Reddit reviews Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction

Here is the textbook I used for my Critical Theory Class at UCLA. It's called the Norton Anthology of Critical Theory. While this is a good introduction to many theorists, I also suggest you to research supplemental materials on databases - ie. JSTOR - to understand movements/concepts.

There is also a comic book series that's descent depending on what you pick. While I enjoyed Foucault for Beginners, I hated Derrida for Beginners.

Lastly, Jonathan Culler's Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction is an excellent entry point. I actually met Culler when I visited Cornell. He's an awesome guy. Anyways, I think Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction should also be an excellent resource, although I haven't read it myself.

This suggestion is going to be pretty much the diametrical opposite of the Norton (which I also have and highly recommend), but if you're looking for an overview of how everything sort of - fits together, with starting places to bound off in exciting new directions, you might want to grab a copy of the Very Short Introduction to Critical Theory. The Very Short Introduction series is generally well edited (I've read several, though not, I think, this one), published by Oxford, and (if my VSI to Children's Literature is typical) an extensive list of sources and references for further reading.

It won't be the end of the road in terms of understanding your subject, but it might be a more cohesive and helpful beginning than the one you have now. :)

Well, I can give you a link to a course which is a few hours long:
https://courses.aynrand.org/campus-courses/the-philosophical-origins-of-marxism/

The alienation and reification from Marxism is something talked about in Critical Theory a lot. https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Theory-Very-Short-Introduction/dp/0199730075