LitQueuelitqueue

After

Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table

Ruth Reichl

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

Same warm register, still memoir

1 more ↓

  • The Reading Promise

    Alice Ozma2011

    A daughter and her librarian father commit to reading aloud to each other every night for 3,218 consecutive days until she leaves for college.

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

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.

    warm → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    warm → meditative, still memoir

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    warm → bleak, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    warm → earnest

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    warm → tender

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

    Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

    A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

    warm → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    warm → sardonic, still memoir

    pace-2·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.

    warm → 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.

    warm → elegiac, still memoir

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1

Heavier

warm → 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.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+3

  • 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.

    warm → tense, still memoir

    pace0·prose0·bleak+3

  • 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.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+3