/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/f1/a5/f1a52289-9b18-45bd-9860-2773dbdffdac/the_heart_of_zen_-_for_press_-11.jpg)
Titled "Six Persimmons," the famous 13th-century work hasn't left Japan for hundreds of years
:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/dd/51/dd5193e9-edf5-4714-95a6-cc2be02cb4e9/booklist-2023-main.jpg)
Whether you are looking for some gift ideas or a great read to enjoy on the plane or cozied up over the holidays, consider our carefully curated lists
:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/63/d6/63d624d5-61fd-41d6-8a0a-a99c341f3369/booklist-2023-photo.jpg)
Our favorite titles this year will make readers feel the power of visual storytelling
:focal(1200x903:1201x904)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/68/01/6801b243-4116-4594-b197-3eafe4252dac/three.jpg)
In the birthplace of Italian sculpture, a powerful automated machine tries its hand at an ancient craft
:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/01/06/010697d1-c6d5-4c41-89f0-9188806a5763/booklist-2023-curator.jpg)
Curators and staffers satisfied their endless curiosity with novels, short stories, biographies, art collections and journalistic reporting
:focal(818x615:819x616)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/c8/74/c874d0c7-7911-4fa1-940e-9476d045ad70/opener_-_dec2023_f05_forgottengrapes.jpg)
Bordeaux. Napa Valley. Missouri? This vintner wants to put this once-booming wine region back on the map
:focal(715x552:716x553)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/43/ee/43ee2ab3-9e42-42d6-8b17-11b214285a71/dec2023_h13_prologue.jpg)
The bold journalist, who made a splash on both sides of the lens, is the subject of a new biopic starring Kate Winslet
:focal(1050x750:1051x751)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/f9/d6/f9d6ed3f-dd4b-4a37-9c9f-e63e648a8d37/eggnog.jpg)
This Yuletide mainstay continues to warm cockles and ventricles everywhere
:focal(550x413:551x414)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/cc/0b/cc0b59ac-8470-44de-bd79-d3db9871bbed/ask.jpg)
You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts
:focal(1050x750:1051x751)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/3a/d3/3ad3165a-0bc4-43d5-9082-a841e2446716/nmah-93-7204.jpg)
Inspired by a moment of empathy from President Theodore Roosevelt, the huggable toy had a rocky start before it became the stuff of legend
:focal(615x416:616x417)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/e6/97/e697f97a-06e3-4adb-ae31-ca399515c0c5/unnamed.jpg)
For one fall night, it is tradition for a handful of houses in Sydrugota, on the island of Eysturoy, to open their doors and host intimate concerts
:focal(1024x761:1025x762)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/4b/c1/4bc142c1-5896-4152-b2d8-52e85e0fa3a3/01maestro-02-tpql-superjumbo.webp)
The Bradley Cooper-led film is a dramatization of the storied composer and conductor's complex love life
:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/de/89/de893056-3281-482b-9564-9b390a98fcd6/booklist-2023-food.jpg)
Travel to Rome, Alaska, West Africa and beyond with this year’s best cookbooks, memoirs and historic deep dives
:focal(2736x1824:2737x1825)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/a9/0d/a90d4a77-8b61-41ec-8995-a3e6e619429c/1_-_f1073ecc-da15-4eb1-aea2-96c804d2f639.jpg)
Gather together and commemorate the holiday of gratitude
:focal(700x527:701x528)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/9a/2c/9a2cba95-e4f2-452a-b1a8-47bf88c71ccd/josephine.jpg)
A new Hollywood epic traces Napoleon Bonaparte's rise and fall through his checkered relationship with his first wife
:focal(512x385:513x386)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/8f/2b/8f2b76c8-65ab-4ba1-809e-51c4f9ae94af/texas_schoolbook_depository_411_elm_st_tx_2013-06-08_003.jpeg)
How November 22, 1963, changed Dallas' Dealey Plaza forever
:focal(800x602:801x603)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/83/92/83928011-d1c8-4559-8916-da5ee9174bc5/booklist-2023-history.jpg)
Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and illuminate how the United States ended up where it is today
:focal(1050x700:1051x701)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/1c/08/1c089d1b-6bb5-4e24-b80e-387437f00896/ex8998-vw043.jpg)
An exhibition at LACMA examines the legacy of Dutch colonization through a fictive 17th-century collector's room of wonders
:focal(2000x1429:2001x1430)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/c4/04/c404be45-f103-4bfc-87d1-95b043034722/b8000134c.jpg)
This year, the National Portrait Gallery's annual showcase of new acquisitions spotlights female subjects and female artists
:focal(1375x969:1376x970)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/f8/c2/f8c25a44-787d-45bf-82fc-f45546a2fbc6/gettyimages-52102394.jpg)
The last season of "The Crown" will examine the aftermath of the beloved royal's death in a car accident in 1997
:focal(1000x667:1001x668)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/6b/9d/6b9d2f76-1bb7-4d86-bb89-13180e7c2c57/138-139-fred_mcdowell.jpg)
Chris Strachwitz, founder of Arhoolie Records, crisscrossed the United States photographing and recording musicians where they played
:focal(2036x1527:2037x1528)/https://tf-cmsv2-photocontest-smithsonianmag-prod-approved.s3.amazonaws.com/7d0025ba-81f2-4d39-8ad8-7575d1463b4d.jpg)
True Sports Fans
:focal(2016x1517:2017x1518)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/63/6f/636f31b3-c50b-49bf-b2c1-cf172463f5ad/soundshirt.jpeg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/videos/video/preview_image_eDPMelBv_0c8eb998572076a927667d18060291d2.jpeg "Five Surprising Facts About Rosa Parks (2:09.173000000000002)")
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/videos/video/preview_image_j0Xon9HQ_16521e5171933e0a158b92df683fee56.jpeg "How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed (2:31.471000000000004)")
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/videos/video/preview_image_g59tIf1o_f1c58a7600fa0118354d61693b700832.jpeg "The Connections Between the Thanksgiving Story and Westward Expansion (3:12.068000000000012)")