2013

2013 743

December 2013

1. 30 DecOn a Beam of Light: The Story of Albert Einstein, Illustrated by the Great Vladimir Radunsky
2. 30 DecDream of Life: The Ultimate Documentary on the Iconic Artist Patti Smith
3. 26 DecThe Best of Brain Pickings 2013
4. 24 DecDecember 24, 1968: NASA Simulates Exactly What the Apollo 8 Astronauts Saw When They Took the Iconic Earthrise Photograph
5. 24 DecT. S. Eliot’s “The Cultivation of Christmas Trees”: A Rare Vintage Gem, Illustrated by Enrico Arno
6. 23 DecThe 13 Best Books of 2013: The Definitive Annual Reading List of Overall Favorites
7. 23 DecNeil Gaiman Reads Charles Dickens’s Original Performance Script for “A Christmas Carol”
8. 23 DecPioneering Biologist and Writer Rachel Carson on Wonder, Parenting, and Why It Is More Important to Feel Than to Know
9. 20 DecHans Christian Andersen’s Little-Known Sketches: The Beloved Storyteller’s Illustrated Travelogue of Europe
10. 20 DecThe Varieties of Scientific Experience: Carl Sagan on Science and Spirituality
11. 19 DecJane Austen on Creative Integrity
12. 19 DecA Quirky Coloring Book Featuring Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey, Ryan McGuinness, Brian Rea, and Other Contemporary Art Icons
13. 19 DecThe Story of Benjamin Franklin’s Sister and How Women Are Sidelined in History
14. 18 Dec2013’s Best Books on Writing and Creativity
15. 18 DecThe Greatest Commencement Address of All Time: Joseph Brodsky’s Six Rules for Playing the Game of Life Like a Winner
16. 18 DecKeith Richards on Success, Creativity, and the Art of Observation
17. 17 DecThe Best Photography Books of 2013
18. 17 DecWhere You Are: Cartography as Wayfinding for the Soul
19. 17 DecDustin Hoffman on What It’s Really Like to Be a Woman
20. 16 DecCats, Dogs, and the Human Condition: The Year’s Best Books about Pets and Animals
21. 16 DecWhy New York City Is Known as “The Big Apple”
22. 16 DecFamous Writers’ Sleep Habits vs. Literary Productivity, Visualized
23. 13 DecThe Pious Infant: Edward Gorey’s Rare Illustrated Allegory about the Dangers of Dogmatism
24. 13 DecAlice Munro’s Nobel Prize Interview: Writing, Women, and the Rewards of Storytelling
25. 13 DecKenneth Patchen Reads His Love Poem “Creation”
26. 12 DecThe Love Letters of Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky, with a Cameo by William S. Burroughs
27. 12 DecFlannery O’Connor’s Little-Known Cartoons
28. 12 DecThe Evolution of Feathers: The Animated Story of How Dinosaurs Became Birds
29. 11 DecKurt Vonnegut on the Writer’s Responsibility, the Limitations of the Brain, and Why the Universe Exists: A Rare 1974 WNYC Interview
30. 11 DecOtto: The Autobiography of a Teddy Bear
31. 11 DecBrené Brown on Vulnerability, Human Connection, and the Difference Between Empathy and Sympathy, Animated
32. 10 DecThe 13 Best Science and Technology Books of 2013
33. 10 DecAda Lovelace, the World’s First Computer Programmer, on Science and Religion
34. 9 DecThe 13 Best Children’s, Illustrated, and Picture Books of 2013
35. 9 DecConnected: A Charming Stop-Motion Papercraft Music Video Inspired by the Universe
36. 9 DecGeorge Orwell, Feminist: The Beloved Author on Gender Equality in Work and Housework
37. 6 DecNelson Mandela’s Moving Inaugural Address and Timeless Wisdom from His Autobiography
38. 6 DecDame Steve Shirley, the World’s First Freelance Programmer
39. 5 DecJ.R.R. Tolkien on Fairy Tales, Language, the Psychology of Fantasy, and Why There’s No Such Thing as Writing “For Children”
40. 5 DecThe 13 Best Art and Design Books of 2013
41. 5 DecJoan Didion on Grief
42. 4 DecThe Art of Rube Goldberg
43. 4 DecHemingway on Not Writing for Free and How to Run a First-Rate Publication
44. 4 DecA Ghost of Evolution: The Curious Case of the Avocado, Which Should Be Extinct But Still Exists
45. 3 DecYoung vs. Old, Male vs. Female, Intuition vs. Intellect: Susan Sontag on How the Stereotypes and Polarities of Culture Imprison Us
46. 3 DecLegendary Cartoonist Ralph Steadman’s Inkblot Dog Drawings
47. 3 DecThoroughly Conscious Ignorance: How the Power of Not-Knowing Drives Progress and Why Certainty Stymies the Evolution of Knowledge
48. 2 DecThe Raven: Lou Reed’s Adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe, Illustrated by Italian Artist Lorenzo Mattotti
49. 2 DecThe 13 Best Psychology and Philosophy Books of 2013
50. 2 DecHow Should We Live: History’s Forgotten Wisdom on Love, Time, Family, Empathy, and Other Aspects of the Art of Living

November 2013

1. 29 NovMondrian Meets Euclid: An Eccentric Victorian Mathematician’s Masterwork of Art and Science
2. 29 NovModern Masterpieces of Comedic Genius: The Art of the Humorous Amazon Review, Part Deux
3. 29 NovThe Creative Pace of the 20th Century’s Greatest Authors, Visualized
4. 28 NovA Gratitude Omnibus: People, Projects, and Publications That Make Life Better
5. 27 NovNovember 27, 1965: A Rare Recording of Stanley Kubrick’s Most Revealing Interview
6. 27 NovEinstein on Why We Are Alive
7. 27 NovThe Psychology of Self-Control
8. 26 NovScientists and Writers Answer Children’s Simple, Surprisingly Profound Questions About How Life Works
9. 26 NovMysterious Street Photographer Vivian Maier’s Self-Portraits
10. 26 NovAnatomy of Anagrammatic Pseudonyms: The Many Incarnations of Edward Gorey
11. 25 NovThe 13 Best Biographies, Memoirs, and History Books of 2013
12. 25 NovThis Is Love: Neil Gaiman’s Bachelor Party the Night Before He Married Amanda Palmer
13. 25 NovJane, the Fox and Me: A Gorgeous Graphic Novel about the Travails of Youth Inspired by Charlotte Brontë
14. 22 NovAnne Lamott on Writing and Why Perfectionism Kills Creativity
15. 22 NovLove and Math: Equations as an Equalizer for Humanity
16. 22 NovCharles Dickens’s Heartening Fan Mail to George Eliot
17. 21 NovTo Live Long, Write for Children: Remembering Charlotte Zolotow
18. 21 NovDuke Ellington’s Diet
19. 21 NovVoltaire on the Perils of Censorship, the Freedom of the Press, and the Rewards of Reading
20. 20 NovWild Raspberries: Young Andy Warhol’s Little-Known Vintage Cookbook
21. 20 NovWar, Peace, and Listicles: Young Leo Tolstoy on Money, Fame, and Writing for the Wrong Reasons
22. 20 NovFritz Kahn: The Little-Known Godfather of Infographics
23. 19 NovBeloved Illustrator Eric Carle’s Vibrant Ode to Friendship and How It Reunited Him with His Lost Childhood Friend
24. 19 NovEurope, America, Utopia: Calvino on Hemingway
25. 19 NovStunning Photographs of the World’s Last Indigenous Tribes
26. 18 NovHans Christian Andersen’s Revolution of Storytelling and the Best Illustrations from 150 Years of His Beloved Fairy Tales
27. 18 NovStay: The Social Contagion of Suicide and How to Preempt It
28. 18 NovThe Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Lovely Collaborative Illustrated Micro-Narratives Supporting Independent Media
29. 15 NovThe Letter Is Dead, Long Live the Letter
30. 15 NovThe Geography of Great Literature, in Hand-Lettered Typography
31. 15 NovThe Love Letters of Pioneering Victorian Photojournalist Fannie Benjamin Johnston
32. 14 NovAn Illustrated Field Guide to Biking in 8 Major European Cities
33. 14 NovMoleskine Celebrates 100 Years of Swann’s Way: Illustrated Portraits of Ira Glass, Rick Moody, and Others Reading Proust
34. 14 NovNovember 14, 1963: The First-Ever Footage from Space
35. 13 NovHow to Be a Writer: Hemingway’s Advice to Aspiring Authors
36. 13 NovDo Something Meaningful: Neil deGrasse Tyson and Ann Druyan on Carl Sagan
37. 13 NovThe History of the English Language, Animated
38. 12 NovAnaïs Nin on the Elusive Nature of Joy
39. 12 NovDog Songs: Mary Oliver on What Dogs Teach Us About the Meaning of Our Human Lives
40. 12 NovLou Reed on Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Laurie Anderson, Setting Edgar Allan Poe to Music, and Why Record Labels Deserve to Die
41. 11 NovSusan Sontag on How the False Divide Between Pop Culture and “High” Culture Limits Us
42. 11 NovThe Perils of Plans: Why Creativity Requires Leaping into the Unknown
43. 11 NovKurt Vonnegut’s Life-Advice to His Children
44. 8 NovGreat Writers Reflect on the Divide Between Private Person and Public Persona in Hand-Drawn Self-Portraits
45. 8 NovSelf-Portrait as Your Traitor: A 21st-Century Illuminated Manuscript
46. 8 NovThe Science of Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect
47. 7 NovAlbert Camus on Happiness, Unhappiness, and Our Self-Imposed Prisons
48. 7 NovThe Interpretation of Leonard Bernstein’s Dreams
49. 6 NovSylvia Plath’s Unseen Drawings, Edited by Her Daughter and Illuminated in Her Private Letters
50. 6 NovWalk This World: A Celebration of Life in a Day
51. 6 NovThe Story Behind the Iconic “Migrant Mother” Photograph and How Dorothea Lange Almost Didn’t Take It
52. 5 NovLittle Boy Brown: A Lovely Vintage Ode to the Loneliness of Childhood
53. 5 NovBefore I Die: A Global Ethnography of Anonymous Aspirations in Chalk and Public Space
54. 5 NovWhat’s Wrong with the Nobel Prize
55. 4 Nov20-Year-Old Hunter S. Thompson’s Surprisingly Sage Advice on How to Find Your Purpose and Live a Meaningful Life
56. 4 NovBeyond Pretty Pictures: Marian Bantjes on Serendipity, Success, and the Whimsy of Design
57. 4 NovJeanette Winterson on Adoption, Belonging, and How We Use Storytelling to Save Ourselves
58. 1 NovNaomi Wolf’s Spectacular, No-Bullshit Letter of Advice to Her Younger Self
59. 1 NovHow to Watch the Un-sunlike Sun: Solar Eclipse Tips from Pioneering Astronomer Maria Mitchell
60. 1 NovHow the Candy Industry Manipulated Daylight Saving Time

