Books

Cool Finds

Learn Physics From Nobel Prizewinner Richard Feynman for Free

The physicist’s legendary lectures are now available online

October 13, 2015

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These Brave Playwrights Want to Rewrite Shakespeare

“They have been at a great feast of languages, and stol’n the scraps.”

October 12, 2015

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5 Things to Know About Svetlana Alexievich, Winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature

The Belarusian journalist is best known for her tragic investigations of war and disaster in eastern Europe

October 8, 2015

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The Card Catalog Is Officially Dead

Long live the card catalog

October 5, 2015

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In Honor of Banned Books Week, Here Are the Most Challenged Books of 2014

The American Library Association reported 311 formal, written challenges to books

September 30, 2015

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Mold Is Threatening Boston Public Library’s Rare Books

As spores are found in the stacks, it’s time to battle a fuzzy foe

September 29, 2015

The Secret of “The Martian” Success? Scientific Peer Review

Andy Weir’s tale of a stranded astronaut got its start as a blog, complete with reader comments that helped shape the plot

September 28, 2015

Cool Finds

Supreme Court Justices Have a Thing for Shakespeare

The brief’s the thing

September 25, 2015

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People are Leaving Secret Letters to Fellow Fans in Harry Potter Books

#PotterItForward was designd to warm the hearts of future readers

September 23, 2015

This Digital Library Contains Every Phrase That Could Ever Be Uttered

Inspired by an essay by Jorge Luis Borges, computer programmer Jonathan Basile has created a “Library” of Babel

October 2015

What 200 Years of African-American Cookbooks Reveal About How We Stereotype Food

In a new book, food journalist Toni Tipton-Martin highlights African-American culinary history through hundreds of pages of recipes

September 16, 2015

The Guinness Book of World Records: A Promotional Stunt That Became an International Phenomenon

The book that makes us ooh and ahh, and squirm in our seats is more than 65 years old

August 27, 2015

Innovative Spirit Health Care

Six Children’s Books That Use Psychological Techniques to Help Kids

The sleep-inducing “The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep” has become a mega bestseller. But it’s not the only story to lean on psychology

August 25, 2015

Cool Finds

The World’s Oldest Multicolor Printed Book Was Too Fragile to Read…Until Now

The 1633 book has now been digitized

August 13, 2015

Cool Finds

Muggles, Rejoice: Quidditch is Becoming a Serious Sport

The Harry Potter-inspired game is now played by more than 300 teams around the world

July 30, 2015

How Flowers Changed the World, From Ecosystems to Art Galleries

A new book by entomologist Stephen Buchmann explores the beautiful and sometimes bizarre history of flowering plants

July 30, 2015

The Mad Challenge of Translating “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

Explore the linguistic tricks used to make Lewis Carroll’s puns, parodies and nonsense accessible in hundreds of tongues

July 23, 2015

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What to Expect From Harper Lee’s Long-Lost Second Novel

Controversy still surrounds the release of Go Set a Watchman

July 14, 2015

Why Milo’s Sunrises Are a Symphony of Color in The Phantom Tollbooth

Author Norton Juster says one boon to his magical writing is that he was born with synesthesia and hears colors

July 3, 2015

What’s Changed, and What Hasn’t, in the Town That Inspired ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’

Traveling back in time to visit Harper Lee’s hometown, the setting of her 1960 masterpiece and the controversial sequel hitting bookstores soon

July 2015