Books

Innovators May Be Non-Conformists, But They Are Not Risk-Takers

In his new book, Wharton School professor Adam Grant looks at what really drives creativity and progress

Shackleton brought everything from trashy novels to accounts of Arctic rescues with him to Antarctica.

Historians Finally Figured Out What Was on Shackleton’s Bookshelf

The brave explorer likely found solace in his library

Harper Lee didn't like publicity.

Listen to a Rare Interview With Harper Lee

“[A]ll I want to be is the Jane Austen of South Alabama,” she told radio host Roy Newquist in 1964

This photograph of Harper Lee was taken in 1961, one year after she wrote for the Grapevine.

Five Things to Know About Harper Lee

The spunky and eloquent author is dead—but her legacy lives on

A 19th-century illustration depicts a scene off the coast of Peru, where bird poop, or guano, was harvested as a valuable agricultural fertilizer.

How the Gold Rush Led to Real Riches in Bird Poop

The ships carrying gold miners to California found a way to strike it rich on the way back with their holds full of guano

Dennis the Menace

Dennis the Menace Has an Evil British Twin

Meet the lovable American cartoon character’s sinister counterpart

New Graphic Novel Writes the Wright Brothers' Sister Back Into History

Four students journey back to the birth of aviation in 'The Wrong Wrights'

Onlookers crowd King Street in Alexandria, recently named America's most romantic city.

What's America's Most Romantic City?

A new Amazon.com list finds true love in Alexandria, Virginia

Students pledged to speak only Latin, Greek or Hebrew in each other's company in this 1712 note.

Read About Drama, Politics, Breakfast in These Newly Digitized Colonial Documents

An ambitious Harvard University project brings history to life, archiving nearly half a million documents online

Is your book overdue? Help may be in sight.

This Library System Is Willing to Forgive Your Fine…Just This Once

Library scofflaws take note: Amnesty programs are gaining steam throughout the U.S.

New research shows that magical tales have an even longer history than previously suspected.

Fairy Tales Could Be Older Than You Ever Imagined

Jack may have been climbing that beanstalk for more than 5,000 years

Columbia librarians prepare the 17th-century medical pop-up book for digitization

Check Out a Medical Pop-Up Book From the 17th Century

Early movable books were geared towards informing adults not entertaining children

The Chateau d'Ussé has connections with Sleeping Beauty...and contains a slightly creepy surprise.

The French Castle That May Have Inspired "Sleeping Beauty" Is Filled With Creepy Mannequins

In honor of Charles Perrault's birthday, explore the Chateau d'Usse

Library patrons will soon be able to check out ukuleles in libraries across Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Libraries Will Let You Check Out a Ukulele

Read, strum, repeat

Adam Steltzner celebrates the successful landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars on August 5, 2012.

What Landing a Rover on Mars Teaches You About Leadership and Teamwork

In his new book, NASA engineer Adam Steltzner shares his insights on how to inspire people to make the impossible possible

Austin Reed learned to write as a juvenile prisoner. His handwritten manuscript runs 304 pages.

The Earliest Memoir by a Black Inmate Reveals the Long Legacy of Mass Incarceration

The story of "Rob Reed" is finally published, 150 years after his release

A First Folio kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, U.K.

Shakespeare’s First Folio Goes on Tour in the U.S.

Rare copies of the tome, containing 36 of the Bard’s plays, will visit every state for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death

Gene Luen Yang becomes the first graphic novelist to be appointed as the national ambassador for young people's literature.

Meet the New National Ambassador for Young People's Literature

The Library of Congress' decision to appoint graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang to the post reflects a growing acceptance of comic books

Excerpt from the "Executive Coloring Book" by Brenda Jackson, Dennis Altman, Marcie Hans, Martin A. Cohen, and Ronald L. McDonald, published in 1961.

Adult Coloring Books Were Popular (and Subversive) in the 1960s

Coloring books made fun of corporate culture, conspiracy theorists and Communist fears

Does that book feel more like a doorstop? It's part of a growing trend.

Bestselling Books Are Getting Longer

But are they getting better?

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