After
Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin
Hampton Sides
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same propulsive register, still history
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Empire of Pain
Patrick Radden Keefe2021
A history of the Sackler family and their role in the opioid crisis. It tracks three generations of wealth and pharmaceutical marketing.
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- pace0prose0bleak0
Killing Lincoln
Bill O'Reilly2011
A chronological account of the final days of the Civil War and the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. It follows both the victim and the killers.
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- pace0prose0bleak-1
A Kim Jong-Il Production
Paul Fischer2015
The true account of Kim Jong-Il kidnapping a South Korean director and an actress to build a film industry. It follows their years in captivity.
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- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Lincoln Conspiracy
Brad Meltzer2020
This account details a secret society's 1861 plot to kill Abraham Lincoln in Baltimore before his first inauguration.
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1 more ↓ ↑
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The Skies Belong to Us
Brendan I. Koerner2013
A history of the 1960s and 70s hijacking epidemic, centered on a couple who took over a flight to protest the Vietnam War.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Denser prose
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter1979
An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.
propulsive → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Either/Or
Søren Kierkegaard1992
A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
propulsive → clinical, still history
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
propulsive → bleak, still history
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

To recover
Same propulsive register
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Ghost Ship
Clive Cussler2014
Kurt Austin survives a yacht sinking but suffers from conflicting memories. He investigates a global cybercrime conspiracy to find the truth.
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- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown2009
Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

3 more ↓ ↑
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Walking Disaster
Jamie McGuire2013
This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.
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- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Killer Blonde
Laura Levine2004
A freelance writer investigates a murder in the Hamptons after a socialite is killed. She balances the case with her work for a demanding boss.
propulsive → playful
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- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Two for the dough
Janet Evanovich1996
An inexperienced bounty hunter tracks a man who jumped bail for shooting his friend. She competes with a vice cop to find him first.
propulsive → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake
Frank W. Abagnale
A teenager poses as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer to cash millions in fraudulent checks. He evades the FBI across several countries.
propulsive → playful, still true crime
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever
Bill O'Reilly
A minute-by-minute narrative of John Wilkes Booth's plot to kill Abraham Lincoln and the subsequent manhunt for the conspirators.
Same propulsive register, still true crime
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
American Kingpin
Nick Bilton2017
This account follows Ross Ulbricht as he builds the Silk Road dark web market and the federal agents who spend years tracking him down.
Same propulsive register, still true crime
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
propulsive → earnest
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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.
propulsive → tender
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter1979
An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.
propulsive → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Either/Or
Søren Kierkegaard1992
A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak-2
The Frontier in American History
Frederick Jackson Turner1920
A series of essays arguing that the American character and democracy were shaped by the continuous expansion into the western wilderness.
propulsive → clinical, still history
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2

- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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.
propulsive → mysterious
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Road to Jonestown
Jeff Guinn2017
A biography of Jim Jones tracing his rise from an integrationist minister to the leader of a mass suicide in Guyana. It uses new archival research.
propulsive → clinical, still history
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- pace0prose0bleak+1
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
Adam Hochschild
This history details the colonization of the Congo by King Leopold II. It documents the systematic forced labor and mass killings of the era.
propulsive → bleak, still history
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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A Thousand Lives
Julia Scheeres2011
This history follows the members of the Peoples Temple from their beginnings in Indiana to the mass murder-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana.
propulsive → bleak, still history
pace0·prose0·bleak+1

- pace-1prose0bleak+1
The Blood of Emmett Till
Timothy B. Tyson2017
A historical account of the 1955 lynching of a Black teenager in Mississippi. It uses new interviews and recently found trial transcripts.
propulsive → elegiac, still history
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II
Iris Chang
A historical account of the 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanking. It documents systematic mass execution and sexual violence.
propulsive → bleak, still history
pace0·prose0·bleak+1