October 2013

1. 31 OctThis Is Mars: Mesmerizing Ultra-High-Resolution NASA Photos at the Intersection of Art and Science
2. 31 OctEudora Welty on the Poetics of Place and Writing as an Explorer’s Map of the Unknown
3. 31 OctGobble You Up: Ancient Indian Women’s Folk Art, Reimagined as Stunning Modern Storytelling
4. 30 OctHow Our Minds Mislead Us: The Marvels and Flaws of Our Intuition
5. 30 OctThe Three-Body Problem: French Polymath Paul Valéry on the Trifecta of Creaturely Realities We Inhabit and Strive to Integrate
6. 29 OctA Very Large Head: The Phrenology of George Eliot
7. 29 OctCodex Seraphinianus: History’s Most Bizarre and Beautiful Encyclopedia, Brought Back to Life
8. 28 OctLetter to Borges: Susan Sontag on Books, Self-Transcendence, and Reading in the Age of Screens
9. 28 OctBallad: Beloved French Graphic Artist Blexbolex’s Visual Allegory of Life’s Evolving Complexity
10. 28 OctThoreau on Not Finding a Publisher and What Success Really Means
11. 25 OctCicero’s Web: How Social Media Was Born in Ancient Rome
12. 25 OctArt as Therapy: Alain de Botton on the 7 Psychological Functions of Art
13. 25 OctPicasso’s Rare 1934 Etchings for a Racy Ancient Greek Comedy
14. 24 OctE.B. White on the Future of Reading: Timeless Wisdom from 1951
15. 24 OctDivine Fury: A Cultural History of Genius
16. 23 OctHappy Birthday, Brain Pickings: 7 Things I Learned in 7 Years of Reading, Writing, and Living
17. 23 OctVintage Illustrations for the Fairy Tales E. E. Cummings Wrote for His Only Daughter, Whom He Almost Abandoned
18. 23 OctPioneering Anthropologist Margaret Mead’s Beautiful Love Letters to Her Soul Mate
19. 22 OctSusan Sontag on Literature and Freedom
20. 22 OctA Kid’s Guide to Graphic Design by Iconic Designer Chip Kidd
21. 22 OctOn Tenderness: What Genetics Godfather Gregor Mendel Teaches Us about the Heart of Science
22. 21 OctDani Shapiro on the Pleasures and Perils of Writing and the Creative Life
23. 21 OctDuke Ellington’s Artistry and Artifice: How the Jazz Icon Engineered His Own Image
24. 21 OctColeridge, Plagiarist
25. 18 OctRay Bradbury on How List-Making Can Boost Your Creativity
26. 18 OctJazz Legend Wynton Marsalis on the Magic of Music
27. 18 OctIrving Geis’s Pioneering Scientific Illustrations and Diagrams of Imaginary Flight Paths to Venus
28. 17 OctThe Psychology of Getting Unstuck: How to Overcome the “OK Plateau” of Performance & Personal Growth
29. 17 OctInside the Rainbow: Gorgeous Vintage Russian Children’s Book Illustrations from the 1920s-1930s
30. 17 OctThe Prescient Poem 10-Year-Old Anne Frank Penned in Her Schoolmate’s Friendship Book
31. 16 OctThe Science of Dreams and Why We Have Nightmares
32. 16 OctWhat Makes a Great Interview
33. 15 OctVino Sans Snobbery: A Charming Illustrated Scratch-and-Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert
34. 15 OctE. B. White on Why He Wrote Charlotte’s Web, Plus His Rare Illustrated Manuscripts
35. 15 OctHumans of New York: A Vibrant Photographic Census of Diversity and Dignity
36. 14 OctThe Big New Yorker Book of Cats
37. 14 OctThe Art of “Creative Sleep”: Stephen King on Writing and Wakeful Dreaming
38. 14 OctHannah Arendt on How Bureaucracy Fuels Violence
39. 11 OctNobel Laureate Alice Munro on the Secret of a Great Story
40. 11 OctDrawn to New York: Counterculture Cartoonist Peter Kuper’s Illustrated Chronicle of 34 Years in Gotham
41. 11 OctHow Virginia Woolf’s Orlando Subverted Censorship and Revolutionized the Politics of LGBT Love in 1928
42. 10 OctJohn Updike on Writing and Death
43. 10 OctNeed a House, Call Ms. Mouse: Progressive Vintage Children’s Book Starring a Female Architect
44. 9 OctGoodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York
45. 9 OctThe Psychology of How Mind-Wandering and “Positive Constructive Daydreaming” Boost Our Creativity and Social Skills
46. 9 OctSalvador Dalí Illustrates Don Quixote
47. 8 OctHow to Be an Educated Consumer of Infographics: David Byrne on the Art-Science of Visual Storytelling
48. 8 OctMark Twain on Religion and Our Human Egotism
49. 8 OctAlan Lightman on Science, Genius, and Common Sense
50. 7 OctLiberace’s Little-Known Cookbook
51. 7 OctErnest Hemingway on How New York Can Drive You to Suicide
52. 7 OctEdie Windsor, Patron Saint of Modern Love
53. 4 OctSecrets of The Phantom Tollbooth: Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer on Creativity, Anxiety, and Failure
54. 4 OctHow Much a Planet Costs: Astronomy, Economics, and the Trouble with Pricing the Priceless
55. 4 OctCharles Bukowski on the Ideal Conditions and Myths of Creativity, Illustrated
56. 3 OctThe Psychology of Pets as an Extension of Human Fashion: Virginia Woolf’s Nephew on Why Dogs Came to Outshine Cats
57. 3 OctAlone in the Forest: Exploring Fear & Courage in Stunning Illustrations Based on Indian Folk Art
58. 3 OctDavid Bowie’s Formative Reading List of 75 Favorite Books
59. 2 OctThe Secret Museum: Van Gogh’s Never-Before-Seen Sketchbooks
60. 2 OctHow Richard Dawkins Coined the Word Meme: The Legendary Atheist’s Surprising Religious Inspiration
61. 1 OctHow to Make Your Own Luck
62. 1 OctVintage Catalog Cards for Literary Classics from the Semi-Secret Archive of the Library of Congress
63. 1 OctOctober 1, 1847: Miss Mitchell’s Comet and How Scientists Stand in Solidarity

