nonfiction #Scientology

12-29-19: My 108th finished book of 2019! #goingclear #lawrencewright A lot of info on a subject I find fascinatingly wacky. 👍🏼📖#️⃣1️⃣0️⃣8️⃣

This is surprising - to me, anyway. You don't hear much about the Rastafarians!

• Sounds like a really f---ed up form of OCD. No thank you 😒 •

Flew through this- reads like fiction!

In the 1990s, the head of Cult Awareness Network in Chicago wrote, "Scientology is quite likely the most ruthless, the most classically terroristic, the most litigious and the most lucrative cult the country has ever seen." This book painstakingly lays out the truth of each point of that statement in shocking, horrifying details. Yikes. Definitely recommended.

Current audio read - I still have 10 hours to go, but so far it‘s going into a lot of detail about L. Ron Hubbard, who was a total creep 😳

This shit is bananas. B A N A N A S.

Can't get enough. Watching the entire Leah Remini show now too.

"You're in a cult! Call your dad!"

Man, LRH was out there! Really interesting book about Scientology
- if you‘ve seen the Leah Remini series, this is a good tie-in

If you want to know more about scientology, its background and accounts from members, this is definitely the book. It contained so much information.

• No wonder Miscavige was so damn happy; he was about to take over the circus 😤 •

“Whatever powers Scientology was supposed to bestow were no more evident in the death of its founder than they had been in his life.”

• All I can say is...CUCKOO CUCKOO!!! •

This book is one of the most terrifying books I've ever read. Stephen King move over - this is real life horror.
My heart goes out to all the people who have been manipulated and brainwashed by this cult. Respect to the author for daring to dig in the dark and tell what he found. *Shudder*

Hour 20 of #24b4Monday

This is my final count for the readathon, as I will be going to bed. Still...a good job, I think.

This book is mind blowing!! If you want to read something really out there and Its TRUE read this! Its very informative on Scientology and to say the least it will leave you saying WHAAAATTT! THIS IS REAL !😬 lol me and the babe @trioxin_sematary watched the documentary the other day and I highly recommend that as well!

Very interesting read!! I promise you!!

I just had to hear "fascinating man" hubbard's incredibly detailed daily affirmations about his sexual abilities. I can't do this anymore. ??

I had known scientology was a vicious, life-ruining cult, but I hadn't known how ableist its doctrine is from top to bottom. Yet another reason the author's "neutrality" schtick is getting really old.

The author has stopped saying "Hubbard claims [x]" and started saying "Hubbard notes [x]." That worries me.

""Exteriorization," the sense that one has actually left [one's] physical being behind, is a commonly reported occurrence for [s]cientologists."

Uh, that's called dissociation. A thing that can happen when one is under extreme stress. Such as, I don't know, when one is sitting uncomfortably close across from a stranger who stares continuously into one's eyes, says everything possible to provoke one, and screams "Flunk!" whenever one moves. ??

This was great to read after Troublemaker. I really liked how informative this book was. I think it is hard to find anything written on this topic that is not biased, but this was really well written and definitely tried to state facts as well as they could. I enjoyed this and learning more about this topic.

CUCKOO CUCKOO CUCKOO

#currentlyreading #truthisstrangerthanfiction #cults #history #crazy #insane

• He wasn‘t insane after all, you guys
* sarcasm * •

• I think I‘m going to concur with “fictional science” •

#currentlyreading #psychology #history #cults #fascinating #disturbing #scientology #religion??? #insanity!!!

• Doesn‘t get much kookier than this, folks! •

#currentlyreading #psychology #history #cults #scientology #religion??? #insanity!!!

• The mental health establishment rejected Hubbard and his wonky “Dianetics” so naturally he skewered psychiatrists by calling them “psychotic criminals” and comparing them to terrorists. This book is getting painful but it‘s so compelling!! 😩 •

#currentlyreading #psychology #history #cults #scientology #religion??? #insanity!!!

Guess I am going down a rabbit hole here.

#noteworthynovember #scientology
#nov📚📷

A few years ago my father was in the hospital at Kaiser Sunset, located on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. From his hospital room we could see the Scientology building across the street. To while away the time my brother and I would watch the comings and goings of the building. It was fascinating to witness, strange and creepy to see people running, not walking, at all hours made me think #🤷🏻‍♀️

"All life is directed by one command and one command only - SURVIVE."

(Art from Boston Globe)

"Religion is always an irrational enterprise, no matter how ennobling it may be to the human spirit."

And before it's too late here's my #90sinJuly #insaneinthebrain pick! Presented without comment.

The used books gods have been good to me this week. Dropped off the recycling on my way home and what was sitting on the top of the book recycling box, a book that's been on my to-read list since I read Troublemaker (tagged below) and one of the few Peabody series that I didn't get at the library sale earlier this week.

It's not the first time I've picked up new or used books out of the recycling book bin, try not to judge me too harshly 🙈🙊🙉

This book was insane. Full review on my blog! Www.bibliographyblog.com

Sneaking in a #recommendsday pick🙂.
I saw the HBO doc made from this book, & was disappointed. It didn't cover new ground.
But the book covers it ALL! It's very thorough, rich in detail, well-sourced, fact-checked, & still riveting.
As a person who lives in a stained-glass house, I try not to judge other faiths. But Wright leaves little doubt that Scientology is exactly what's accused of being: a cult. Hard to read at points, but worth it.

It can get very dry at points (the minutiae of Hubbard's life was tedious IMHO, but YMMV) but any fan of cult-exposing books will get their fix here.

Got through a decent chunk of this today.
I am fascinated with these movements on the edges of our society.
I'm going to follow this up with Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill. Should be done interesting listening for the next couple weeks.

Exhaustive and nuanced, this look at this history and development of Scientology demands that the reader think critically about religion itself and its sociological implications.

Here is my freaked out face after finishing this book. In middle school, I got mildly obsessed with Charles Manson after seeing Dianne Sawyer interview him and some of the Manson Family women in 1993. It sparked a lifelong fascination with religion, including cults and new religions, and what compels people to follow a master so absolutely. This is a very in-depth look into Scientology. (More in comments)

A little "light" reading before bed. LOL! Seriously, as a lapsed Catholic turned secular humanist, I find alternative religions so fascinating. I am excited to finish this and then re-watch the HBO movie.

I gave this a "pick" because the material fascinates me, but if you're not obsessed with cults, then this would probably just be "so-so." There's a lot about the history of Scientology, Hubbard, the current crazy leader, Miscavige, and celebrities (far too much about Tom Cruise). Learning about the beliefs of Scientologists, I'm even more fascinated. As for the writing, the author loses focus occasionally, but eventually circles back to the topic.

Each time I turn a page, I think it can't get any more bizarre...but it does.

#currentlyreading #nonfiction

4.5🌟story & narration Listening to this nearly back to back with Inside Scientology was interesting. While IS looked more at the rank and file members of both the church and Sea Org, GC looked more at the celebrity members and the top Sea Org brass. The book was told through the lens of Paul Haggis, a famous Hollywood writer. Both books did a fairly similar job of portraying LRH and David Miscavige. Overall, I recommend them both.

So I'm reading my second book on Scientology. Paul Haggis is the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Crash and Million Dollar Baby. He has two gay daughters and was a Scientologist. When the San Diego branch of the church supported Prop 8, he tried to get the church to recant its support. The exchange culminated in this wonderful, timely quote.

I'm enjoying seeing everyone's snuggle buddies so much tonight, I'd figured I'd share my own little guy. For those of you who don't know, this is Henry, my nearly 14 year old toy poodle. 😃💜🐶 And the two #audiobooks I'm listening to. #dogsoflitsy