https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/books/RSS feed for BooksenThu, 29 Oct 2026 18:13:48 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/gullivers-travels-turns-300-this-week-jonathan-swifts-profound-satrire-of-human-nature-is-still-just-as-bitingly-relevant-180989777/Since it was first published in October 1726, the novel purporting to tell the fantastical travel tales of Captain Lemuel Gulliver has never left print. An exhibition of rare editions and adaptations in Dublin celebrates Swift's most famous workThu, 29 Oct 2026 18:13:48 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/gullivers-travels-turns-300-this-week-jonathan-swifts-profound-satrire-of-human-nature-is-still-just-as-bitingly-relevant-180989777/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/cult-grew-around-first-emperor-rome-27-bce-new-book-argues-followers-created-template-christ-180989647/Augustus was seen as a descendant of the gods who would go on to redefine authority. New research posits that his rule paved the way for JesusThu, 29 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/cult-grew-around-first-emperor-rome-27-bce-new-book-argues-followers-created-template-christ-180989647/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/as-winnie-the-pooh-turns-100-the-original-stuffed-toy-remains-in-new-york-will-the-silly-old-bear-ever-return-to-britain-180989775/A century after A.A. Milne first published his classic children's tales, British admirers and royal emissaries have made a polite push to bring Christopher Robin's original toys back home, if only for a royal vacationThu, 29 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/as-winnie-the-pooh-turns-100-the-original-stuffed-toy-remains-in-new-york-will-the-silly-old-bear-ever-return-to-britain-180989775/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ivan-the-terrible-wanted-to-marry-elizabeth-i-how-did-englands-virgin-queen-reject-the-russian-czar-without-souring-trade-relations-180989656/A new book details the Russian ruler's failed courtship of the Tudor queen, who famously remained unmarried during her nearly 45-year reignFri, 23 Oct 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ivan-the-terrible-wanted-to-marry-elizabeth-i-how-did-englands-virgin-queen-reject-the-russian-czar-without-souring-trade-relations-180989656/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-mysterious-medieval-manuscript-has-stumped-scholars-for-well-over-a-century-could-its-pages-have-been-bound-out-of-order-this-whole-time-180989737/A new study claims that the pages of the Voynich Manuscript, thought to be written by several different scribes in 16th-century Europe, alternate irregularly. It may change the way codebreakers approach the textThu, 22 Oct 2026 20:21:27 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-mysterious-medieval-manuscript-has-stumped-scholars-for-well-over-a-century-could-its-pages-have-been-bound-out-of-order-this-whole-time-180989737/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/in-the-new-movie-whalefall-a-cetacean-swallows-a-diver-whole-the-sperm-whales-remarkable-anatomy-and-feeding-habits-shape-the-survival-thriller-180989700/The film, an adaptation of Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel, tells the story of a young man with an extremely challenging task: make it out of a whale’s stomach aliveFri, 16 Oct 2026 17:45:41 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/in-the-new-movie-whalefall-a-cetacean-swallows-a-diver-whole-the-sperm-whales-remarkable-anatomy-and-feeding-habits-shape-the-survival-thriller-180989700/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/arthur-conan-doyle-based-sherlock-holmes-on-a-real-life-scottish-surgeon-who-used-deduction-to-diagnose-patients-and-investigate-crimes-180989623/A new book chronicles the exploits of Joseph Bell, an Edinburgh lecturer whose lessons sparked the creation of the world's most famous detectiveFri, 16 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/arthur-conan-doyle-based-sherlock-holmes-on-a-real-life-scottish-surgeon-who-used-deduction-to-diagnose-patients-and-investigate-crimes-180989623/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-soldier-kept-a-diary-in-the-trenches-of-world-war-i-a-child-found-it-at-the-dump-decades-later-pierced-by-a-bullet-and-stained-with-blood-180989696/Corporal Claude Nuttall recorded his wartime experiences in the diary. Now, after decades of research, a museum curator is telling the soldier's story in a new bookThu, 15 Oct 2026 19:41:46 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-soldier-kept-a-diary-in-the-trenches-of-world-war-i-a-child-found-it-at-the-dump-decades-later-pierced-by-a-bullet-and-stained-with-blood-180989696/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/canadian-poet-anne-carson-brings-ancient-wisdom-to-modern-audiences-now-shes-a-nobel-laureate-in-literature-180989655/The 76-year-old poet, translator and essayist is renowned for her "bold and inventive" approach to blending poetry, prose and everything in between, leading to what the Swedish Academy calls "new forms for contemporary literature"Thu, 08 Oct 2026 18:23:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/canadian-poet-anne-carson-brings-ancient-wisdom-to-modern-audiences-now-shes-a-nobel-laureate-in-literature-180989655/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thieves-pulled-off-another-shocking-art-heist-in-france-this-time-they-took-a-330-pound-bronze-book-cover-designed-by-salvador-dali-180989638/The volume, "Livre de l’Apocalypse," was a "masterpiece" collaboration of 14 artists and writers. It is one of the heaviest and most expensive books ever madeThu, 08 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thieves-pulled-off-another-shocking-art-heist-in-france-this-time-they-took-a-330-pound-bronze-book-cover-designed-by-salvador-dali-180989638/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/from-slasher-films-to-vampire-flicks-horror-movies-are-more-popular-than-ever-relive-the-genres-scariest-momentsif-you-dareat-a-new-exhibition-180989624/The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures' latest show features nearly 350 props, costumes and artifacts from such films as "Psycho," "The Shining" and "Sinners"Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/from-slasher-films-to-vampire-flicks-horror-movies-are-more-popular-than-ever-relive-the-genres-scariest-momentsif-you-dareat-a-new-exhibition-180989624/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/from-boosting-mental-health-to-reducing-dementia-risk-heres-why-reading-is-extremely-good-for-you-according-to-science-180989548/Mounting evidence suggests that regularly cozying up with a book can increase brain and mental health, improve literacy and math skills, and even slow cognitive decline. What's more, fiction seems to have the added benefit of introducing readers to others' perspectivesWed, 23 Sep 2026 16:33:51 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/from-boosting-mental-health-to-reducing-dementia-risk-heres-why-reading-is-extremely-good-for-you-according-to-science-180989548/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-lucas-museum-of-narrative-art-a-new-endeavor-from-the-creator-of-star-wars-is-a-story-in-itself-180989533/Almost two decades in the making, the institution centers on art that shapes our everyday lives and reveals the craft behind itMon, 21 Sep 2026 17:31:11 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-lucas-museum-of-narrative-art-a-new-endeavor-from-the-creator-of-star-wars-is-a-story-in-itself-180989533/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-researcher-studying-in-a-dutch-library-was-amazed-to-discover-a-scrap-of-parchment-from-a-1700-year-old-copy-of-the-odyssey-180989524/The handwritten fragment contains Greek verses from Book 12 of Homer’s epic, in which King Odysseus recounts the fate of his doomed crewMon, 21 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-researcher-studying-in-a-dutch-library-was-amazed-to-discover-a-scrap-of-parchment-from-a-1700-year-old-copy-of-the-odyssey-180989524/