September 2013

1. 30 SepHow To Be a Nonconformist: 22 Irreverent Illustrated Steps to Counterculture Cred from 1968
2. 30 SepBrave Genius: How the Unlikely Friendship of Scientist Jacques Monod and Philosopher Albert Camus Shaped Modern Culture
3. 30 SepJanis Joplin on Creativity and Rejection: Her Lost Final Interview, Rediscovered and Animated
4. 27 SepIronic Serif: A Brief History of Typographic Snark and the Failed Crusade for an Irony Mark
5. 27 SepIn Pursuit of the Extraordinary: Anaïs Nin Reads from Her Famous Diaries
6. 27 SepWhat Elvish, Klingon, and Dothraki Reveal about Real Language & the Essence of Human Communication
7. 26 SepThe Four Types of Jaywalkers: An Illustrated Morphology of Bad Pedestrians circa 1924
8. 26 SepWisdom from a MacArthur Genius: Psychologist Angela Duckworth on Why Grit, Not IQ, Predicts Success
9. 26 SepT.S. Eliot Reads “The Naming of Cats,” 1947
10. 25 SepWilliam Faulkner on Writing, the Purpose of Art, Working in a Brothel, and the Meaning of Life
11. 25 SepHow the Universe Works: Stephen Hawking’s Theory of Everything, Animated in 150 Seconds
12. 25 SepThe Hole Book: Charmingly Illustrated Verses from 1908
13. 24 SepIf Dogs Run Free: Bob Dylan’s 1970 Classic, Adapted by Illustrator Scott Campbell
14. 24 SepThe Beautiful and Frightening Experience of How Science Is Done: Richard Feynman’s Letter to James Watson about The Double Helix
15. 24 SepF. Scott Fitzgerald Reads John Masefield’s “On Growing Old”
16. 23 SepThe Odd Habits and Curious Customs of Famous Writers
17. 23 SepThe Psychology of Stress, Orgasm, and Creativity
18. 23 SepWhat George Eliot Teaches Us About the Life-Cycle of Happiness and the Science of Why We’re Happier When We’re Older
19. 20 SepAnaïs Nin on Writing, Emotional Crisis as Creative Fuel, and How Keeping a Diary Enhances Creativity
20. 20 SepHow Evolution Works, Animated in Minimalist Motion Graphics
21. 20 SepWhat Makes Iconic Design: Lessons from the Visual History of the London Underground Logo
22. 19 SepMilton Glaser on Art, Technology, and the Secret of Life
23. 19 SepMake Art, Make Money, and Believe the Beard: What Jim Henson Teaches Us about Bridging Creative Integrity and Commercial Success
24. 19 SepThe Science and Philosophy of Friendship: Lessons from Aristotle on the Art of Connection
25. 18 SepArt, Science, and Butterfly Metamorphosis: How a 17th-Century Woman Laid the Foundations of Modern Entomology
26. 18 SepSamuel Johnson on Writing and Creative Doggedness
27. 17 SepFamous Writers on New York: Timeless Private Reflections from Diaries, Letters and Personal Essays
28. 17 SepHow the Nobel Prize Was Born: A Surprising Story of Bad Journalism, Existential Guilt, and Dynamite
29. 17 SepEdgar Allan Poe on the Joy of Marginalia and What Handwriting Reveals about Character
30. 16 SepAesthetic Consumerism and the Violence of Photography: What Susan Sontag Teaches Us about Visual Culture and the Social Web
31. 16 SepThe Hole: A Philosophical Scandinavian Children’s Book About the Meaning of Existence
32. 16 SepE. B. White’s Poignant and Playful Obituary for His Beloved Dog Daisy
33. 13 Sep“Tip-of-the-Tongue Syndrome,” Transactive Memory, and How the Internet Is Making Us Smarter
34. 13 SepHenry Builds a Cabin: Thoreau’s Joyfully Minimalist Life at Walden, Illustrated for Kids and Full of Wisdom for All
35. 12 SepDavid Foster Wallace on Writing, Death, and Redemption
36. 12 SepWell-Read Women: Gorgeous Watercolor Portraits of Literature’s Most Beloved Heroines
37. 11 SepHow Antidepressants Affect Selfhood, Teenage Sexuality, and Our Quest for Personal Identity
38. 11 SepNeil Gaiman’s Advice to Aspiring Writers
39. 11 SepBeneath the Rainbow: Enchanting Stories and Poems from Kenya, Illustrated by African Artists
40. 10 SepStephen Jay Gould, the Greatest Science Essayist of All Time, on Evolution and Storytelling
41. 10 SepSex on Six Legs: What Insects Teach Us about Ourselves
42. 10 SepNurse Lugton’s Curtain: Virginia Woolf’s Little-Known Children’s Story, in Gorgeous Watercolors
43. 9 SepSendak, Carle, Provensen, and 20 Other Beloved Illustrators’ Advice to Children on Being an Artist
44. 9 SepHow to Do the “Step-and-Slide”: A Cognitive Scientist on the Rules of Avoidance, Alignment, and Attraction for Deft Urban Walking
45. 9 SepLeo Tolstoy on Emotional Infectiousness and What Separates Good Art from the Bad
46. 6 SepHow to Build a Universe: Philip K. Dick on Reality, Its Enemies, and Its Heroes
47. 6 SepItalo Calvino on America
48. 6 SepConspicuous Outrage: Quentin Bell, Virginia Woolf’s Nephew, on Sartorial Morality, the Art of Fashion, and the Futility of War
49. 6 SepWhat Is Creativity? Cultural Icons on What Ideation Is and How It Works
50. 5 SepThe Creators of “Go the F*ck to Sleep” on Werner Herzog’s Irreverent Reading
51. 5 SepNeil deGrasse Tyson on the Art of the Soundbite
52. 5 SepSalinger and the Architecture of Personal Mythology
53. 4 SepCharles Bukowski on Writing and His Crazy Daily Routine
54. 4 SepJames Joyce’s Humorous Morphology of the Many Outrageous Myths about Him
55. 4 SepGorgeous Vintage Illustrations for Aesop’s Fables by Alice and Martin Provensen
56. 3 SepMaurice Sendak’s Little-Known and Lovely Posters Celebrating Books and the Joy of Reading
57. 3 SepJorge Luis Borges on Writing: Wisdom from His Most Candid Interviews
58. 3 SepMr. Tiger Goes Wild: A Charming Modern-Day Fable about Authenticity and Acceptance
59. 2 SepEmma Darwin’s Stirring Love Letter to Charles
60. 2 SepF. Scott Fitzgerald Reads John Keats’s “Ode to a Nightingale”

August 2013

1. 30 AugSeamus Heaney Reads “Death of a Naturalist” and His Nobel Lecture on the Power of Poetry
2. 30 AugWilliam Faulkner’s Little-Known Jazz Age Drawings, with a Side of Literary Derision
3. 30 AugRare Book Feast: John Christopher Jones’s Seminal Vintage Vision for the Future of Design
4. 29 AugHenry Hikes to Fitchburg: Lovely Illustrated Children’s Adaptation of Thoreau’s Philosophy, Full of Universal Wisdom for All
5. 29 AugThe Art of NASA: Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz, Norman Rockwell, and Other Icons Celebrate 50 Years of Space Exploration
6. 29 AugJohn Locke on Knowledge, Understanding, and Why Not to Borrow Your Opinions from Others
7. 28 AugThe Art of Thought: A Pioneering 1926 Model of the Four Stages of Creativity
8. 28 AugIsaac Asimov’s Wise and Witty Response to Those Who Question the Value of Investing in Space Exploration
9. 28 AugThe Shape of Spectacular Speech: An Infographic Analysis of What Made MLK’s “I Have a Dream” So Powerful
10. 27 AugOscar Wilde on Art and Cultivating the Crucial Temperament of Receptivity
11. 27 AugNeil deGrasse Tyson and Neil Gaiman on the Secret of Genius
12. 27 AugTo Be or Not To Be: Hamlet as a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Novel
13. 26 AugMichael Lewis on Writing, Money, and the Necessary Self-Delusion of Creativity
14. 26 AugCulinary Advice from James Beard, Illustrated by the Provensens
15. 26 AugScience, Religion, and the Big Bang: An Animated Clarifier
16. 23 AugHow to Tell Love from Lust: A Timeless 1929 Litmus Test from E.B. White and James Thurber
17. 23 Aug10 Rules for Creative Projects from Iconic Painter Richard Diebenkorn
18. 23 AugBrian Cox on What Earthly Phenomena Reveal about the Wonders of the Solar System
19. 22 AugRay Bradbury on Writing, Emotion vs. Intelligence, and the Core of Creativity
20. 22 AugPioneering 19th-Century Astronomer Maria Mitchell on Education and Women in Science
21. 22 AugThe Social Life of Small Urban Spaces
22. 21 AugElmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing
23. 21 AugJane Goodall’s Little-Known Children’s Book About the Healing Power of Pet Love
24. 21 AugFeeding the Mind: Lewis Carroll’s Rules for a Fine Information Diet and Healthy Intellectual Digestion
25. 20 AugE. B. White’s Love Letter to His Wife on the Occasion of Her Pregnancy, “Written” by Their Dog
26. 20 AugCarving Culture: Sculptural Masterpieces Made from Old Books
27. 20 AugThis Is Israel: Miroslav Sasek’s Iconic Vintage Children’s Book, as an Animated Short Film
28. 19 AugThe Magic of Metaphor: What Children’s Minds Reveal about the Evolution of the Imagination
29. 19 AugSalvador Dalí Illustrates the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac
30. 19 AugFrance Is Free: Anaïs Nin and Ernest Hemingway on the Liberation of Paris, August 19, 1944
31. 16 AugThe Magic and Logic of Color: How Josef Albers Revolutionized Visual Culture and the Art of Seeing
32. 16 AugPatti Smith’s Advice to the Young, by Way of William S. Burroughs
33. 16 AugThe Freedom of the Press: George Orwell on the Media’s Toxic Self-Censorship
34. 15 AugFrank Lloyd Wright’s Feisty Critique of Le Corbusier, Philip Johnson, Education, and the NYC Skyline
35. 15 AugHow Beloved Chef and Entrepreneur Julia Child Conquered the World: An Illustrated Life Story
36. 15 AugInclining the Mind Toward “Sudden Illumination”: French Polymath Henri Poincaré on How Creativity Works
37. 14 AugHow Einstein Thought: “Combinatory Play” and the Key to Creativity
38. 14 AugVibrant Vintage Illustrations of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey by Alice and Martin Provensen
39. 14 AugHappy Birthday, Paul Barstch: Toast with a Cocktail Recipe by the Pioneering Zoologist and Explorer
40. 13 AugReligion vs. Humanism: Isaac Asimov on Science and Spirituality
41. 13 AugThe Making of a 21st-Century Illuminated Manuscript: Inside Debbie Millman’s Creative Process
42. 13 AugHow to Optimize Your Brain: The Surprising Psychology of Why Emotional Recall, Not Intellectual Retrieval, Is the Key to Better Memory
43. 12 AugThe Art of Looking: Eleven Ways of Viewing the Multiple Realities of Our Everyday Wonderland
44. 12 AugSalvador Dalí Illustrates Montaigne: Sublime Surrealism from a Rare 1947 Limited Edition, Signed by Dalí
45. 12 AugStunning Illustrations for Irish Myths and Legends
46. 9 AugThe Story of a Cover Girl: Leading Designers and Illustrators Reimagine Nabokov’s Lolita
47. 9 AugAnnie Dillard on Writing
48. 9 AugCharles Bukowski Reads His “Friendly Advice to a Lot of Young Men” and Shares His Advice on Creativity
49. 8 AugThe Big Feminist BUT: The Caveats of Gender Politics in Comics
50. 8 AugRichard Feynman on the Meaning of Life
51. 8 AugThe Comic Book Universe, Distilled in Infographics
52. 7 AugThe Alice in Wonderland Cookbook and Lewis Carroll’s Guide to Dining Etiquette
53. 7 AugIf William Shakespeare Had Written Star Wars
54. 7 AugA Moving Meditation on Gender Identity
55. 6 AugOuter Space Humor: Vintage Illustrated Astro-Jokes from the Zenith of the Space Race
56. 6 AugBBC’s Rare 1981 Andy Warhol Interview
57. 5 AugSynesthesia and the Poetry of Numbers: Autistic Savant Daniel Tammet on Literature, Math, and Empathy, with a Side of Borges
58. 5 AugHow to Apologize for Standing Someone Up: A Lesson from Lewis Carroll’s Hilarious Letter
59. 5 AugThe Book of Mean People: Toni Morrison’s Children’s Allegory about Kindness and the Importance of Considering Context Before Making Judgments
60. 2 AugBedroom via Kitchen: What Food Preferences Reveal about You and Your Romantic Partner
61. 2 AugFrida Kahlo’s Politics
62. 2 AugEdna St. Vincent Millay’s Beautiful Letter of Affection and Appreciation to Her Mother
63. 1 AugPioneering Astronomer Maria Mitchell on Science and Life: Timeless Wisdom from Her Diaries
64. 1 AugStunning Handcrafted Felt-on-Felt Typographic Homage to Melville’s Moby-Dick
65. 1 AugA Eulogy to Words: The Only Recording of Virginia Woolf’s Voice, Adapted for Chamber Orchestra

