LitQueuelitqueue

After

Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King

Antonia Fraser

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Bad Gays

    Huw Lemmey2022

    A series of biographical essays examining historical gay men who were villains, failures, or otherwise complex figures.

    warm → wry, still biography

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    warm → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    warm → meditative

    pace0·prose+2·bleak-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.

    warm → bleak, still history

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

To recover

Same warm register

3 more ↓

  • Elizabeth the Queen

    Sally Bedell Smith2012

    A biography of Queen Elizabeth II covering her childhood, coronation, and decades of rule. It focuses on her public duties and private life.

    warm → earnest, still biography

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • The Duke and I

    Julia Quinn2000

    A duke and a debutante enter a fake courtship to avoid social pressure. They navigate Regency London's marriage market while hiding their deal.

    warm → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Brutal Prince

    Sophie Lark2020

    The heirs of two rival Chicago mafia families are forced into an arranged marriage to prevent a gang war.

    warm → sardonic

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    warm → playful

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    warm → playful

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    warm → earnest

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

    warm → meditative

    pace-1·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.

    warm → mysterious

    pace-1·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.

    warm → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation

    John Ehle

    A historical account of the Cherokee Nation's political struggles and their forced removal from ancestral lands in the 1830s.

    warm → elegiac, still biography

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • Hitler: A Study in Tyranny – A Classic Biography: Authoritative and Readable, Abridged

    Alan Bullock

    A detailed biography of Adolf Hitler that focuses on his rise to power and his psychological control over the German state.

    warm → clinical, still biography

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

    Dee Alexander Brown

    A chronological history of the displacement and systematic destruction of Native American tribes in the late 19th century.

    warm → elegiac, still history

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2