After
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
Patrick Radden Keefe
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
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Catch and Kill
Ronan Farrow2019
A journalist tracks the history of sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein. He documents the surveillance used to stop the story.
tense → propulsive, still investigative journalism
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Lost Girls
Robert Kolker2013
This investigative account profiles five women murdered by a serial killer on Long Island. It focuses on their lives and the police failure.
tense → elegiac, still investigative journalism
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Going Clear
Lawrence Wright2013
An investigative history of the Church of Scientology, covering L. Ron Hubbard's life and the organization's internal practices.
tense → clinical, still investigative journalism
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- pace0prose0bleak-1
Rogues
Patrick Radden Keefe2022
A collection of twelve New Yorker articles about grifters, killers, and rebels. Keefe reports on the personalities behind international crimes.
tense → clinical, still investigative journalism
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1 more ↓ ↑
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Killers of the Flower Moon
David Grann2017
Members of the Osage Nation are murdered for their oil wealth in 1920s Oklahoma, prompting an early FBI investigation.
Same tense register, still true crime
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Denser prose
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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
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- pace-2prose+2bleak-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
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3 more ↓ ↑
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The Tin Drum
Günter Grass1963
A boy in 1920s Danzig decides to stop growing at age three. He observes the rise of Nazism and the war while screaming and playing a toy drum.
tense → sardonic
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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
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Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu1842
A collection of 81 short poetic verses outlining the principles of the Tao. It focuses on balance, inaction, and the flow of the natural world.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

To recover
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Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
tense → earnest
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The Duke and I
Julia Quinn2000
A duke and a debutante enter a fake courtship to avoid social pressure. They navigate Regency London's marriage market while hiding their deal.
tense → playful
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3 more ↓ ↑
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On Dublin Street
Samantha Young2012
An American woman in Scotland enters a sex-only arrangement with her roommate's brother to avoid emotional intimacy. It is a contemporary romance.
tense → warm
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Night Pleasures
Sherrilyn Kenyon2002
An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.
tense → playful
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Honeysuckle Summer
Sherryl Woods2010
A woman with severe anxiety and agoraphobia after an abusive marriage finds support from a local deputy. He helps her re-enter the world.
tense → warm
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Faster
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
John Carreyrou
An investigative reporter tracks the rise and fall of the blood-testing startup Theranos. It follows the whistleblowers who exposed the fraud.
tense → propulsive, still investigative journalism
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
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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.
tense → playful, still true crime
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
tense → propulsive, still true crime
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
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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.
tense → propulsive, still true crime
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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.
tense → earnest
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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-2·prose+2·bleak-2

- pace-2prose+2bleak-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-2·prose+2·bleak-1

3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak-2
The Prophet
Kahlil Gibran1900
A prophet waiting for a ship home delivers twenty-six sermons to a crowd. He speaks on topics like love, work, and death.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2

- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu1842
A collection of 81 short poetic verses outlining the principles of the Tao. It focuses on balance, inaction, and the flow of the natural world.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

- pace-2prose0bleak-2
The Art of Happiness
Dalai Lama XIV1998
The Dalai Lama discusses his philosophy on mental discipline and suffering through interviews with a psychiatrist. It is a guide to secular ethics.
tense → meditative
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Heavier
tense → clinical, still true crime
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The Lost Girls
John Glatt2015
This account details the decade-long kidnapping and abuse of three women in a Cleveland home. It includes interviews with the captor's family.
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American Predator
Maureen Callahan2019
A true crime account of the hunt for Israel Keyes, a killer who hid 'kill kits' across the US. It follows the FBI's interrogation and discovery.
pace0·prose0·bleak+1

3 more ↓ ↑
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Under the Banner of Heaven
Jon Krakauer2003
This account links a 1984 double murder to the history and evolution of Mormon fundamentalism.
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Columbine
Dave Cullen2009
A journalist reconstructs the 1999 school shooting using police records and the killers' journals to debunk common myths.
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Evicted
Matthew Desmond2016
Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they face eviction. It documents the mechanics of the private rental market and extreme poverty.
tense → clinical, still investigative journalism
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