July 2013

1. 31 JulGay Talese’s First Mac: The Godfather of Literary Journalism on His Secret Love of Typography
2. 31 JulHow to Block a Surveillance Camera: A DIY Art Tutorial from Ai Weiwei
3. 31 JulArt and Accidental Literature: Lynda Barry + Lord Chesterfield
4. 30 JulSusan Sontag on Sex
5. 30 JulDavid Ogilvy’s Timeless Principles of Creative Management
6. 30 JulHemingway’s Ideas of Heaven and Hell: The 26-Year-Old Author’s Letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald
7. 29 JulThe Best Books on Writing, NYC, Animals, and More: A Collaboration with the New York Public Library
8. 29 JulWhat the Psychology of Suicide Prevention Teaches Us About Controlling Our Everyday Worries
9. 29 Jul10 Famous Creators’ Secret Obsessions and Little-Known Talents
10. 26 JulGorgeous Vintage and Modern Illustrations from Aldous Huxley’s Only Children’s Book
11. 26 JulIconic Psychiatrist Carl Jung on Human Personality in Rare BBC Interview
12. 26 JulGeorge Bernard Shaw on Marriage, the Oppression of Women, and the Hypocrisies of Monogamy
13. 25 JulHow to Quit Your Job Like Sherwood Anderson: The Best Resignation Letter Ever Written
14. 25 JulHow We Got “Please” and “Thank You”
15. 25 JulOpen House for Butterflies: Ruth Krauss’s Final and Loveliest Collaboration with Maurice Sendak
16. 24 JulAmelia Earhart on Motivation, Education, and Human Nature in Letters to Her Mother
17. 24 JulThe Cat and the Devil: Rare Illustrations from James Joyce’s Little-Known Children’s Story
18. 24 JulAlexandre Dumas on the 3 Types of Appetites, 3 Types of Gluttony, and Perfect Number of Dinner Guests
19. 23 JulTrailblazing Astronomer Vera Rubin on Science, Stereotypes, and Success
20. 23 JulThe Only Surviving Recording of Raymond Chandler’s Voice, in a BBC Conversation with Ian Fleming
21. 23 JulBrian Cox on Why Science Is Essential to Modern Democracy
22. 22 JulWhen Edward Gorey Illustrated Dracula: Two Masters of the Macabre, Together
23. 22 JulThe Lincoln of Literature: Mark Twain, The Atlantic , and the Making of the Middlebrow Magazine
24. 22 JulIsaac Asimov’s Fan Mail to Young Carl Sagan
25. 19 JulIf Gorey and Sendak Had Illustrated Kafka for Kids
26. 19 JulRichard Feynman on Good and Evil, the Zen of Science, and His Lovely Prose Poem About the Glory of Evolution
27. 19 Jul10 Tips on Writing from Joyce Carol Oates
28. 18 JulMaurice Sendak, Teacher: Lessons on Art, Storytelling, and Life from the Beloved Artist’s 1971 Yale Course
29. 18 JulIt’s Only Music: Alfred Wertheimer’s Never-Before-Seen Photos of Elvis and the Birth of Rock and Roll
30. 18 JulFear and Loathing in Modern Media: Hunter S. Thompson on Journalism, Politics, and the Subjective
31. 17 JulSleep and the Teenage Brain
32. 17 JulPardon the Egg Salad Stains, But I’m in Love: Billy Collins Reads His Poem “Marginalia”
33. 17 JulI Got Two Dogs: A Charming Children’s Book-and-Song by John Lithgow
34. 16 JulSusan Sontag’s Bulletpointed Bodily Self-Portrait
35. 16 JulAlice and Martin Provensen’s Stunning Vintage Illustrations for Twelve Classic Fairy Tales
36. 16 JulPoets in Partnership: Rare 1961 BBC Interview with Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes on Literature and Love
37. 15 JulWhy Time Slows Down When We’re Afraid, Speeds Up as We Age, and Gets Warped on Vacation
38. 15 JulThe Big Box: Toni Morrison’s Darkly Philosophical Children’s Book, a Collaboration with Her Son
39. 15 JulOscar Wilde’s Stirring Love Letters to Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas
40. 12 JulEver Rethinking the Lord’s Prayer: Buckminster Fuller Revises Scripture with Science
41. 12 JulBeloved Painter and Philosopher Robert Henri on How Art Binds Us Together
42. 12 JulThoreau on Friendship, Consciousness, and Seeing Kinship Across Our Creaturely Differences
43. 11 JulDo Scientists Pray? Einstein Answers a Little Girl’s Question about Science vs. Religion
44. 11 JulI’ll Be You and You Be Me: A Vintage Ode to Friendship and the Imagination, Illustrated by Young Maurice Sendak
45. 11 JulThe 7-Word Autobiographies of Famous Writers, Artists, Musicians, and Philosophers
46. 10 JulEdward Gorey’s Vintage Book Covers for Literary Classics
47. 10 JulDavid Lynch on Using Meditation as an Anchor of Creative Integrity
48. 10 JulA Brief Visual History of Space and Astronomy in 250 Milestones
49. 9 JulFrida Kahlo’s DIY Paint Recipe
50. 9 JulSylvia Plath Reads Her Moving Poem “Tulips”: A Rare 1961 BBC Recording
51. 9 JulVi Hart Explains Stravinsky’s Atonal Compositions and Why We Hear Music the Way We Do
52. 8 JulThe Graphic Canon of Literary Comics: From Virginia Woolf to James Joyce, Visual Artists Take on The Classics
53. 8 JulModern Masterpieces of Comedic Genius: The Art of the Humorous Amazon Review
54. 8 JulCarl Sagan on the Meaning of Life
55. 5 JulMme. Curie Is Dead; Martyr to Science: The New York Times’ Stirring Obituary for Marie Curie
56. 5 JulBBC’s The Beauty of Books: Penguin, Orwell, and the Paperback Cover Design Revolution
57. 5 JulDo Everything Well: Lord Chesterfield on the Art of Dress
58. 4 JulA Child’s Calendar: John Updike’s Little-Known Vintage Book, Updated to Celebrate Diversity
59. 4 JulWalt Whitman Reads “America”: The Only Surviving Recording of the Beloved Poet’s Voice
60. 3 JulBeware of Beauty Overload: The Adaptive Eye of the Beholder
61. 3 JulGay Talese’s Daily Routine, Plus a Money-Saving Tip from the Godfather of Literary Journalism
62. 3 JulStunning Laser-Cut Paper Illustrations of Macbeth
63. 2 JulA Visual History of Magic
64. 2 JulHow Relationships Refine Our Truths: Adrienne Rich on the Responsibility of Love
65. 2 JulThe True Science of Spinach and What the Popeye Mythology Teaches Us about How Error Spreads
66. 1 JulKids on Gender Politics: Amusing and Poignant Responses from Children in the 1970s-1980s
67. 1 JulSurvival of the Prettiest: Harvard Cognitive Scientist Nancy Etcoff on the Science of Beauty
68. 1 JulDown with DOMA: Edith Windsor’s Historic Call with President Obama, Illustrated by Debbie Millman

