Let’s return to Aristotle’s classic on the purpose of life. What’s it all for, anyway? No real answers here tonight, alas, but at least he can help us sleep through the confusion. Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “The Ethics of Aristotle” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8438 Music: "Boring Books for Bedtime,” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY: htt...
May 15, 2023•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let's return to the flower-filled fields of sleep and learn about insect-charming orchids, blistering buttercups, and pinks of the killing kind. Nature is a cruel mistress! Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Wild Flowers Worth Knowing” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8866 Music: "Changing Colours,” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY: https://leerose...
May 08, 2023•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast In more from this sleepy history, we take a tour of the glories of Greece and Persia, the brief blaze of Alexander, and the intellectual legacy of the Golden Age. Dreamy! Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “A Short History of the World” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35461 Music: "Cosmic Tingles,” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY: https://leerosev...
May 01, 2023•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s fall asleep to schooling in the fine art of drawing. We learn how to hold a pencil and draw a line, but only after the kind of lengthy introduction at which 19th century writers excelled. My favorite! Want to support our equipment fundraiser? Here's the link! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW/wishlist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Harding’s Lessons on Drawing” at the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/detai...
Apr 24, 2023•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s sleep through the stress of Tax Day with more from this capital classic, learn the history of money, how diamonds are dumb, and why a cow’s worth of salt is…really too much salt. Want to support our equipment fundraiser? Here's the link! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW/wishlist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read "The Wealth of Nations" at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3300 Music: "earth 2 ear...
Apr 17, 2023•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s take a sleepy browse through this marvelous catalog, just in time for spring. Vegetables, flowers, and novelties for the garden abound from America’s finest purveyor of plants. Want to support our equipment fundraiser? Here's the link! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW/wishlist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Browse the 1916 Burpee’s Seed Catalog at the Internet Archive here: https://archive.org/details/CAT31297360 Mu...
Apr 10, 2023•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this remastered episode from the wayback, let’s take a relaxing trip aboard the good ship Bounty, which maybe you’ve heard of? It’s all breadfruit and bad weather (so far). Sleep ahoy! Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “A Voyage to the South Sea” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15411 Music: "Watching Whales on the Moon,” by Lee Rosevere, licens...
Apr 03, 2023•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s return to the British Museum of the 19 th century and complete our sleepy tour of birds of the world, from ducks to dodos. It’s case after case of curiosities for your tired mind! Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “How to See the British Museum in Four Visits” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13755 Music: "Cosmic Tingles,” by Lee Rosevere, li...
Mar 27, 2023•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s relax into delicious dreams with this guide to confectionery. Learn the correct stripes for stick candy, the construction of “strawberry rock,” and the stages of sugar. Sweet! Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Frye’s Practical Candy Maker” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37073 Music: "Changing Colours,” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY...
Mar 20, 2023•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let's return to more sleepy science and ponder life on the moon, the makeup of meteorites, and the long, strange lives of comets as they wander through our universe. Spacey! Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Astronomy for Young Folks” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45112 Music: "Exit Exit,” by PC III, licensed under CC BY If you'd like to sugges...
Mar 13, 2023•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let's begin a sleepy trip through the mountains of France, in which our novice author invents a sleeping bag, buys a donkey, and answers the question, “What could go wrong?” Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Travels with a Donkey” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/535 Music: "earth 2 earth,” by PC III, licensed under CC BY If you'd like to suggest ...
Mar 06, 2023•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s trip back in time two years ago (!!) and relax with this newly remastered paean of praise from one transcendentalist to another. We should all be so lucky to be spoken of like this. Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Excursions” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9846 Music: "Boring Books for Bedtime,” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, htt...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s relax and sleep with more from Mrs. Post as she instructs us in the art of conversation, thinking before we speak, and avoiding unforgivable pretentiousness. Useful! Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Etiquette” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14314 Music: "Boring Books for Bedtime,” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, https://leerosevere...
Feb 20, 2023•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Drift to sleep with science as Darwin himself defines natural selection and the interconnectedness of all things. Also, we hear the archaic word “humble-bees,” which is adorable. Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “The Origin of Species” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1228 Music: "Dream Colours,” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, https://leer...
Feb 13, 2023•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week let’s be lulled to sleep by deep thoughts about the nature of matter, and whether things exist if we’re not thinking about them. Who knows! It's philosophy. Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “The Problems of Philosophy” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5827 Music: "Boring Books for Bedtime,” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, https://...
Feb 06, 2023•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s return to the sleepy sands of Egypt and learn all about tombs and pyramids. Secret passages, sarcophagi, and ghostly snacks will give your dreams something to feast on. Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Manual of Egyptian Archaeology” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14400 Music: "Exit Exit,” by PC III, licensed under CC-BY If you'd like to ...
