660 Items Tagged

Books

How a Portuguese-to-English Phrasebook Became a Cult Comedy Sensation

Meet 1883's most absurd language guide.

Tucker Leighty-Phillips June 29, 2016

Dan Brown Is Paying a Lot of Money to Digitize a Library Devoted to Mysticism

The "Da Vinci Code" author has an abiding interest in ancient symbols.

Erik Shilling June 21, 2016

The D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths Is Famous. But What About Their Forgotten American Stories?

The husband-wife team chose to tell American myths first.

Sarah Laskow June 17, 2016

Europe's First Pornographic Blockbuster Was Made in the Vatican

Copies of the 16 explicit paintings were turned into a booklet that circulated throughout the continent.

Esther Inglis-Arkell June 13, 2016

How a 1918 Author Introduced the World to the Concept of Female Pleasure

Married Love by Marie Stopes was revolutionary in its frank depiction of sexuality.

Tao Tao Holmes June 10, 2016

Letter-Writing Manuals Were the Self-Help Books of the 18th Century

Need to kindly but firmly chastise your son for buying a horse? Read the manual.

Ella Morton June 2, 2016

Read the Tree Leaves, With an Artist's Invented Tree Font

The plants are speaking. Time to read what they have to say.

Ella Morton May 19, 2016

Renishaw Hall

Sheffield, England

Renishaw Hall

This lovely ancestral home inspired the author D.H. Lawrence, and features a tunnel made out of a living willow.

7 Nominees for the Best Tree in Literature

Cast your mind back to childhood and choose a favorite.

Tao Tao Holmes May 18, 2016

Found: A Napoleonic War Diary Hiding in a Bookstore in Tasmania

No one knows how it got there.

Sarah Laskow May 10, 2016

A page from the 1602 copybook, A Work Containing Divers Sorts of Hands.

The Hidden Messages of Colonial Handwriting

Back then, penmanship was basically secret code.

Cara Giaimo May 6, 2016

Rowan Oak: Front Entrance

Oxford, Mississippi

Rowan Oak

William Faulkner kept his beloved estate wild and untamed.

The Rise of Pirate Libraries

Shadowy digital libraries want to hold all the world's knowledge and give it away for free.

Sarah Laskow April 21, 2016

British Spy Agency Tried to Stop a Massive Harry Potter Leak

"We don't comment on our defense against the dark arts," an agency spokesperson said.

Erik Shilling April 11, 2016

Found: A Forgotten Copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio

It was sitting in a library in a Scottish mansion.

Sarah Laskow April 7, 2016

The magical chair in question.

For Sale: The Chair J.K. Rowling Sat On While She Wrote Harry Potter

It's a pretty magical object.

Cara Giaimo April 5, 2016

The Illegal Birth Control Handbook That Spread Across College Campuses in 1968

A group of Canadian teenagers wrote the first popular text on contraception.

Tao Tao Holmes March 31, 2016

A monk examines a newly digitized manuscript.

The Ancient Thai Manuscripts Now Available To Read Online

Thousands of works of literature, law, and history have been brought out of their temple homes.

Cara Giaimo March 30, 2016