Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Books

Thank the boy wizard for an uptick in owl demand.

New Research

Harry Potter Sparks Illegal Owl Trade in Indonesia

Hedwig made quite the impression—but her popularity is hurting real-life birds

Which Books Do Americans Take on Vacation?

Our city-by-city breakdown uncovered some surprises

A Pack Horse Librarian returning over the mountain side for a new supply of books

Horse-Riding Librarians Were the Great Depression’s Bookmobiles

During the Great Depression, a New Deal program brought books to Kentuckians living in remote areas

For 19th-century American bakers—who slaved for hours trying to make their doughs rise and their cakes puff up—the advent of baking powder was a revolution in a can.

The Great Uprising: How a Powder Revolutionized Baking

Before baking powder hit the scene in 1856, making cake was not a piece of cake

A statue "is the most efficient and courteous way yet discovered of ensuring a lasting oblivion of the deceased," Joyce said in 1907. Hardly the words of someone who wanted to be remembered long after his death.

Happy Bloomsday! Too Bad James Joyce Would Have Hated This

Joyce infamously disliked the idea of being memorialized

Thank Andrey Markov for your smartphone's predictive text feature—and also somewhat sillier uses.

Three Very Modern Uses For A Nineteenth-Century Text Generator

Andrey Markov was trying to understand poems with math when he created a whole new field of probability studies

257-Year-Old Coloring Book Rediscovered in St. Louis

The Florist contains 60 drawings, and recommends watercolor pigments like “gall-stone brown”

Anthony Burgess at the PEN International 1985 in Lugano

Trending Today

Anthony Burgess’ Legendary Dictionary of Slang Lives

The author and linguist gave up the book after realizing how enormous the task of keeping up with slang would be

Bob Dylan has finally delivered his Nobel Prize lecture.

Trending Today

Dylan Finally Delivers on Nobel Prize Lecture

The reclusive singer-songwriter muses on literature and music in characteristic style

Edith Wharton circa 1900. Her play "The Shadow of a Doubt" didn't make it to the stage in 1901—but has finally been rediscovered by scholars.

Cool Finds

Scholars Rediscover Forgotten Edith Wharton Play

“The Shadow of a Doubt” had been overshadowed by over 100 years of history

This library will no longer charge late fees for books.

Trending Today

Late Fees No Longer Exist at Salt Lake City Libraries

If you kept a book longer than you should have, you’re in luck

Stephen Talty’s Guide to Culture

The detective novelist offers his picks for movies, tv shows and Twitter accounts to follow

A man reads a newspaper in Chirakoot, India. In nearby Lucknow, researchers observed brain changes in newly literate adults.

New Research

Learning to Read May Reshape Adult Brains

How literacy changed the bodies of a group of Indian adults

Hay Festival 2016

More Than 250,000 Bibliophiles Are About to Descend on “The Town of Books”

The Hay Festival of Literature kicks of its 30th anniversary festival in Wales

The world’s largest model world, the Unisphere was erected for the grand fair themed “peace through understanding.”

What the Unisphere Tells Us About America at the Dawn of the Space Age

A towering tribute to the future past—and one man’s ego

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden still loves card catalogs.

The Librarian of Congress Weighs In on Why Card Catalogs Matter

The tech is gone, but it’s not forgotten. Carla Hayden explains why

Still from the 1958 horror film 'Dracula' starring Christopher Lee. The character of Dracula has appeared in more than 200 films.

The Icelandic Translation of ‘Dracula’ Is Actually a Different Book

The mysteries of this Gothic classic aren’t over yet

Ona Louise has a tale to tell.

Cool Finds

Drag Queens Are Public Libraries’ Newest Storytellers

Early reading just got a lot more glamorous

The original 1967 cover illustration of The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

The True Story Behind Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Her Mixed-Up Files

Fifty years ago, author E.L. Konigsburg wrote her children’s literature classic that highlighted the wonder of museums

J. K. Rowling in 2010

Handwritten ‘Harry Potter’ Prequel Stolen

Police and J.K. Rowling have urged fans not to buy the magical manuscript

Page 48 of 86