LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Things They Carried

Tim O'Brien1990

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Sophie’s Choice

    William Styron1979

    A young writer moves into a Brooklyn boarding house and befriends a Holocaust survivor and her volatile lover. He slowly learns of her past.

    Same elegiac register, still unreliable narrator

    pace0·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.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → warm

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Night Pleasures

    Sherrilyn Kenyon2002

    An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    elegiac → warm

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    elegiac → earnest

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose0·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.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-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.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Sorrow of War

    Bảo Ninh

    A North Vietnamese veteran wanders through his memories of the war, reconstructing the loss of his youth and his friends.

    Same elegiac register, still war

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Animal Farm

    George Orwell1945

    Farm animals overthrow their human owner to run the farm themselves. The pigs gradually seize control and establish a new hierarchy.

    elegiac → sardonic

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    elegiac → earnest

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+1