A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines

Shakespeare: The World as Stage

Bill Bryson

A brief biography that sifts through the few surviving historical records to separate facts about Shakespeare's life from myths.

Same wry register, still quest

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The Argonauts

Maggie Nelson2015

A memoir of the author's relationship with her partner and her pregnancy. It mixes personal narrative with academic theory on gender and family.

wry → meditative, still memoir

pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

The Gulag Archipeligo 1918-1956: An Experiment In Literary Investigation I - Ii.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

A history of the Soviet forced labor camp system based on survivor reports and the author's own imprisonment. It documents state-run repression.

wry → bleak, still memoir

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

The Education of Henry Adams

Henry Adams

A man writes a sardonic third-person account of his life and his failure to adapt to the technological shifts of the late 19th century.

wry → sardonic, still memoir

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Manhunting

Jennifer Crusie1994

A businesswoman visits a resort with a plan to find a wealthy husband. She instead clashes with a man who has abandoned his corporate career.

wry → playful

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On a Pale Horse

Piers Anthony1983

After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.

wry → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Untamed

Glennon Doyle2020

A woman recounts leaving her marriage and rebuilding her life after falling in love with another woman. It is a series of personal manifestos.

wry → earnest, still memoir

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Pillow Thoughts

Courtney Peppernell2016

A collection of short poems and prose pieces organized by emotional state. It focuses on themes of heartbreak, healing, and loneliness.

wry → tender

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

wry → playful

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Steal Like an Artist

Austin Kleon2012

A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

wry → playful

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

The Education of Henry Adams

Henry Adams

A man writes a sardonic third-person account of his life and his failure to adapt to the technological shifts of the late 19th century.

wry → sardonic, still memoir

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

No Archive Will Restore You

Julietta Singh2018

The author examines the history of her own body through the lens of race, desire, and pain. It is a collection of fragments and academic theory.

wry → meditative, still memoir

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Confessions

Augustine of Hippo

A 4th-century bishop writes a spiritual autobiography addressed to God. He recounts his sinful youth and his eventual conversion to Christianity.

wry → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Wasted

Marya Hornbacher1998

A detailed memoir of the author's decade-long struggle with anorexia and bulimia. It documents hospitalizations and the physical decay of the body.

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

A House in the Sky

Amanda Lindhout2013

A freelance journalist is kidnapped in Somalia and held for fifteen months. The memoir details her captivity and the conditions she endured.

wry → tense, still memoir

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

A River in Darkness

Masaji Ishikawa2018

A man describes his thirty-six years living in North Korea after moving there from Japan. He recounts extreme poverty and his eventual escape.

pace0·prose0·bleak+2