June 2013

1. 28 JunAfter Stonewall: The First-Ever Pride Parades, In Vintage Photos
2. 28 JunScandal, Censorship, Science: How Darwin Shaped Our Understanding of Why Language Exists
3. 28 JunHappy Birthday, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: 21 Essential Reads on Education
4. 27 Jun14-Year-Old George Washington’s 110 Commandments for Cultivating Character
5. 27 JunFaces of Justice: Mariana Cook’s Portraits of Human Rights Leaders
6. 27 JunLegendary Optimist Helen Keller on Her Greatest Regret
7. 26 JunIconic Graphic Designer Milton Glaser on Art, Education, and the Kindness of the Universe
8. 26 JunGeorge Lucas, John Lithgow, and Other Luminaries on How the Humanities Make Us Human
9. 26 JunItalo Calvino’s Poetic Résumé
10. 25 JunBill Moggridge, Designer of the First Laptop, on Human-Centered Design
11. 25 JunThe Dark: An Illustrated Meditation on Overcoming Fear from Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen
12. 25 JunThoreau on Why Not to Quote Thoreau
13. 24 JunAnnie Dillard on What a Stunt Pilot Knows About Impermanence, Creativity, and the Meaning of Life
14. 24 JunVirginia Woolf’s Never-Before-Seen Witty Family Newspaper, Illustrated by Her Nephew, Quentin Bell
15. 24 JunThe Surprising History of the Pencil
16. 21 JunTurning Abruptly from Friendship to Love: Sartre’s Piercing Love Letter to Simone Jollivet
17. 21 JunIn the Night Kitchen: James Gandolfini Reads Maurice Sendak’s Most Controversial Book
18. 21 JunHelen Keller on Optimism
19. 20 JunThe Seducer’s Cookbook: A Vintage Guide to the Lost Art of Seduction
20. 20 JunIf the Web Preceded Print: The New Golden Age of Book Design and Creativity on Paper
21. 20 JunTennessee Williams Reads Two Stirring Poems by Hart Crane
22. 19 JunKierkegaard on How to Channel Anxiety into Creativity
23. 19 JunMaurice Sendak Illustrates Tolstoy
24. 19 JunNobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on What It Takes to Be Free from Fear
25. 18 JunHow Inviting the Unknown Helps Us Know Life More Richly
26. 18 JunBarthes’s Likes and Dislikes, Illustrated
27. 18 JunHow to Make a Ricky Board: A Creative Exercise from David Lynch
28. 17 JunNabokov on Inspiration and the Six Short Stories Everyone Should Read
29. 17 JunHow Charles Eames Proposed to Ray Eames: His Disarming 1941 Handwritten Love Letter
30. 17 JunNeil deGrasse Tyson on Your Ego and the Cosmic Perspective
31. 14 JunThe Secret to Learning Anything: Albert Einstein’s Advice to His Son
32. 14 JunMaya Angelou on Freedom: A 1973 Conversation with Bill Moyers
33. 14 JunThe Rap Guide to Evolution: Baba Brinkman’s Homage to Darwin
34. 13 JunThe Lonesome Traveler: Kerouac’s Tour of the Unseen New York
35. 13 JunHow Our Vision Works
36. 13 JunEdna St. Vincent Millay’s Poems for Young People
37. 12 JunCarl Sagan on Science and Spirituality
38. 12 JunHorizontal vs. Vertical Identity and How Love Both Changes Us and Makes Us More Ourselves
39. 12 JunPain, Parties, Work: Sylvia Plath in New York, Summer 1953
40. 11 JunDarwin’s Life, Adapted in Poems by His Great-Great-Granddaughter
41. 11 JunOriginal Mad Man David Ogilvy on the 10 Qualities of Creative Leaders
42. 11 JunDesign in a Nutshell: One-Minute Animated Primers on Six Major Creative Movements
43. 10 JunItalo Calvino on Writing: Selected Wisdom from a Lifetime of Letters
44. 10 JunConjuring Cohesion and Purpose: How Ursula Nordstrom Cultivated Maurice Sendak’s Genius
45. 10 JunHappy 50th Birthday, Equal Pay Act: A Brief History and Future of the Gender Wage Gap
46. 7 JunPhilosopher Judith Butler on the Value of the Humanities and Why We Read
47. 7 JunThe Lives of 10 Famous Painters, Visualized as Minimalist Infographic Biographies
48. 7 JunHow We Spend Our Days Is How We Spend Our Lives: Annie Dillard on Choosing Presence Over Productivity
49. 6 JunTaschen’s Jazz: An Illustrated Portrait of New York in the Roaring Twenties
50. 6 JunJune 6, 1917: Edna St. Vincent Millay Almost Gets Banned from Her Own Graduation
51. 6 JunPresident Obama and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Ending Rape in the Military
52. 5 JunSwiss Philosopher Henri-Frédéric Amiel on Love, Its Torments, and Its Redemptions
53. 5 JunThe Quartet of Creativity: 28-Year-Old Susan Sontag on the Four People a Great Writer Must Be
54. 5 JunLove Over Biology: Jennifer Finney Boylan on What It’s Like to Be a Transgender Parent
55. 4 Jun14 Rules for Travel and Life: Founding Father Benjamin Rush’s Advice to His Young Son
56. 4 JunMax Out Your Humanity: Oprah’s Harvard Commencement Address on Failure & Finding Your Purpose
57. 4 JunT.S. Eliot Reads T.S. Eliot: “The Ad-dressing of Cats,” 1947
58. 3 JunDo It: 20 Years of Famous Artists’ Irreverent Instructions for Art Anyone Can Make
59. 3 JunItalo Calvino on Abortion and the Meaning of Life
60. 3 JunSpace for Equality: NASA Joins the It Gets Better Project

