Hoyle's Games Modernized, by Hoyle, Hoffmann and Bergholt, Part 1

Ten Acres Enough, by Edmund Morris, Part 5

Let's kick off a year of better sleep with more from this fan favorite. This time, we raise some of nature's best composters, pigs, and decide raising po...

Winter Impressions from John Muir and Henry David Thoreau

Let's sink into seasonal slumber with two essays by famed American naturalists. In the first, John Muir takes us to Tahoe in the winter, where he delights ...

The 1942 Sears Roebuck and Co. Christmas Book, Part 2

Let's shop for sleep with more selections from this Christmas gift catalog from the years of World War II. This time, pretty yet practical cards, tree decora...

Wintering in the Riviera, by William J. Miller, Part 1

Let's set sail for warm winter nights with a new (well, "new") travel book. In this first reading, thoughts on speaking the language, the best travel guides,...

An Account of Egypt, by Herodotus, Part 3

Let's return to the sands of sleep with this absolutely, totally true, not at all exaggerated account of Egypt. This time, a ramble connecting Greek gods to Eg...

Our Cats and All About Them, by Harrison Weir, Part 4

Let's fall asleep to more about the masters of relaxation, cats. This time, the unfairly maligned black, the beautiful blue, black-and-white versus white-and-bla...

Life on a Medieval Barony, by William Stearns Davis, Part 1

Let's sink into slumber with this dreamy description of life in medieval France circa 1220. This time, the background of the barony in question and the somewhat ci...

Farm Engines and How To Run Them, by James H. Stephenson, Part 7

Let's relax to yet more information about steam engines, their types, and how their valves work, followed immediately by a glowing description of the newfangled gaso...

Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, by Robert Louis Stevenson, Part 4

Let's return to the mountains of France with this wonderful author and his rather opinionated companion. This time, we ponder the phenomenon of waking in the deep dark...

The Compleat Angler, by Isaak Walton, Part 1

Let's cast our lines into the river of relaxation with this classic about the art of fishing. This time, we begin with a conversation between a hunter, a falconer, and a...

1921 Sears Roebuck and Co. Modern Homes Catalog (Part 2)

Let's celebrate our seventh anniversary with more from this catalog of lovely, affordable homes, a dream indeed, and all certified by a team of women as perfect in every d...

Etiquette, by Emily Post, Part 8 - Servants

Let's relax with more from this classic of classy behavior, and learn about the roles of servants in a good household. What they do, what they wear, and how to pronounce val...

Where the Forest Murmurs, by Fiona Macleod, Part 2

Let's return to relaxation with two more essays about nature from this lovely work. This time, the magical peace of still waters framed by the changing leaves of autumn, and t...

The Evolution of Modern Orchestration, by Louis A. Coerne, Part 1

Let's sleep to sonorous notes about the history of the modern orchestra. This time, we work our way forward from antiquity, ponder the parallel musical tracks of church and vill...

The Problems of Philosophy, by Bertrand Russell, Part 4

Let's relax with a listener request for more from the marvelous mind of Bertrand Russell. This time, thoughts about the nature of thought, induction versus deduction, and whether ...

Over Fen and Wold, by John James Hissey, Part 1

Let's relax with a lovely listener recommendation that takes us, and our authors, on a tour of little-regarded Lincolnshire. This time, the lure of new places, the charm of old maps...

On Molecular and Microscopic Science, by Mary Somerville, Part 3

Let's sleep scientifically this week, with more from a woman of such deep and broad accomplishment that the word "scientist" had to be coined to describe her. This time, colors, molec...

The Book of the Ocean, by Ernest Ingersoll, Part 5

Let's sail the seas of sleep with more from this volume about the history of our oceans. This time, the Age of Exploration south and north, the mythical Isles of the Blessed, Magellan's...

The Ethics of Aristotle, Part 3

Let's philosophize our way to sleep with more from this 2,300-year-old work on the art of being. This time, what is happiness? How is it related to good character and, more importantly, a...