Magpies and Octopi

Ellyssa Kroski writes: "There’s nothing like curling up with a good book and a cup of tea (or coffee depending on your preference)." 

Books that help us make sense of ourselves, our world, and our place in it.

In a recent piece about the Manual for Civilization -- the Lo

Annie writes: "“In the field of educational psychology, research on feelings is lacking,” the authorsobserve, “and the little that does exist has focused more on negative rather than positive feelings.” Rantala, the principal of an elementary school in the city of Rovaniemi, and Määttä, a professor of psychology at the University of Lapland, set out to remedy this oversight by studying, yes, joy. Their conclusions have important implications for how we do things in schools and in workplaces."

"I've been thinking a lot about first impressions lately and about what our physical spaces say about the work that goes on in the library.  I visit a lot of school libraries and when I do I try to put myself in the shoes of someone who a) knows very little about what happens in these spaces BUT who is also b) charged with making funding/staffing decisions for libraries in the coming year. "

Daily Writing Prompts + Schedule of Events

How to fine-tune the internal monologue that scores every aspect of our lives, from leadership to love.

"If you imagine less, less will b

In order to express a single scene of a story in a three dimensional way, Japanese artist and architect Yusuke Oonocreated this imaginative series of 360 degree books. Using 40 pages, Oono assembles scenes from stories likeThe Jungle Book and Snow White with elaborate layers of silhouettes cut from paper.

"One of my favorite NYT columnists, David Brooks, wrote an intriguing column last month."

Annie Murphy Paul writes; "Physically acting out a written text—as an actor would walk himself through the gestures and emotions of a soliloquy during rehearsal—is an effective way to commit that text to memory, as I wrote in a previous post on the Brilliant Blog. For adults, this process of enactment imbues abstract words with concrete meaning, fixing them more firmly in our minds."

Steven Poole: Lengthy pieces of writing are increasingly found on the very internet that pessimists blame for turning us into skim readers

"Discover World War One historical sources from both sides of the conflict, contributed by institutions from across Europe."

History is the greatest story ever told. However, what makes history so compelling a story too often gets lost in translation in the classroom. As a result, students start tuning out social studies -

"Do you have an interest in early children’s literature? Or are you just looking for gorgeous 18th century illustrations kick off your next craft? In either case, the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature should be one of your first stops."

1984 by George Orwell Artist Terry Border gives new life to old books in his latest series titled Wiry Limbs, Paper Backs. The artist, who is no stranger to br…

Books in the fields of art, photography, archaeology, architecture, conservation, and the humanities for both general and specialized audiences.

SkyCycle is a futuristic concept that will change how people bike in London. Created through a collaboration between Exterior Architecture, Foster + Partners,…