May 2013

1. 31 MayPatti Smith Reads Her Poetic Tribute to Robert Mapplethorpe
2. 31 MayThe Duality of the Adventurer’s Spirit: A 1929 Meditation on Our Core Contradictions
3. 31 MayJames Earl Jones Reads from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”
4. 30 MayCoffee, It’s a Man’s Drink: Esquire’s Vintage Rules for Brewing the Perfect Cup
5. 30 MayRemoralizing Marriage: Dan Savage in Conversation with Andrew Sullivan at NYPL
6. 30 MayEdna St. Vincent Millay’s Playful Self-Portrait in Verse
7. 29 MayBe All Your Selves: Joss Whedon’s 2013 Wesleyan Commencement Address on Embracing Our Inner Contradictions
8. 29 MayIntuition Pumps: Philosopher Daniel Dennett on the Dignity of Being Wrong and Art-Science of Making Fertile Mistakes
9. 29 MayBe Like Water: The Philosophy and Origin of Bruce Lee’s Famous Metaphor for Resilience
10. 28 MayThe Power of Process: What Young Mozart Teaches Us About the Secret of Cultivating Genius
11. 28 MayAmanda Palmer on Creativity as Connecting Dots and the Terrifying Joy of Sharing Your Art Online
12. 28 MayGay Talese’s Portrait of the Tallest Man in New York
13. 27 MayHenry Miller’s Notice to Visitors
14. 27 MayMarguerite Duras on the Art of Seeing and the Essence of Life, Illustrated
15. 24 MayId-Grids and Ego-Graphs: A Typographic Confabulation with Finnegans Wake
16. 24 MayLove Letter as Obituary: How To Praise Like Legendary Ad Man David Ogilvy
17. 24 MayThe Philosophy of Immortality
18. 23 MayStephen Jay Gould on the Key to Creativity and the Power of Connecting Dots
19. 23 MayPresence, Not Praise: How To Cultivate a Healthy Relationship with Achievement
20. 23 MayDelicious Vintage Food PSA Posters
21. 22 MayHow to Hone Your Creative Routine and Master the Pace of Productivity
22. 22 MayArianna Huffington on Redefining Success: 2013 Smith College Commencement Address
23. 22 MayEdna St. Vincent Millay on the Power of Music
24. 21 MayYour Cousin, the Blade of Grass: Brian Cox on the Wonders of Life
25. 21 MayPatti Smith’s Lettuce Soup Recipe for Starving Artists
26. 21 MayEditorial Manners 101: Raymond Chandler Tells The Atlantic Off
27. 20 MayGood Writing vs. Talented Writing
28. 20 MayHow Creativity in Humor, Art, and Science Works: Arthur Koestler’s Theory of Bisociation
29. 20 MayMay 20, 1990: Advice on Life and Creative Integrity from “Calvin and Hobbes” Creator Bill Watterson
30. 17 MayMark Twain and Rudyard Kipling Critique the Media
31. 17 MayGender Politics and the English Language, Pete Seeger Edition
32. 17 MayGorgeous Black-and-White Vintage Photos of Early NASA Facilities
33. 16 MayWild Ones: What an Obscure Endangered Butterfly Teaches Us About Parenthood and Being Human
34. 16 MayWhy Adrienne Rich Became the Only Person to Decline the National Medal of Arts
35. 16 MayNo Kidding: Women Writers and Comedians on the Choice Not to Have Children
36. 15 MayFail Safe: Debbie Millman’s Advice on Courage and the Creative Life
37. 15 MayBrian Eno on Creativity, Confidence, and What Gives Value to a Work of Art
38. 15 MayHeinz Haber, Disney’s Chief Scientist, Explains the Atom in 1957
39. 14 MayMake Good Art: Neil Gaiman’s Advice on the Creative Life, Adapted by Design Legend Chip Kidd
40. 14 MayThe Mighty Lalouche: A Heartening Underdog Story Illustrated by the Great Sophie Blackall
41. 14 MayHow to Make the Perfect Cup of Tea: George Orwell’s 11 Golden Rules
42. 13 MayHow to Worry Less About Money: Financial Planning Lessons from Goethe
43. 13 MayGreil Marcus on How the Division of High vs. Low Robs Culture of Its Essence
44. 13 MayDon’t Go Back to School: How to Fuel the Internal Engine of Learning
45. 10 MayFrom Abigail Adams to Maya Angelou, History’s Finest Letters of Motherly Advice
46. 10 MayDarwin’s Daily Routine
47. 10 MayThe Politics of Homosexuality, 20 Years Later
48. 9 MayUncommon Grounds: How Coffee Changed the World
49. 9 MayAutonomy, Mastery, Purpose: The Science of What Motivates Us, Animated
50. 9 MayDavid Foster Wallace’s Timeless Graduation Speech on the Meaning of Life, Adapted in a Short Film
51. 8 MayRaymond Chandler on Writing: A Lifetime of Wisdom on the Craft from His Private Letters
52. 8 MayOur Objects, Ourselves
53. 8 MayNellie Was a Lady: 1945 Radio Dramatization of Pioneering Journalist Nellie Bly’s Life
54. 7 MayLetters to Ms.: How Mary Thom Built “Social Media” for Women’s Rights in the 1970s
55. 7 MayThe Designer Says: The Collected Quips and Wisdom of Famous Graphic Designers
56. 7 MayMassimo Vignelli on the Secret of Great Book Design
57. 6 MayCats, Guns, and Books: William S. Burroughs’s Daily Routine
58. 6 MayLove and Art: The Secret to a Romantic Relationship That’s Also a Creative Collaboration
59. 6 MayWhy War: Einstein and Freud’s Little-Known Correspondence on Violence, Peace, and Human Nature
60. 3 MayLife Doesn’t Frighten Me: Maya Angelou’s Courageous Children’s Verses, Illustrated by Basquiat
61. 3 MayTimeless Advice on Writing: The Collected Wisdom of Great Writers
62. 3 MayThe Mansion of Many Apartments: John Keats’s Metaphor for Life
63. 2 MayHow to Pack Like Pioneering Journalist Nellie Bly, Who Circumnavigated the Globe in 1889 with Just a Small Duffle Bag
64. 2 MayWho Invented Writing? An Animated Historical Detective Story
65. 2 MayGun Control Fail, 1944 Edition
66. 1 MayBrand Thinking: Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Dan Pink, and Other Mavens on How and Why We Define Ourselves Through Stuff
67. 1 MayStar Wars Reimagined as a Muppets Comic: A 1983 Mashup
68. 1 MayMargaret Atwood on Literature’s Women Problem

April 2013

1. 30 AprCosmic Apprentice: Dorion Sagan on Why Science and Philosophy Need Each Other
2. 30 AprHow One of Literature’s Greatest Loves Began: The Fateful Meeting of Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein
3. 30 AprApril 30, 1945: Mussolini Executed
4. 29 AprA Natural History of Love
5. 29 AprOn Craftsmanship: The Only Surviving Recording of Virginia Woolf’s Voice, 1937
6. 29 AprLiterary Pets: The Cats, Dogs, and Birds Famous Authors Loved
7. 26 AprSusan Sontag on Why Lists Appeal to Us, Plus Her Listed Likes and Dislikes
8. 26 AprProust’s Previously Unknown Illustrated Poems
9. 26 AprAncient Aphrodisiacs and Anti-Aphrodisiacs
10. 25 AprThe Paris Review Origin Story and Their Secret to the Art of the Interview
11. 25 AprWhat Is Nothing? A Mind-Bending Debate about the Universe Moderated by Neil deGrasse Tyson
12. 25 AprThe First Book of Firemen, 1951
13. 24 AprHow Cooking Civilized Us: Michael Pollan on Food as Social Glue and Anti-Corporate Activism
14. 24 AprWilliam Wordsworth on Pleasure as the Shared Heart of Poetry and Science
15. 24 AprHow to Create the Perfect Wife
16. 23 AprDaily Rituals: A Guided Tour of Writers’ and Artists’ Creative Habits
17. 23 AprHow to Find Fulfilling Work
18. 23 AprMeet Marty Cooper, Inventor of the Cell Phone
19. 22 Apr14 Ways to Acquire Knowledge: A Timeless Guide from 1936
20. 22 AprTo This Day: A Collaborative Animated Spoken-Word Poem About the Lifelong Pain of Bullying
21. 22 AprNabokov and Homeland Security: How Russia’s Most Revered Literary Émigré Became an American
22. 19 AprHemingway on Writing, Knowledge, and the Dangers of Ego
23. 19 AprFrida Kahlo’s Passionate Hand-Written Love Letters to Diego Rivera
24. 19 AprLegendary Composer Leonard Bernstein on the Future of Music, Harvard 1973
25. 18 AprE.B. White on the Art of the Essay and Why Egotism Is Essential for the Essay Writer
26. 18 AprThe First Book of Space Travel: How a Woman Writer and Illustrator Enchanted Kids with Science in 1953
27. 18 AprDavid Foster Wallace on Ambition, Animated
28. 17 AprThe Art of Conversation: Timeless, Timely Do’s and Don’ts from 1866
29. 17 AprThe Artists’ & Writers’ Cookbook: A Rare 1961 Treasure Trove of Unusual Recipes and Creative Wit
30. 17 AprWilla Cather on the Majesty of the Cosmos and the Capacity for Wonder That Makes Us Wonderful
31. 16 AprHow Attractive Are You To The Opposite Sex? Esquire’s 1949 Questionnaire
32. 16 AprModern Art Desserts: From Mondrian Cake to Matisse Parfait
33. 15 AprThe Writer’s Technique in Thirteen Theses: Walter Benjamin’s Timeless Advice on Writing
34. 15 AprEggs of Things: Anne Sexton and Maxine Cumin’s Science-Inspired 1963 Children’s Book
35. 15 AprA Theater for Living: Anatomy of European Street Life in 1900
36. 12 AprAnne Sexton’s Report Card
37. 12 AprMy Father’s Arms Are a Boat: A Tender Norwegian Tale of Love and Loss
38. 12 AprThe Difference Between Curiosity and Wonder and How It Shaped the Science vs. Scripture Divide
39. 11 AprEdward Gorey Illustrates T. S. Eliot’s Iconic Cat Poems
40. 11 AprHenry Miller on the Joy of Urination
41. 11 AprHow Elvis Presley Ushered in the Era of Teen Consumer Culture
42. 10 AprAn Illustrated Tour of All the Buildings in New York
43. 10 AprGivers, Takers, and Matchers: The Surprising Psychology of Success
44. 10 AprHow the Universe Was Born: An Animated Explanation from CERN
45. 9 AprLost Cat: An Illustrated Meditation on Love, Loss, and What It Means To Be Human
46. 9 AprJackson Pollock on Art and Life, Shortly Before His Death
47. 9 AprPablo Neruda’s “Ode to the Book”
48. 8 AprOn Loves, Lunacies, and Losses: The Little-Known Poetry of Mark Twain
49. 8 AprThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Made More Wonderful by Graphic Artist Michael Sieben
50. 8 AprFrancis Bacon on the Dark Side of Curiosity and the Vanity of Knowledge
51. 5 AprMalcolm Cowley on the Four Stages of Writing: Lessons from the First Five Years of The Paris Review
52. 5 AprBeloved Film Critic Roger Ebert on Writing, Life, and Mortality
53. 5 AprE. E. Cummings Reads “Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town” (Harvard, 1953)
54. 4 AprThe Art of Living: A 1924 Guide to Uncertainty, Love, and Finding Your Purpose
55. 4 AprThe Bed Book: Sylvia Plath’s Vintage Poems for Kids, Illustrated by Quentin Blake
56. 4 AprIsaac Asimov on Curiosity, Taking Risk, and the Value of Space Exploration in Muppet Magazine
57. 3 AprAdvice to Little Girls: Young Mark Twain’s Little-Known, Lovely 1865 Children’s Book
58. 3 AprGeorge Plimpton on the Art of Public Speaking and How to Overcome Stage Fright
59. 3 AprThe True Science of Parallel Universes, Animated
60. 2 AprMapping Manhattan: A Love Letter in Subjective Cartography by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Malcolm Gladwell, Yoko Ono & 72 Other New Yorkers
61. 2 AprAnd Tango Makes Three: The True Story of Central Park Zoo’s Same-Sex Penguin Family, Illustrated
62. 2 AprThe Science of How Your Mind-Wandering Is Robbing You of Happiness
63. 1 AprProspero’s Precepts: 11 Rules for Critical Thinking from Some of Humanity’s Greatest Minds
64. 1 AprAh-Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah: An Uncommon Portrait of Alan Turing, Godfather of Modern Computing
65. 1 AprHow Abraham Maslow and His Humanistic Psychology Shaped the Modern Self

