Kingpin

The Lincoln Conspiracy

Brad Meltzer2020

This account details a secret society's 1861 plot to kill Abraham Lincoln in Baltimore before his first inauguration.

pace0·prose0·bleak0

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.

propulsive → meditative

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.

propulsive → dreamlike

pace-2·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.

propulsive → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

The Mane Event

Shelly Laurenston2007

A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.

propulsive → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

The Lost Symbol

Dan Brown2009

Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.

Same propulsive register

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

Same propulsive register

pace0·prose-1·bleak-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·bleak0

Bad Blood

John Carreyrou2018

A journalist tracks the rise of Elizabeth Holmes and the eventual exposure of her multibillion-dollar blood-testing startup as a fraud.

Same propulsive register, still true crime

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

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·bleak0

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-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·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.

propulsive → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Under the Banner of Heaven

Jon Krakauer2003

This account links a 1984 double murder to the history and evolution of Mormon fundamentalism.

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

Columbine

Dave Cullen2009

A journalist reconstructs the 1999 school shooting using police records and the killers' journals to debunk common myths.

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

A Stolen Life

Jaycee Dugard2011

Jaycee Dugard recounts her 18-year kidnapping and captivity in a backyard shed. She describes her daily survival and raising her two daughters.

propulsive → earnest, still true crime

pace0·prose0·bleak+2