LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Songlines

Bruce Chatwin1987

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Siddhartha

    Hermann Hesse1922

    A young man in ancient India leaves his home to seek spiritual enlightenment. He follows various teachers, including the Buddha.

    Same meditative register, still philosophical fiction

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Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Orientalism

    Edward W. Said1978

    A scholarly critique of how Western academics and artists represent the Middle East to justify imperial power.

    meditative → clinical

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  • Doktor Faustus

    Thomas Mann1948

    A composer trades his soul for musical genius as his life and the rise of Nazi Germany are chronicled by a concerned friend.

    meditative → elegiac, still philosophical fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • 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.

    meditative → sardonic

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To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Da Vinci Code

    Dan Brown2003

    A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.

    meditative → propulsive

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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.

    meditative → earnest

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    meditative → wry

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    meditative → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Steal Like an Artist

    Austin Kleon2012

    A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

    meditative → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Poke the Box

    Seth Godin2011

    A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

    meditative → earnest

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

Same meditative register, still philosophical fiction

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.

    meditative → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Doktor Faustus

    Thomas Mann1948

    A composer trades his soul for musical genius as his life and the rise of Nazi Germany are chronicled by a concerned friend.

    meditative → elegiac, still philosophical fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+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.

    Same meditative register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Diary of a Young Girl

    Anne Frank2001

    A Jewish teenager records her daily life and thoughts while hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex in Amsterdam.

    meditative → earnest

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2

  • A Child Called "It"

    Dave Pelzer1987

    A memoir of the author's childhood survival against severe physical and psychological abuse by his mother in California.

    meditative → bleak

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak+2

  • Twelve Years a Slave

    Solomon Northup1853

    A memoir by a free Black man from New York who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. He details twelve years of labor on Louisiana plantations.

    meditative → earnest

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2