March 2013

1. 29 MarThe Art of Observation and Why Genius Lies in the Selection of What Is Worth Observing
2. 29 MarMissives from Muggings: The Audacious Requests Mark Twain Received from His Fans and His Wry Responses
3. 29 MarThings Nabokov Hates
4. 28 MarAfterwords: Moving Letters of Condolence on Virginia Woolf’s Death
5. 28 MarThe Art of Cleanup: Artist Ursus Wehrli’s Playful Defiance of Life’s Chaos
6. 27 MarThe It-Doesn’t-Matter Suit: Sylvia Plath’s Little-Known, Lovely Children’s Book
7. 27 MarHistory’s 100 Geniuses of Language and Literature, Visualized
8. 27 MarIconic Designer Henry Dreyfuss on Beauty, Serenity, and Shaping Public Taste
9. 26 MarTender Buttons: Gertrude Stein’s Vintage Verses About Objects, Illustrated by Lisa Congdon
10. 26 MarHappy Birthday, Richard Dawkins: An Atheist’s Animated Altercation with God
11. 26 MarViktor Frankl on the Human Search for Meaning
12. 25 MarGay Talese’s Field Guide to the Social Order of New York’s Cats, Illustrated
13. 25 MarMark Twain’s Fan Mail
14. 25 MarThe Mortality Paradox
15. 22 MarIn Which Bertrand Russell and George Bernard Shaw Collide on Their Bicycles
16. 22 MarIconic Painter Agnes Martin on Art, Solitude, and the Secret of Happiness
17. 22 MarHow Geography Paved the Way for Women in Science and Cultivated the Values of American Democracy
18. 21 MarHenry Miller on the Meaning and Mystery of Life
19. 21 MarA Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Vintage Illustrated Verses for Innocent and Experienced Travelers
20. 21 MarWork Alone: Ernest Hemingway’s 1954 Nobel Acceptance Speech
21. 20 MarSign Painters: What a Disappearing Art Teaches Us About Creative Purpose and Process
22. 20 MarSister Rosetta Tharpe, Godmother of Rock and Roll, Live in Manchester in 1964
23. 20 MarThe Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Behind the Bomb
24. 19 MarThe Philosophy of Style: Herbert Spencer on the Economy of Attention and the Ideal Writer (1852)
25. 19 MarBeastly Boys and Ghastly Girls: Mischievous Vintage Illustrated Verses by Shel Silverstein, A. A. Milne, Lewis Carroll, and Ted Hughes
26. 19 MarStress As Metaphor
27. 18 MarA Design History of Childhood
28. 18 MarTolstoy Reads from His ‘Calendar of Wisdom’ in a Rare Recording Shortly Before His Death
29. 18 MarHow Not to Worry: Century-old Wisdom on Allaying Anxiety and Living with More Ease
30. 15 MarSorted Books Revisited: Artist Nina Katchadourian’s Playfully Arranged Book Spine Sentences
31. 15 MarHow China’s First Emperor Pioneered Design Thinking and Revolutionized the Branding of Legacy
32. 15 MarA Calendar of Wisdom: Tolstoy on Knowledge and the Meaning of Life
33. 14 MarJoy Williams’s Daily Writing Routine
34. 14 MarWondrous the Merge: Why Love Knows No Boundaries
35. 14 MarCats vs. Dogs: A Poem by T. S. Eliot, with Stunning Vintage Illustrations by Dame Eileen Mayo
36. 13 MarStephen King on Writing, Fear, and the Atrocity of Adverbs
37. 13 MarTarkovsky’s Advice to the Young: Learn to Enjoy Your Own Company
38. 13 MarThree Poems by James Joyce
39. 12 MarSusan Orlean on Writing
40. 12 MarAlexander Graham Bell on Success, Innovation, and Creativity
41. 12 MarThe Green Beads: Edward Gorey and the “Disturbed Person”
42. 11 MarHow to Enjoy Poetry
43. 11 MarHow Our Government Helps Us, in Vibrant Vintage Illustrations from 1969
44. 11 MarClare Boothe Luce’s Advice to Her 18-Year-Old Daughter
45. 8 MarBuckminster Fuller’s Manifesto for the Genius of Generalists
46. 8 MarYou Are Stardust: Stunning Illustrated Dioramas Teaching Kids About the Universe
47. 8 MarGertrude Stein Reads “A Valentine to Sherwood Anderson”
48. 7 MarThe Speech Chain: A Vintage Illustrated Guide to the Science of Language
49. 7 MarWaving to Virginia: Patti Smith Reads Woolf
50. 7 MarIllustrators and Visual Storytellers Map the World
51. 6 MarVirginia Woolf on How to Read a Book
52. 6 MarSexology Circa 1942: Vintage Anatomical Charts of the Male and Female Body, as Animated GIFs
53. 6 MarRichard Feynman on the Universal Responsibility of Scientists
54. 5 MarPublishing and Its Discontents, 1948 Edition
55. 5 MarThe History of Photography, Animated
56. 5 MarThe Lady and Her Monsters: Real-Life Frankensteins and How Mary Shelley’s Masterpiece Came to Life
57. 4 MarThe Alice B. Toklas Cookbook, Illustrated
58. 4 MarAmanda Palmer on the Art of Asking and the Shared Dignity of Giving and Receiving
59. 4 MarCultural Icons on Criticism
60. 1 MarThe Proud Surrender: Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Love Letters to Edith Wynn Matthison
61. 1 MarHow To Take a Bath: And Other Vintage Visual Guides from the Early 1900s
62. 1 MarWhat Is a Poem? Coleridge on Science vs. Romance, 1817

