LitQueuelitqueue

After

Room to Dream

David Lynch2018

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father

    Jim Wight

    The son of veterinarian and author Alf Wight provides a factual account of his father's life and the reality of his Yorkshire practice.

    playful → warm, still memoir

    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.

    playful → meditative, still memoir

    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.

    playful → bleak, still memoir

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+3

  • The Education of Henry Adams

    Henry Adams

    A man writes a sardonic third-person account of his life and his failure to adapt to the technological shifts of the late 19th century.

    playful → sardonic, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    playful → earnest

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    playful → tender

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    Same playful register

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Braiding Sweetgrass

    Robin Wall Kimmerer2013

    A botanist and member of the Potawatomi Nation weaves together indigenous legends and scientific study. It focuses on ecological interconnectedness.

    playful → meditative, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • A river runs through it

    Norman Maclean1976

    A man recalls his youth in 1920s Montana. He and his brother bond with their father through the technical details of fly fishing.

    playful → elegiac, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • A Writer's Diary

    Virginia Woolf1953

    Selected entries from twenty-seven years of the author's personal journals. The text focuses on her creative process and daily writing habits.

    playful → meditative, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • When Rabbit Howls

    Truddi Chase1987

    A woman and her ninety-two distinct personalities document her history of severe childhood trauma and her journey through therapy.

    playful → bleak, still memoir

    pace0·prose0·bleak+3

  • Wasted

    Marya Hornbacher1998

    A detailed memoir of the author's decade-long struggle with anorexia and bulimia. It documents hospitalizations and the physical decay of the body.

    playful → bleak, still memoir

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3

  • A House in the Sky

    Amanda Lindhout2013

    A freelance journalist is kidnapped in Somalia and held for fifteen months. The memoir details her captivity and the conditions she endured.

    playful → tense, still memoir

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+3