Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America

All Creatures Great and Small

James Herriot1972

A young veterinarian begins his practice in the Yorkshire Dales during the 1930s. He treats livestock and pets while meeting local farmers.

tender → warm, still memoir

pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Either/Or

Søren Kierkegaard1992

A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

tender → meditative

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

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.

tender → meditative, still memoir

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

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.

tender → bleak, still memoir

pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table

Ruth Reichl

A memoir of a childhood spent around a manic-depressive mother and a love of cooking. It follows the author from youth to early adulthood.

tender → warm, still memoir

pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

The Language of Baklava: A Memoir

Diana Abu-Jaber

A woman describes her upbringing between upstate New York and Jordan, centered on her father’s cooking and cultural heritage.

tender → warm, still memoir

pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Going Cowboy Crazy

Katie Lane2011

A woman travels to a small Texas town to find her secret twin sister and is mistaken for her by the local residents and her sister's ex-flame.

tender → playful

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

The Sun and Her Flowers

Rupi Kaur2017

A collection of short, illustrated poems organized into five stages of growth. It covers themes of loss, trauma, and self-healing.

tender → earnest

pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

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.

Same tender register

pace+2·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.

tender → playful

pace+2·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.

tender → sardonic, still memoir

pace-1·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.

tender → meditative, still memoir

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

M Train

Patti Smith2015

A musician travels to various cafes and gravesites around the world. She reflects on her late husband, her favorite books, and her daily rituals.

tender → elegiac, still memoir

pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

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.

pace+1·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.

tender → tense, still memoir

pace+1·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.

pace+1·prose0·bleak+2