After
The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma
Mustafa Suleyman
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
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Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI
Ethan Mollick
A business professor examines how to use LLMs as partners in work. He treats AI as a co-worker with specific strengths and weaknesses.
tense → earnest, still technology
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Not Without My Daughter
Betty Mahmoody1987
An American woman travels to Iran with her husband, who then refuses to let her leave. She plots a dangerous escape across the border with her child.
Same tense register
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All the President’s Men
Carl Bernstein1974
Two Washington Post reporters investigate the 1972 Watergate burglary and follow the trail of money and power to the White House.
Same tense register
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Shoe Dog
Phil Knight2016
The founder of Nike recounts the company's struggle to survive its first decade, from importing Japanese shoes to building a global brand.
Same tense register
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1 more ↓ ↑
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Touching the void
Joe Simpson1988
Two climbers attempt a peak in the Peruvian Andes. After a breaking a leg, one man must crawl for days across a glacier to reach camp.
Same tense register
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Denser prose
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Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter1979
An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.
tense → playful, still popular science
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Either/Or
Søren Kierkegaard1992
A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.
tense → meditative
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3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
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.
tense → clinical
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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.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

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Antifragile
Nassim Nicholas Taleb2012
A philosophical exploration of systems that thrive under stress and disorder. It argues against fragility in economics and personal life.
tense → reflective
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To recover
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David and Goliath
Malcolm Gladwell2013
A series of case studies arguing that perceived disadvantages can become strengths. It covers topics from dyslexia to the civil rights movement.
tense → earnest, still popular science
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Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
tense → earnest
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3 more ↓ ↑
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Neon Gods
Katee Robert2021
In a modern city-state, Persephone flees an arranged marriage to Zeus by entering the underworld. She strikes a deal with Hades to stay there.
Same tense register
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Starter Villain
John Scalzi2023
A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.
tense → wry
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Playing with Fire
Gena Showalter2006
A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.
tense → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster
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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.
tense → playful, still popular science
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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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.
tense → earnest
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3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
tense → tender
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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.
tense → 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.
tense → earnest
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter1979
An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.
tense → playful, still popular science
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Either/Or
Søren Kierkegaard1992
A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
tense → mysterious
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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.
tense → dreamlike
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Heavier
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Animal Farm
George Orwell1945
Farm animals overthrow their human owner to run the farm themselves. The pigs gradually seize control and establish a new hierarchy.
tense → sardonic
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The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank2001
A Jewish teenager records her daily life and thoughts while hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex in Amsterdam.
tense → earnest
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3 more ↓ ↑
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A Child Called "It"
Dave Pelzer1987
A memoir of the author's childhood survival against severe physical and psychological abuse by his mother in California.
tense → bleak
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Twelve Years a Slave
Solomon Northup1853
A memoir by a free Black man from New York who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. He details twelve years of labor on Louisiana plantations.
tense → earnest
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Hiroshima
John Hersey
The book follows six people in Hiroshima during and after the atomic bombing. It records their movements and physical symptoms.
tense → clinical
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