Jan 30, 2023•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s stitch our way to sleep with this handbook to the intricacies of embroidery. We’ll work our way through some basic stitches, learn a bit of history, and admire the art of craft. Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Art in Needlework: A Book About Embroidery” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28269 Music: "Peace,” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under ...
Jan 23, 2023•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s relax and sleep with more from a foundation of science. This time, we explore fundamentals of water, moisture, and the near-magical properties of solubility. Equations alert! Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “The Principles of Chemistry” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51326 Music: "Exit Exit,” by PC III, licensed under CC-BY If you'd like ...
Jan 16, 2023•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s relax with some aesthetic art ponderings from one of the greats of the late 19th century. It’s all Pre-Raphaelites and poetry, plus a poke at the English, as Wilde was wont. Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Essays & Lectures by Oscar Wilde” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/774 Music: "Changing Colours,” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC-BY...
Jan 09, 2023•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s fight off winter’s chill with this relaxing return to the South Pacific. This time, we drift among Polynesian atolls, reflect on solitude, and learn about a friendly giant ghost dog. Dreamy! Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Faery Lands of the South Seas” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54479 Music: "Ocean Tapping,” by PC III, licensed unde...
Jan 02, 2023•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast For this week of comfy pants and leftovers, let’s relax with a remastered fave and take a sleepy stroll through wintry woods. It’s a lovely meditation on a world asleep yet alive, and I hope you enjoy it. Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “A Winter Walk” in “Excursions” at Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9846 Music: "Boring Books for Bedtime,” by Lee...
Dec 26, 2022•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s relax and sleep with some shopping for the first Christmas after World War II. From fancy watches to educational toys and gaily wrapped vitamins, Sears has everything you need for a happy holiday. Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Everyone who supports us in December will be entered into drawings for secret prizes! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Music: "Heaven Be Here,” by PC III, licensed under CC-BY If...
Dec 19, 2022•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s curl up with a sleepy bowl of soup as the inimitable Mrs. Beeton walks us through recipes and the history of vegetables. If you aren’t boiling your carrots for three hours, are you even cooking? Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Everyone who supports us in December will be entered into drawings for secret prizes! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “The Book of Household Management” here: https://www.gut...
Dec 12, 2022•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, let’s relax and sleep amidst the snow-covered trees of New England, meditate on the hare, and enjoy the intricate histories written in a wood pile. It’s a particularly lovely one, friends. Enjoy! Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Everyone who supports us in December will be entered into drawings for secret prizes! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “In New England Fields & Woods” here: https://www....
Dec 06, 2022•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s relax and sleep with more about the clever parrot family, learn of celebrated chatty birds, and remind ourselves why getting a talking bird from a sailor isn’t always the best idea. Salty! Raffle Time! Everyone who supports us in November will be entered into a drawing for a personal episode all your own. Whee! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Cassell’s Book of Birds, Vol. 1” here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4...
Nov 28, 2022•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s relax and sleep with more from this much-requested guide for engineers. This time, we answer a long list of frequently asked questions and learn all the ways to blow up a boiler. Useful! Raffle Time! Everyone who supports us in November will be entered into a drawing for a personal episode all your own. Whee! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Farm Engines & How To Run Them” here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4386...
Nov 21, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, by multiple requests, let’s trip back into Flatland, hear about the mighty Circles, and take a confounding journey to Lineland. What is the “world” anyway? It’s just a matter of perspective. Raffle Time! Everyone who supports us in November will be entered into a drawing for a personal episode all your own. Whee! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Flatland” here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/201 Music: "Borin...
Nov 14, 2022•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s relax and sleep with more mysteries of relativity, like the speed of light, why time isn’t time, and how a fake train robbery reveals that simultaneity doesn’t exist. Except when it does. Raffle Time! Everyone who supports us in November will be entered into a drawing for a personal episode all your own. Whee! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “The ABC of Relativity” here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67104 Music:...
Nov 07, 2022•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s relax and sleep with this totally true and accurate history of werewolves in ancient Greece, Rome, and the Norse sagas. Curiously, few actual werewolves get mentioned, but someone does get turned into a yarn spinner. Spooky! Help us stay 100% listener-supported and ad-free for all! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “The Book of Werewolves” here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5324 Music: "Dream Colours,” by Lee Rose...
Oct 31, 2022•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast For our Four-Year Anniversary (wow!), let’s relax and sleep with more from Marcus Aurelius, including some thoughts about smelly armpits. Hey, personal diaries can't all be gems of wisdom. Help us stay 100% listener-supported and ad-free for all! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/d5kcMsW Read “Meditations” here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2680 Music: "Boring Books for Bedtime,” by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC-BY http://leerosev...
Oct 24, 2022•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
