LitQueuelitqueue

After

Furious Hours

Casey Cep2019

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more
  • Into the Wild

    Jon Krakauer1996

    A journalist reconstructs the journey of Chris McCandless, who died in the Alaskan bush. It uses interviews and diary entries.

    Same elegiac register, still biography

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more
  • 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.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Antifragile

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb2012

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

    elegiac → reflective

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    elegiac → mysterious

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more
  • Two for the dough

    Janet Evanovich1996

    An inexperienced bounty hunter tracks a man who jumped bail for shooting his friend. She competes with a vice cop to find him first.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Better Off Dead

    Lee Child2021

    Jack Reacher investigates a staged car crash in Arizona and infiltrates a dangerous local crew to find a missing woman.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Death by Darjeeling

    Laura Childs2001

    Theodosia Browning hosts a tea party where a guest is poisoned. She must find the killer among the local socialites of Charleston.

    elegiac → warm

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more
  • 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.

    elegiac → propulsive, still true crime

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    elegiac → earnest

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • 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.

    elegiac → tender

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more
  • 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.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    elegiac → mysterious

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

elegiac → clinical, still true crime

3 more
  • Under the Banner of Heaven

    Jon Krakauer2003

    This account links a 1984 double murder to the history and evolution of Mormon fundamentalism.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2

  • The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

    Jeff Hobbs2014

    A biography of a brilliant man who went from the streets of Newark to Yale. It tracks his struggle to bridge two incompatible worlds.

    Same elegiac register, still biography

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2

  • Columbine

    Dave Cullen2009

    A journalist reconstructs the 1999 school shooting using police records and the killers' journals to debunk common myths.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2