LitQueuelitqueue

After

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

Jon Krakauer

5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster

More like it

Same tense register, still memoir

1 more ↓

  • 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.

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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-3·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    tense → meditative, still memoir

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    tense → sardonic, still memoir

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → earnest, still memoir

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Whiskey in a Teacup

    Reese Witherspoon2018

    Reese Witherspoon shares recipes, interior design tips, and personal stories centered on Southern lifestyle and hospitality.

    tense → warm, still memoir

    pace-2·prose-1·bleak-2

  • My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business

    Dick Van Dyke2011

    Dick Van Dyke recounts his career from radio to sitcoms and film. He focuses on his work ethic, his co-stars, and his personal struggles.

    tense → warm, still memoir

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    tense → meditative, still memoir

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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-3·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

tense → bleak, still memoir

3 more ↓

  • Wasted

    Marya Hornbacher1998

    A detailed memoir of the author's decade-long struggle with anorexia and bulimia. It documents hospitalizations and the physical decay of the body.

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • A House in the Sky

    Amanda Lindhout2013

    A freelance journalist is kidnapped in Somalia and held for fifteen months. The memoir details her captivity and the conditions she endured.

    Same tense register, still memoir

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

  • A River in Darkness

    Masaji Ishikawa2018

    A man describes his thirty-six years living in North Korea after moving there from Japan. He recounts extreme poverty and his eventual escape.

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1