LitQueuelitqueue

After

Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table

Nigel Slater

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

Same wry register, still food writing

1 more ↓

  • Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen

    Laurie Colwin

    A collection of personal essays about cooking at home. It includes recipes woven into stories about small kitchens and dinner parties.

    wry → warm, still food writing

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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

    pace0·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → dreamlike

    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.

    wry → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

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.

    wry → playful

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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+2·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → earnest

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

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.

    wry → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → mysterious

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Self-Reliance and Other Essays

    Ralph Waldo Emerson1993

    A collection of 19th-century lectures advocating for individualism and nonconformity. The prose is dense, formal, and philosophical.

    wry → meditative, still essays

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Animal Farm

    George Orwell1945

    Farm animals overthrow their human owner to run the farm themselves. The pigs gradually seize control and establish a new hierarchy.

    wry → sardonic

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+3

  • The Diary of a Young Girl

    Anne Frank2001

    A Jewish teenager records her daily life and thoughts while hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex in Amsterdam.

    wry → earnest

    pace0·prose0·bleak+3

  • A Child Called "It"

    Dave Pelzer1987

    A memoir of the author's childhood survival against severe physical and psychological abuse by his mother in California.

    wry → bleak

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+3