February 2013

1. 28 FebOppression by Omission: The Untold Story of the Women Soldiers Who Dressed and Fought as Men in the Civil War
2. 28 FebStardust: A Mesmerizing Short Film About the Voyager 1 and the Wonder of the Universe
3. 28 FebThe Age of Edison: Radical Invention and the Illuminated World
4. 27 FebLord Chesterfield on the Art of Pleasing: Outlandish Advice to His Teenage Son, 1748
5. 27 FebA Pictorial History of the London Tube and Its Graphic Legacy
6. 26 Feb10½ Favorite Reads from TED Bookstore 2013
7. 26 FebHow to Tame Trolls: Vi Hart on Dealing with Negative Comments
8. 26 FebWhat Now? Advice on Writing and Life from Ann Patchett
9. 25 FebFebruary 25, 1956: Sylvia Plath Meets Ted Hughes in One of Literary History’s Steamiest Encounters
10. 25 FebRoberto de Vicq de Cumptich on Art vs. Design and the Joy of Losing Yourself in Purposeful Work
11. 25 FebVirginia Woolf on the Language of Film and the Evils of Cinematic Adaptations of Literature
12. 22 FebMary Gordon on the Joy of Notebooks and How Writing by Hand Catalyzes Creativity
13. 22 FebDear John: Rare Recording of a Vietnam War Soldier Reading a Breakup Letter from Home
14. 22 FebEdward Gorey’s Vintage Illustrations for H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds
15. 21 FebBertrand Russell on Human Nature, Construction vs. Destruction, and Science as a Key to Democracy
16. 21 FebAnaïs Nin on Real Love, Illustrated by Debbie Millman
17. 21 FebA Cat-Hater’s Handbook: Irreverent Vintage Gem Illustrated by Tomi Ungerer
18. 20 FebInside Kurt Cobain’s Letters and Journals
19. 20 FebWilliam Butler Yeats on Modern Poetry: A Rare 1936 BBC Recording
20. 20 FebFamous Graphic Designers Offer Advice on Design and Life to the Young
21. 19 FebHappy Birthday, United Amateur Press Association: H. P. Lovecraft on the Early Spirit of “Blogging”
22. 19 FebCosmic Pastoral: Diane Ackerman’s Poems for the Planets, Which Carl Sagan Sent Timothy Leary in Prison
23. 19 FebThe Feminine Mystique Half a Century Later
24. 18 FebIllustrator Sophie Blackall on Subversive Storytelling, Missed Connections, and Optimism
25. 18 FebOrder to the Chaos of Life: Isabel Allende on Writing
26. 18 FebOur Friend the Atom: Disney’s 1956 Illustrated Propaganda for Nuclear Energy
27. 15 FebGalileo vs. God: The Father of Modern Science on Religion, Truth, and Human Nature
28. 15 FebAlexander Graham Bell on Originality, Plagiarism, Language, and Education
29. 14 FebA Century-Old Field Guide to the Art of Kissing
30. 14 FebThe Pale Blue Dot: A Timeless Valentine to the Cosmos
31. 14 FebAlain de Botton on How to Think More About Sex
32. 13 FebUncreative Writing: Redefining Language and Authorship in the Digital Age
33. 13 FebA Visualization of Global “Brain Drain” in Science Inspired by Abstract Art
34. 13 FebHigh Times: An Illustrated History of Aviation
35. 12 FebA Graphic Biography of Darwin
36. 12 FebThe Math of Love: Calculating the Odds of Finding Your Soulmate
37. 12 FebHow to Save Science: Education, the Gender Gap, and the Next Generation of Creative Thinkers
38. 11 FebThomas Edison, Power-Napper: The Great Inventor on Sleep and Success
39. 11 FebMathemusician Vi Hart Explains Space-Time with a Music Box and a Möbius Strip
40. 11 FebThe Quicksand of Existence: Sylvia Plath on Life, Death, Hope, and Happiness
41. 8 FebWhat Makes a Great Essay?
42. 8 FebJules Verne: Prophet of Science Fiction
43. 8 FebThe Genius of Dogs and How It Expands Our Understanding of Human Intelligence
44. 7 FebHow to Be a Decent Person: Charles Dickens’s Letter of Advice to His Youngest Son
45. 7 FebHow Cinelli Revolutionized the Art and Design of the Bicycle
46. 7 FebPictures from Italy: A Whimsical Early Travelogue by Dickens, Newly Illustrated
47. 6 FebYan Nascimbene’s Stunning Illustrations of Italo Calvino Classics
48. 6 FebObey: How the Rise of Mass Propaganda Killed Populism
49. 6 FebAn Addict of Experience: Sylvia Plath’s Sexual Repression and Class Struggle
50. 5 Feb9 Rules for Success by the Victorian Novelist Amelia E. Barr
51. 5 FebMy Brother’s Book: Maurice Sendak’s Posthumous Love Letter to the World
52. 5 FebHow To Stay Sane: The Art of Revising Your Inner Storytelling
53. 4 FebOliver Sacks on Memory, Originality, and Why Forgetting is Necessary for Creativity
54. 4 FebThe Shrinking of Treehorn: An Edward Gorey Illustrated Gem, 1971
55. 4 FebThe Unfeathered Bird: An Illustrated History of Avian Anatomy
56. 1 FebSusan Sontag’s Radical Vision for Remixing Education
57. 1 FebThe Science of Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg, Animated
58. 1 FebAmbiverts, Problem-Finders, and the Surprising Psychology of Making Your Ideas Happen

January 2013

1. 31 JanWhy We Write: Mary Karr on the Magnetism and Madness of the Written Word
2. 31 JanHow Chemistry Works, in Gorgeous 19th-Century Diagrams
3. 31 JanLove in the Age of Data: How One Woman Hacked Her Way to Happily Ever After
4. 30 JanAn Illustrated Chronicle of the Space Race
5. 30 JanWhy Birds Sing
6. 30 JanThe Mahatma and the Poet: Tagore’s Letters to Gandhi on Power, Morality, and Science
7. 29 JanHow To Make Great Radio: An Illustrated Guide Starring Ira Glass
8. 29 JanRichard Burton Reads John Donne’s Poem “The Flea”
9. 29 JanAnton Chekhov on the 8 Qualities of Decent People
10. 28 JanThe Science of Love: How Positivity Resonance Shapes the Way We Connect
11. 28 JanScience, Storytelling, and “Gut Churn”: Jad Abumrad on the Secrets of Creative Success
12. 28 JanStephen King on Gun Control and Violence
13. 25 JanVirginia Woolf on the Creative Benefits of Keeping a Diary
14. 25 JanDorion Sagan on the First Ejaculation in Earth’s History
15. 25 JanHappy Birthday, Robert Burns: Prince Charles Reads “My Heart’s in the Highlands”
16. 24 JanThe Dogs of NYC: An Interactive Watercolor Map of the City’s Canine Caucus
17. 24 JanPenn Jillette on Why Every Day is a Holiday
18. 23 JanGertrude Stein Reads from “The Making of Americans” in a Rare Recording from the 1930s
19. 23 JanPopular Lies About Graphic Design
20. 23 JanLife in Five Seconds: Minimalist Pictogram Summaries of Pop Culture and Historical Events
21. 22 JanFrancis Bacon on Love: Thoughts on the Sublime Emotion from the Father of Empiricism
22. 22 JanOn Art and Government: The Poem Robert Frost Didn’t Read at JFK’s Inauguration
23. 22 JanThis Explains Everything: 192 Thinkers on the Most Elegant Theory of How the World Works
24. 21 JanVladimir Nabokov on What Makes a Good Reader
25. 21 JanRemembering Aaron Swartz: David Foster Wallace on the Meaning of Life
26. 21 JanHow Lantern Slides Revolutionized Education: A Protein Story
27. 18 JanVladimir Nabokov on Literature and Life: A Rare 1969 BBC Interview
28. 18 JanDavid Byrne’s Hand-Drawn Pencil Diagrams of the Human Condition
29. 18 JanBob Dylan’s 1974 Classic “Forever Young,” Illustrated
30. 17 JanThe Art of Richard Feynman: The Great Physicist’s Little-Known Sketches and Drawings, Collected by His Daughter
31. 17 JanCan Money Buy Us Happiness? The Psychology of Materialism, Animated
32. 17 JanBenjamin Franklin on True Happiness and the Two Ways of Attaining It
33. 16 JanHow to Read Faster: Bill Cosby’s Three Proven Strategies
34. 16 JanGorgeous Vintage British Road Safety Ads, 1939-1946
35. 16 JanBeautiful 1921 Woodcuts by Virginia Woolf’s Sister
36. 15 JanThe Edge: Hunter S. Thompson on Life and Death, Animated
37. 15 JanThe Night Riders
38. 15 JanFrancis Bacon on Friendship
39. 14 JanHow to Write with Style: Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Keys to the Power of the Written Word
40. 14 JanHead Garden: A Lyrical Animated Film by Lilli Carré
41. 14 JanSeventeen-Year-Old Virginia Woolf on Nature, Imitation and the Arts
42. 11 JanH.P. Lovecraft’s Advice to Aspiring Writers: Timeless Counsel from 1920
43. 11 JanThe Science of Why We Are All Female, Animated
44. 11 JanHow People Earn and Use Money: Vibrant Vintage Illustrations from 1968
45. 10 JanIconic Designer Massimo Vignelli on Intellectual Elegance, Education, and Love
46. 10 JanChu’s Day: Neil Gaiman’s Charming Children’s Book
47. 9 JanSherwood Anderson on Art and Life: A Letter of Advice to His Teenage Son
48. 9 JanThe Science of Productivity, Animated
49. 9 JanIllustrated Six-Word Memoirs by Students from Grade School to Grad School
50. 8 JanF. Scott Fitzgerald on the Secret to Great Writing: Letters of Advice to a Friend’s Teenage Daughter and to His Own
51. 8 JanA Brief History of Time: Rare 1991 Errol Morris Documentary About Stephen Hawking, Free Online
52. 8 JanThe Story of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust Character
53. 7 JanCharles Addams Illustrates Mother Goose, 1967
54. 7 JanIntroducing The Reconstructionists: A Yearlong Celebration of History’s Remarkable Women
55. 7 JanHow to Think Like Sherlock Holmes: Lessons in Mindfulness and Creativity from the Great Detective
56. 4 JanHow We Use Maps and Globes: An Illustrated Guide from 1968
57. 4 JanThe Lives They Lived: Artists Remember Cultural Heroes We Lost
58. 4 JanA Typographic Tour of New York City at Night
59. 3 JanThe Birth of Our Modern Obsession with Maps
60. 3 JanTerry Gross’s Moving Maurice Sendak Interview, Illustrated by Christoph Niemann
61. 3 JanHow To Be a Woman
62. 1 JanFamous Resolution Lists: Jonathan Swift, Susan Sontag, Marilyn Monroe, Woody Guthrie
63. 1 JanOde to a Flower: Richard Feynman’s Famous Monologue on Knowledge and Mystery, Animated
64. 1 JanWhat Is Love? Great Definitions from 400 Years of Great Literature