LitQueuelitqueue

After

Killing Kennedy

Bill O'Reilly2012

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Art Thief

    Michael Finkel2023

    A man and his girlfriend steal hundreds of objects from European museums. He keeps the art in his bedroom rather than selling it for profit.

    Same propulsive register, still true crime

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

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·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-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.

    propulsive → reflective

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak0

To recover

propulsive → earnest

3 more ↓

  • The Making of the President 1960

    Theodore H. White1960

    A journalist follows the 1960 presidential campaigns. It tracks the strategies and logistics of Kennedy and Nixon from primaries to election.

    Same propulsive register

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism

    Doris Kearns Goodwin

    A history of the friendship and eventual political rivalry between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, set against the rise of muckraking.

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Churchill: A Biography

    Roy Jenkins

    propulsive → wry

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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, still true crime

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake

    Frank W. Abagnale

    A teenager poses as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer to cash millions in fraudulent checks. He evades the FBI across several countries.

    propulsive → playful, still true crime

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

  • Red Notice

    Bill Browder2015

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

    Same propulsive register, still true crime

    pace+1·prose+1·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.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·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

    pace-2·prose+3·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.

    propulsive → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

Heavier

propulsive → 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.

    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.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • A Stolen Life

    Jaycee Dugard2011

    Jaycee Dugard recounts her 18-year kidnapping and captivity in a backyard shed. She describes her daily survival and raising her two daughters.

    propulsive → earnest, still true crime

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2