Writers I like: Johan Huizenga, A. S. Neill, Christopher Alexander, Philippe Gaulier, James Paul Gee. Thoughts I'm interested in: the systemic formation of culture; how we interact with and are shaped by said systems; how those systems emerge as part of a "playful" procedure; how play is often used as a release from cultural standards. Who else will I like? What ideas will fascinate me further? [more inside]
posted by Rory Marinich on May 10, 2012 - 9 answers

Books/Autobiographies which inspire? [more inside]
posted by pakora1 on Mar 10, 2012 - 5 answers

I need some well-written and very suspenseful books to take my mind off of a 25-hour flight. Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" is the ideal book, but alas, I've already read it. I also need two-person travel sized games. [more inside]
posted by zoomorphic on Feb 1, 2012 - 52 answers

I've got a memory of seeing a long list of books, either recommended reading or as acknowleged sources of material, in an early edition of the Warhammer 40K rulebook. In my recollection it neatly sumarised all the works that influenced WH40k. Did this actually exist? What were the books on the list?
posted by Artw on May 31, 2011 - 8 answers

My niece is turning 9 this week and will be visiting Manhattan with her parents over Thanksgiving. I'd like to get her a gift like a coloring book, bingo game, or map where she can track where she's been while she's there. Something that requires a little research on her part beforehand would be great; YA historical stuff or mysteries is sort of what I'm looking for. (She's reading at a 5th grade level). I'd like to steer clear of electronic stuff if possible; paper and crayons/pencils type of thing.
posted by dolface on Oct 16, 2010 - 11 answers

I work with kids in an afterschool program ranging in age from 3-10. I'm contemplating having themes for a week where we do a lot of creative activities revolving around the theme. So, one week the theme might be "jungle animals" and we could make animal masks from paper plates, draw animals, make jungle animal puppets and do a puppet show, play a game outside involving jungle animals, read a picture book about jungle animals, etc. [more inside]
posted by booksherpa on Sep 3, 2010 - 11 answers

I need some great activities and advice for a "book swap." [more inside]
posted by thebrokedown on Jun 2, 2010 - 8 answers

I'm drowning in a sea of media I have no time to consume - someone please throw me a lifeline [more inside]
posted by b.an.dekker on Oct 9, 2008 - 25 answers

When I was a kid in the 70's, I was an avid solver of a series of mazes published in books by an author with a Russian name (I remember it as Vladimir something). They were the kind of paperback books sold in the games section of bookstores, that you were supposed to write in like you do with crossword puzzle books. The mazes were simple, black-and-white, in a variety of shapes, and not gimmicky, just quite challenging (they were intended for grownups, not kids). Does anyone remember these books and can help me find them again?
posted by matildaben on Aug 14, 2007 - 4 answers

Please help me remember the title of a particular fictional, young-adult book from the 80s or maybe 90s. [more inside]
posted by poopdbq on Jul 21, 2007 - 5 answers

As I was reflecting on the numerous road trips with the family of my youth, one thing keeps resurfacing: those little activity books with the "magic" pen that revealed the answers, games, etc. The pen was white with an orange cap, and I remember the books being about 12 inches tall and 6 inches wide, with some hip 70's-ish font well into the 80's. What were they called, and where can I get them?
posted by ferociouskitty on Oct 4, 2004 - 9 answers