LitQueuelitqueue

After

Dark Money

Jane Mayer2016

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • All the President’s Men

    Carl Bernstein1974

    Two Washington Post reporters investigate the 1972 Watergate burglary and follow the trail of money and power to the White House.

    clinical → tense, still investigative journalism

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

    Michel Foucault

    A philosophical history examines the shift from public torture to modern prison surveillance. It analyzes how power controls the body.

    Same clinical register

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1

    Karl Marx2015

    An analysis of the capitalist mode of production focusing on commodities, surplus value, and the exploitation of labor.

    Same clinical register

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • The Annals of Imperial Rome

    Tacitus1956

    A Roman historian chronicles the reigns of emperors from Tiberius to Nero. He focuses on the corruption of power and the decline of political liberty.

    clinical → sardonic

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Starter Villain

    John Scalzi2023

    A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.

    clinical → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Sentinel

    Lee Child2020

    A drifter helps an IT manager targeted by criminals after a cyberattack. He uses physical force to protect the man and uncover a conspiracy.

    clinical → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Artemis

    Andy Weir2017

    A porter and smuggler on a lunar colony takes a high-stakes sabotage job to pay off a debt. She uses technical knowledge to solve problems.

    clinical → propulsive, still conspiracy

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    clinical → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    clinical → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Poke the Box

    Seth Godin2011

    A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

    clinical → earnest

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    clinical → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

  • How to Read a Book

    Mortimer J. Adler1940

    This is a guide to active reading techniques for different genres. It outlines levels of reading from basic literacy to syntopical analysis.

    clinical → mysterious

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • The Red Book: Liber Novus

    C.G. Jung2009

    A psychologist records his visions and internal dialogues in an illuminated manuscript created during a period of intense self-exploration.

    clinical → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Jakarta Method

    Vincent Bevins2020

    A history of the US-backed mass killings of Indonesian leftists and how that strategy was exported globally during the Cold War.

    Same clinical register, still investigative journalism

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Escape from Camp 14

    Blaine Harden2012

    The biography of Shin Dong-hyuk, the only person born in a North Korean political prison camp known to have escaped.

    clinical → bleak, still investigative journalism

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam

    Nick Turse

    A journalist uses declassified documents and veteran interviews to document systemic violence against civilians during the Vietnam War.

    clinical → bleak, still investigative journalism

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1