Sally Ride

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

Alice Schroeder

A biography based on extensive interviews with Buffett. It covers his investment strategies and his personal relationships over several decades.

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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.

earnest → meditative

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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.

earnest → dreamlike

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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.

earnest → meditative

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My Early Life

Winston S. Churchill1900

An account of the author's childhood, schooling, and early military adventures in Cuba, India, and Africa before his entry into politics.

Same earnest register, still biography

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Girl, Wash Your Face

Rachel Hollis2018

The author lists twenty common lies she once believed about herself and provides personal anecdotes and advice to dismantle them.

Same earnest register

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Unfinished

Priyanka Chopra Jonas2021

The actress details her childhood in India, her time in American schools, and her transition from pageantry to a global film career.

Same earnest register

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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.

earnest → playful

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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.

earnest → playful

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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.

Same earnest register

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Confessions of a prairie bitch

Alison Arngrim2010

The actress who played Nellie Oleson recounts her time on Little House on the Prairie and her subsequent life in activism.

earnest → tender, still biography

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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.

earnest → meditative

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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.

earnest → mysterious

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Escape from Camp 14

Blaine Harden2012

The biography of Shin Dong-hyuk, the only person born in a North Korean political prison camp known to have escaped.

earnest → bleak, still biography

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Nagasaki

Susan Southard2015

A historical account follows five survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki across seven decades of their lives.

earnest → elegiac, still biography

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House of Sticks

Ly Tran2021

A Vietnamese girl grows up in Queens while working in her family's sweatshop. She navigates poverty, failing eyesight, and cultural isolation.

earnest → elegiac, still biography

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