Books like This is going to hurt
This is going to hurt by Adam Kay reads as humorous, cynical. These 12 books share its genome — matched by how they actually read, not just their shelf label.
What This is going to hurt is like to read
Diary-format vignettes from NHS wards that swing between laugh-out-loud gallows humor and genuine gut-punches. Short, propulsive entries make it a fast read that accumulates weight by the end. Best for: readers who want darkly funny, candid memoir with real emotional stakes.
Revolution for the hell of it
Abbie Hoffman · 1968
Runs the same vvoice current through a different story, at quick, propulsive pacing.
So sad today
Melissa Broder · 2016
Reads like scrolling a very online, very anxious confessional feed turned essays — rapid, self-lacerating jokes about panic, sex, and addiction that puncture the humor with real bleakness.
Waiter rant
Steve Dublanica · 2008
A close memoir relative — matched on how it reads, with steady pacing.
Bloods
Wallace Terry · 1984
Runs the same vvoice current through a different story, at steady pacing.
You're on an Airplane
Parker Posey · 2015
A close memoir relative — matched on how it reads, with steady pacing.
The Disappearing Spoon
Sam Kean · 2010
A breezy tour of the periodic table told through anecdotes about scientists, wars, and oddities — episodic popular science that rewards curiosity over deep expertise.
Death by Black Hole
Neil deGrasse Tyson · 2007
An approachable tour of cosmic extremes, delivered in short, self-contained essays that explain hard physics in plain, engaging terms.
How to murder your life
Cat Marnell · 2017
A breathless, chaotic confessional voice narrates addiction and self-sabotage inside the glossy fashion-magazine world, mixing dark humor with raw self-loathing.
Foreskin's lament
Shalom Auslander · 2007
Runs the same vvoice current through a different story, at steady pacing.
Open
Andre Agassi · 2009
An intimate, confessional sports memoir that reframes a public icon through the private cost of a childhood spent under a violent father's obsession.
The Innocents Abroad
Mark Twain · 1911
An episodic travelogue that skewers American tourists abroad as much as the Old World they gawk at — droll, observant, and unafraid to puncture reverence wherever it finds it.
Soledad Brother
George L. Jackson · 1970
Runs the same vvoice current through a different story, at unhurried, immersive pacing.
About This is going to hurt — what the genome says
Is This is going to hurt a complete story or a cliffhanger?
It's a complete, standalone-satisfying story.
Who is This is going to hurt for?
readers who want darkly funny, candid memoir with real emotional stakes
Find your next read by its genome
Tell Novelome one book you love — get recommendations tuned to your taste, including the ones other sites never surface.
Start free →More readalikes: Books like THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX AND THE HORSE · Books like THE LET THEM THEORY · Books like EXTREME OWNERSHIP · Books like WINGS OF STARLIGHT · Books like DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK, EXPANDED EDITION · Books like I WILL TEACH YOU TO BE RICH, SECOND EDITION · Books like FAKE SKATING · Books like THE CREATIVE ACT