Can I teach myself to read French in five months? [more inside]
posted by SamuelBowman on Nov 28, 2009 - 16 answers

I'm trying to find a short sci-fi story I read over 10 years ago that I barely remember. It may have involved some or all of the following: bicycle repair, ripe banana smelling bacteria used as deodorant and anti-libido medication. [more inside]
posted by jrishel on Nov 19, 2009 - 7 answers

Books recommendation for an industrial engineer [more inside]
posted by Carius on Nov 14, 2009 - 13 answers

Recommend some great literature in the Steinbeck tradition. [more inside]
posted by Go Banana on Oct 14, 2009 - 18 answers

What's the best way to learn Japanese, if you don't care about being able to write it? [more inside]
posted by Mwongozi on Aug 30, 2009 - 18 answers

Is there a web site which recommends the best writing on the net on a periodic basis? [more inside]
posted by jpg15 on Aug 23, 2009 - 11 answers

Which quality newspapers and other news services provide full-text RSS feeds? I'm looking for a world, national, and also sources specific to California news and politics. Alternatively, what are some MacGyver-style ways to make a full-text RSS feed for my current favorites? [more inside]
posted by cgomez on Aug 18, 2009 - 2 answers

Need some book recommendations. Just finished reading Bram Stoker's Dracula...and am getting through the Historian. In the past I have enjoyed The List of Seven, Club Dumas, The Alienist, Name of the Rose and so forth. So I guess I like the mystery-within-history sort of suspense/horror/thriller. The things I didn't get into were Dan Brown, Ian Pears, and anything having to do with Templars or Mary Magdalene. Can you recommend me your favorites? -- Thanks so much.
posted by snap_dragon on Aug 15, 2009 - 35 answers

Can a head injury possibly make you more intelligent? [more inside]
posted by Askiba on Aug 12, 2009 - 20 answers

How do you read a newspaper? [more inside]
posted by andythebean on Jul 11, 2009 - 23 answers

I'd like to learn about biology. Can you recommend some books to get me started? [more inside]
posted by SamuelBowman on Jun 30, 2009 - 21 answers

On the cusp of every summer for the past couple of years, I made a list of books to read over the summer. But I have spectacularly failed to actually read, every single time. What do you, fellow-mefites, do to keep your noses buried in books and not be tempted by the beach, the bar or the intertubes? [more inside]
posted by Lucubrator on May 16, 2009 - 19 answers

I need a new "big think" book! I just finished Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, and I loved his other books as well. I've read everything Jared Diamond has published (Collapse, Guns, Germs & Steel, The Third Chimpanzee etc.) I like books that stretch your brain and reveal the hidden factors in life, the world and society. [more inside]
posted by musofire on May 10, 2009 - 65 answers

Can you recommend me some good magazines similar to Readers Digest? [more inside]
posted by WizKid on Mar 23, 2009 - 9 answers

I'm working on my PhD in artists' books at the moment. Recently, pursuing aspects of creativity from a cognition-and-creativity viewpoint has become interesting to me. I need a toehold on the science, here. [more inside]
posted by aesop on Mar 3, 2009 - 5 answers

Who are the new exciting, young novelists of the 21st century? I suddenly find myself with a lot more time on my hands for reading. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Mar 2, 2009 - 24 answers

What is considered a reasonable amount of time to be able to concentrate on one task? [more inside]
posted by cranberrymonger on Feb 28, 2009 - 8 answers

Since I began a reading life (at about age eight), I have had a problem: my mind automatically places action in just a few places familiar to me from my life: my house, the main street of my hometown. Whether the action in a novel takes place in 16th century Scotland, or the Black Forest, or under the Unisphere. Are there ways to get around this, or to learn to read fiction more actively, and, fantastically/creatively? [more inside]
posted by Tufa on Jan 29, 2009 - 30 answers

What are some other "intellectual" or though-provoking websites like: TED.com BigThink.org Fora.tv Also, what are, in your opinion, some of the best books in the following topics: -economics -investing -psychology -design -religion -self-help [more inside]
posted by meta.mark on Jan 16, 2009 - 27 answers

This question reminded me that I have a trashy paperback romance novel memory of my own that I would like to track down. It was about a female highwayman and its cover art was mostly in shades of dark green. [more inside]
posted by matildaben on Dec 12, 2008 - 5 answers

I-can't-remember-1st grade filter: help me figure out the name of the reading/spelling/phonics system that I used in 1st- (roughly) 3rd grade.... [more inside]
posted by slograffiti on Dec 11, 2008 - 10 answers

I love reading fiction, but non-fiction just doesn't hold my interest. I'd very much like it to -- I have a bunch of books I'd like to read, but I get a few pages in, and I just glaze over. Maybe it's the lack of plot? Am I doomed to reading only fiction, or can I learn to enjoy non-fiction?
posted by sarcasticah on Dec 7, 2008 - 24 answers

Recommendations for a good, sturdy book light? [more inside]
posted by sciapod on Oct 6, 2008 - 8 answers

Women writers like Neal Stephenson, are there any? [more inside]
posted by exceptinsects on Oct 5, 2008 - 18 answers

I just finished the last book on my Must Read list. Help make me a new one. [more inside]
posted by zoomorphic on Oct 27, 2006 - 57 answers

I'd like to read during my commute, but get motion sickness when I do. Any tips on overcoming this annoying malady? [more inside]
posted by frykitty on Jul 26, 2005 - 14 answers