LitQueuelitqueue

After

You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation

Deborah Tannen1990

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

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  • Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It

    Gary Taubes2011

    The author argues that obesity is caused by hormonal responses to refined carbohydrates rather than a simple excess of calories.

    Same clinical register, still popular science

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Denser prose

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  • The Righteous Mind

    Jonathan Haidt2012

    A social psychologist examines the intuitive origins of human morality. He explains how these instincts drive political and religious divides.

    clinical → analytical, still psychology

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  • 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.

    clinical → dreamlike, still psychology

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  • Memoirs of my nervous illness

    Daniel Paul Schreber1955

    A German judge documents his elaborate delusions and theological theories during his confinement in a mental asylum.

    clinical → elegiac, still psychology

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Faster

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  • 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.

    clinical → tender

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  • 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.

    clinical → playful

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  • 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.

    clinical → earnest

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Slower

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  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    clinical → meditative

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  • 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.

    clinical → meditative

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  • 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.

    clinical → mysterious

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Heavier

clinical → elegiac, still psychology

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  • The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide

    Robert Jay Lifton

    A psychological study of how physicians in the Third Reich rationalized their participation in the Holocaust. It uses interviews with survivors.

    Same clinical register, still psychology

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  • 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.

    clinical → sardonic

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  • 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.

    clinical → earnest

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