LitQueuelitqueue

After

The House of Kennedy

James Patterson2020

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

    Ashlee Vance

    A biography of the entrepreneur behind PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX. It covers his childhood in South Africa and his business methods in Silicon Valley.

    Same propulsive register, still biography

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-2

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → clinical

    pace-1·prose+3·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+3·bleak-2

  • Antifragile

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb2012

    A philosophical exploration of systems that thrive under stress and disorder. It argues against fragility in economics and personal life.

    propulsive → reflective

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley

    Peter Guralnick

    A detailed account of Elvis Presley’s life from his childhood through his 1958 induction into the Army.

    propulsive → earnest, still biography

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2

  • My Life

    Bill Clinton2004

    The 42nd President recounts his life from his childhood in Arkansas through his two terms in the White House.

    propulsive → earnest, still biography

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

  • The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

    Edmund Morris

    A chronological account of Theodore Roosevelt from his sickly childhood to his sudden inauguration. It tracks his time as a rancher and soldier.

    Same propulsive register, still biography

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2

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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-2

  • 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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-2

  • 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

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → tender, still biography

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-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.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak-2

  • 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+3·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → bleak, still biography

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Nagasaki

    Susan Southard2015

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

    propulsive → elegiac, still biography

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    propulsive → elegiac, still biography

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1