LitQueuelitqueue

After

Detroit

Charlie LeDuff2013

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Red Notice

    Bill Browder2015

    An American financier uncovers systemic corruption in Russia and becomes a political activist after his lawyer is killed in prison.

    sardonic → propulsive, still true crime

    pace+1·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.

    sardonic → meditative, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    sardonic → bleak, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    Same sardonic register, still memoir

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Everything Beautiful in Its Time

    Jenna Bush Hager2020

    The author reflects on the lives and deaths of her grandparents, including a former President and First Lady. It is a series of personal essays.

    sardonic → warm, still memoir

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Tuesdays with Morrie

    Mitch Albom1994

    A journalist reconnects with his dying college professor for weekly lessons on life. They discuss aging, regret, and love as the professor declines.

    sardonic → tender, still memoir

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Untamed

    Glennon Doyle2020

    A woman recounts leaving her marriage and rebuilding her life after falling in love with another woman. It is a series of personal manifestos.

    sardonic → earnest, still memoir

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever

    Bill O'Reilly

    A minute-by-minute narrative of John Wilkes Booth's plot to kill Abraham Lincoln and the subsequent manhunt for the conspirators.

    sardonic → propulsive, still true crime

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • American Kingpin

    Nick Bilton2017

    This account follows Ross Ulbricht as he builds the Silk Road dark web market and the federal agents who spend years tracking him down.

    sardonic → propulsive, still true crime

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

  • Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

    Jon Krakauer

    A journalist recounts the 1996 Everest disaster. He details the logistical failures and the storm that killed several climbers.

    sardonic → tense, still memoir

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    Same sardonic register, still memoir

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    sardonic → meditative, still memoir

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • M Train

    Patti Smith2015

    A musician travels to various cafes and gravesites around the world. She reflects on her late husband, her favorite books, and her daily rituals.

    sardonic → elegiac, still memoir

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Broken

    Shy Keenan2008

    The author recounts years of severe physical and sexual abuse by her parents. It follows her journey toward survival and activism.

    sardonic → bleak, still true crime

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Fact of a Body

    Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich2017

    A lawyer investigates a 1992 murder case while confronting her own history of childhood trauma. It blends true crime with personal memoir.

    sardonic → meditative, still true crime

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    sardonic → bleak, still memoir

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+1