This week, we conclude a relaxing Greek classic about getting the best from your cavalry horse, including what to wear, and then fall asleep to the riveting legalese of Project Gutenberg’s usage license for all these free eBooks I share with you. The horse stuff is more fun, to be honest.   Giveaway! All Patreon supporters in May will have a chance at one of four slots to determine our readings for August. By joining Patreon, you get exclusive episodes, keep us ad-free AND get a chance to...

Let's continue to wend our relaxing way through a fundamental text of science and explore how elements combine and de-combine with that wonderful substance, water. Truly the solution for sleep!   Giveaway! All Patreon supporters in May will have a chance at one of four slots to determine our readings for August. By joining Patreon, you get exclusive episodes, keep us ad-free AND get a chance to hear your personal fave. Win-win! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a...

Let’s return to this sleepily detailed guide to rail journeys in 1860, and learn what to wear, the importance of travel insurance, and how to steal a horse to get to the station on time. Handy indeed!   Giveaway! All Patreon supporters in May will have a chance at one of four slots to determine our readings for August. By joining Patreon, you get exclusive episodes, keep us ad-free AND get a chance to hear your personal fave. Win-win!   Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod ...

Tonight, let’s celebrate the sleepy splendors of spring and go shopping for the latest in floral novelties offered by Gardiner & Co. in their seed annual. Apparently, in 1890, Japanese delights were all the rage.   I also announce a new Giveaway! All Patreon supporters in May will have a chance at one of four slots to determine our readings for August. By joining Patreon, you help us stay ad-free AND get a chance to hear your faves. Win-win! Patreon:...

Tonight, while your reader recovers from a snuffly illness, let’s rewind to 2021 and fall into the rhythm of sleep with a book that works hard to put meaning into music, but mostly just manages to make it boring. So…kind of perfect, really.   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 Listen to Music” at Project Gutenberg:...

Let’s celebrate Earth Day with more from Muir’s poetic ode to the spectacular natural wonders of North America. This time, we complete our relaxing tour of Yellowstone and head to beautiful Yosemite, the jewel of the Sierras. Truly the stuff of dreams.   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 “Our National Parks” at Project Gutenberg:...

Let’s return to the relaxing world of dairy products and learn more about the design of a good curing room, dividing profits among your producers, and what makes a great cheese. Hint: it’s definitely not skim milk!   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 “Handbook on Cheese Making” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70813   Music: "Chasing...

Let’s return to this sleep-inducing exploration, and speculation, about the Red Planet. This time, we learn about seasonal fluctuations of the poles and how they do or don’t mirror our own. Which is exactly as interesting as it sounds.   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 “Mars and Its Canals” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47015   ...

Let’s find our mental rapport with sleep as we conclude this, uh, scientific guide to mind reading, learn how to find cards and drive a wagon while blindfolded, and discover how naughty charlatans dupe the public. Fake mind readers, you say? Impossible!   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 “Practical Mind Reading” at Project Gutenberg:...

Let’s spend our way to sleep as we learn more about the concept of value, why pounds are silver instead of gold, and how rent should be charged in corn rather than coin. Truly priceless boredom!   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 Wealth of Nations” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3300   Music: "earth 2 earth,” by PC III, licensed...

Let’s climb the slopes of sleep as we continue this history-making journey to study the world’s mightiest mountain. This time, our yaks run wild, we eat dumplings, cross quicksand, and take the first photo of a lama. Dreamy adventure awaits!   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 “Mount Everest, the Reconnaissance, 1921” at Project Gutenberg:...

Let’s fly away to sleep with more about beautiful birds and that fantastic family of feathered friends, the parrots. This time, we marvel at lovebirds, cockatoos, and the curious kakapo. 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 “Cassell’s Book of Birds, Volume 1” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48675   Music: "Ocean Tapping,” by...

Let’s relax and sleep as one of the Kellogg clan takes the fun out of food through a heady combination of 19th-century food chemistry and moralizing about the perils of spices. Lovers of flavor beware!   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 “Science in the Kitchen” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12238   Music: "Boring Books for Bedtime,”...

Let’s calm our minds and relax with more deep thoughts about the nature of reality, what knowledge is, whether the past exists at all, and why the sun may not rise tomorrow. It probably will, though, so not to worry.   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: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5827   Music: "Boring...

Let’s relax with more advice about building cozy cottages, decorating with simplicity and style, and how to dig a well that doesn’t fill with poisonous sewage. Which…seems like a good idea, really.   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 “Cottages; or Hints on Economical Building” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67922   Music: "Heaven Be...

In our annual celebration of Darwin Day, let’s enjoy a relaxing read from this foundational text of science. This time, we finally get to natural selection, what it is, what it isn’t, and why birds are so very, very pretty.   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 “On the Origin of Species” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1228   Music:...

Let’s continue the infamous voyage of HMS Bounty, which so far isn’t too exciting. This time, lots of latitude and longitude marking, Fletcher Christian gets a promotion, we see a whale, and the attempt to round Cape Horn is...something less than successful.   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 Voyage of The Bounty to the South Sea” at Project Gutenberg:...

Let’s relax and sleep to advice about the latest fad, bicycling! We learn the art of efficient pedaling, passing safely, and climbing a hill with power and ease. Don’t forget to pack your butter sandwiches.   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 “Bicycling for Ladies” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62227   Music: "Heaven Be Here,” by PC...

Tonight, we relax and sleep with knowledge about Earth’s magnetism, why the sky is blue, how rainbows happen, and the origin of auroras that paint northern and southern skies. Lovely!   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: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45112   Music: "Exit Exit,” by PC III, licensed under CC...

In tonight’s relaxing read, we cover the philosophies of Buddha, Confucius, and Lao Tse, then swing back to the origins of the Roman Empire, all in less than an hour. Short history indeed!   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,...

Let’s fall asleep to more about nature’s supreme relaxers—cats! This time, we learn about the trainability of cats, the traits of three longhair breeds, and a tale about a deaf cat with a happy ending.   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 “Our Cats & All About Them” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35450   Music: "Heaven Be Here,”...

Let’s kick off 2024 with another sleepy stroll across the sands of time to ancient Egypt. This time, we unravel the labyrinth of Saqqara, see how pyramids changed, and head to the vaunted Valley of the Kings. 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 “Manual of Egyptian Archaeology” at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14400   Music:...

Let’s set aside the commercial noise of the holidays and relax with this walk through the forest, appreciate the glories revealed by winter, and consider the turning of the year through the rhythms of life. Lovely!   Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Everyone who supports us in December will be entered into our multi-prize Holiday Giveaway at the end of the month. Hurrah! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee:...

Let’s head back to 1945 and see what’s on everyone’s Christmas list from Sears. This time, toys for the little scientist, holiday decorations, sporting gear, magazines, and the dream of every young man . . . slacks!   Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Everyone who supports us in December will be entered into our multi-prize Holiday Giveaway at the end of the month. Hurrah! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee:...

Let’s fall into a sweet sleep with more from the world of fine candy-making. This time, we learn to craft classy treats like Coconut Potatoes, Boston Chips, Baby Cream, and Strings of Comfort. I am not making any of those up.   Help us stay ad-free and 100% listener-supported! Everyone who supports us in December will be entered into our multi-prize Holiday Giveaway at the end of the month. Hurrah! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/boringbookspod Buy Me a Coffee:...