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How the Word Is Passed

Clint Smith2021

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  • Thomas Jefferson

    Jon Meacham2012

    A chronological biography of the third president focusing on his political maneuvers. It covers his life from his youth to his retirement.

    Same meditative register, still history

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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.

    meditative → clinical, still history

    pace0·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.

    meditative → bleak, still history

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Tin Drum

    Günter Grass1963

    A boy in 1920s Danzig decides to stop growing at age three. He observes the rise of Nazism and the war while screaming and playing a toy drum.

    meditative → sardonic

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To recover

meditative → propulsive, still narrative nonfiction

3 more ↓

  • Apollo 13

    Jeffrey Kluger1995

    A chronological account of the 1970 lunar mission that suffered a mid-flight explosion. It details the technical solutions used to return home.

    meditative → tense, still narrative nonfiction

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-2

  • The Library Book

    Susan Orlean2018

    A history of the 1986 Los Angeles Central Library fire and the investigation into its cause. It explores the role of libraries in society.

    meditative → warm, still narrative nonfiction

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-2

  • Party of Two

    Jasmine Guillory2020

    A lawyer starts a new firm in LA and begins a secret affair with a high-profile politician. They deal with public scrutiny and racial dynamics.

    meditative → warm

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    meditative → playful

    pace+2·prose-1·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.

    meditative → playful

    pace+2·prose-1·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.

    meditative → earnest

    pace+2·prose-1·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.

    Same meditative register

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    meditative → mysterious

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    meditative → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West

    Dee Brown

    A chronological account of the displacement and slaughter of Native Americans by the U.S. government in the late 19th century.

    meditative → elegiac, still history

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Auschwitz

    Laurence Rees2005

    A chronological history of the camp's evolution from a Polish barracks to a site of mass industrial murder, based on archival research.

    meditative → clinical, still history

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • By Hands Now Known

    Margaret A. Burnham2022

    An investigation into racial violence and legal failures in the Jim Crow South using previously unexamined archives.

    meditative → elegiac, still history

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1