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Literature's Emotional Lessons

Teachers Books
Grappling with the way books make students feel- not just analytical skills- should be part of the English curriculum.

Sausage & Squash Pasta | Jamie Cooks Italy | Behind the Scenes

Adults Books
While filming in Tuscany, Jamie was creating new dishes for the brand new book, Jamie Cooks Italy, and we managed to film behind the scenes as he tested out his ideas.

How Bill Gates reads books

Adults Books
Bill Gates reads about 50 books a year, which breaks down to about one a week. He told us the four things he does to get the most out of his reading.

Why should you read "Macbeth"? - Brendan Pelsue

Adults Books
There's a play so powerful that an old superstition says its name should never be uttered in a theater.

Three anti-social skills to improve your writing - Nadia Kalman

Adults Books
You need social skills to have a conversation in real life -- but they're quite different from the skills you need to write good dialogue. Educator Nadia Kalman suggests a few "anti-social skills," like eavesdropping and muttering to yourself, that can help you write an effective dialogue for your next story.

The world's most mysterious book - Stephen Bax

Adults Books
Deep inside Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library lies a 240 page tome. Recently carbon dated to around 1420, its pages feature looping handwriting and hand drawn images seemingly stolen from a dream. It is called the Voynich manuscript, and it's one of history's biggest unsolved mysteries. The reason why? No one can figure out what it says. Stephen Bax investigates this cryptic work.

LITERATURE - Goethe

Adults Books
Goethe is one of the great minds of European civilisation, though his work is largely unknown outside of the German speaking countries. He deserves our renewed attention.

LITERATURE - George Orwell

Adults Books
George Orwell is the most famous English language writer of the 20th century, the author of Animal Farm and 1984. What was he trying to tell us and what is his genius?

LITERATURE - Charles Dickens

Adults Books
Charles Dickens was one of the most popular writers in English in the 19th century. He deserves our attention for his ideas about sympathy, popularity and happiness.

Why should you read Tolstoy's "War and Peace"? - Brendan Pelsue

Adults Books
"War and Peace." A tome. A slog. The sort of book you shouldn't read in bed because if you fall asleep it could give you a concussion. Right? Only partly. "War and Peace" is a long book, sure, but it's also a thrilling examination of history populated with some of the deepest, most realistic characters you'll find anywhere. Brendan Pelsue shares everything you need to know to read this classic book.

How did Dracula become the world's most famous vampire? - Stanley Stepanic

Adults Books
Over a hundred years after his creator was laid to rest, Dracula lives on as the most famous vampire in history. But this Transylvanian noble - neither the first fictional vampire, nor the most popular of his time - may have remained buried in obscurity if not for a twist of fate. Stanley Stepanic explains how a critical copyright battle catapulted Bram Stoker's character into literary renown.

How to build a fictional world

Adults Books
Why is J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy so compelling? How about The Matrix or Harry Potter? What makes these disparate worlds come alive are clear, consistent rules for how people, societies -- and even the laws of physics -- function in these fictional universes. Author Kate Messner offers a few tricks for you, too, to create a world worth exploring in your own words.

Fabled Whiskers

Adults Books
Tom's back and this time found a book that has quite an effect on him.

The wars that inspired Game of Thrones

Adults Books
Beginning around 1377, medieval England was shaken by a power struggle between two noble families, which spanned generations and involved a massive cast of characters, complex motives and shifting loyalties. Sound familiar? Alex Gendler illustrates how the historical conflict known as the Wars of the Roses served as the basis for much of the drama in Game of Thrones.

Are Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki and Na'vi real languages?

Adults Books
What do Game of Thrones' Dothraki, Avatar's Na'vi, Star Trek's Klingon and LOTR's Elvish have in common? They are all fantasy constructed languages, or conlangs. Conlangs have all the delicious complexities of real languages: a high volume of words, grammar rules, and room for messiness and evolution. John McWhorter explains why these invented languages captivate fans long past the rolling credits.

The Barbecue Book

Adults Books
The Barbecue Book takes readers through the entire barbecue process. There is a page in the book that is made of charcoal while other pages are a firestarter, apron, knife sharpener and fan. Each chapter of the bible covers a different grilling process and comes with everything including a cutting board which serves as the cover for the book.