A Woman of No Importance

River of Doubt

Candice Millard 2005

The true account of Theodore Roosevelt’s 1913 expedition down an unmapped tributary of the Amazon River. It details the physical toll and deaths.

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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, still history

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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.

propulsive → bleak, still history

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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.

propulsive → meditative

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That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon

Kimberly Lemming2021

A spice trader saves a demon while intoxicated and joins his quest to kill a witch. The story features frequent sexual content and humor.

propulsive → playful

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The Wright Brothers

David McCullough2015

A biography of Wilbur and Orville Wright focusing on their mechanical experiments and the first powered flight. It uses family letters and diaries.

propulsive → earnest, still biography

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Hidden Figures

Margot Lee Shetterly2016

A history of the Black female mathematicians at NASA who calculated flight trajectories by hand. It spans from WWII through the space race.

propulsive → earnest, still biography

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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.

propulsive → 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.

propulsive → 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.

propulsive → earnest

pace+1·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+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.

propulsive → 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.

propulsive → dreamlike

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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.

propulsive → elegiac, still biography

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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.

propulsive → clinical, still biography

pace-1·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.

propulsive → elegiac, still history

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