Podcast
Boring Books for Bedtime Readings to Help You Sleep
Hosted by Sharon Handy · EN
Boring Books for Bedtime is a weekly, ad-free, AI-free sleep podcast in which we calmly, quietly read something rather boring to silence the brain chatter keeping you awake. Think Aristotle, Thoreau, and whoever wrote the 1897 Sears Catalog—mostly nonfiction, mostly old, a perfect balance of vaguely-but-not-too interesting.
If you're on Team Sleepless, lie back, take a deep breath, and let us read you to rest.
41episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Hive and the Honey-Bee, by Rev. L.L. Langstroth, Part 4
1w ago00:46:56Tap to summarizeLet's kick off a new theme month I'm calling The Wayback Machine, in which we relax with works that have slipped out of rotation for a few years. First, it's back to the beehive, with the rearing of queens, the mathematical superiority of the hexagon, and how the weirdness of royal jelly…proves religion? Way to combine your interests, Reverend. 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 Hive and the Honey-Bee" by Rev. L.L. Langstroth at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24583 Music: "earth 2 earth," by PC III, licensed under CC BY If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.
Transcribe →Robert's Rules of Order, by Major Henry M. Robert, Part 2
2w ago00:57:11Tap to summarizeLet's relax and sleep with one of the most spectacularly dull books ever written on the art of running meetings. This time, amendments, appeals, laying things on the table, and forming committees. It's like a tone poem of boring bureaucracy. Perfection! 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 "Robert's Rules of Order" by Major Henry M. Robert at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9097 Music: "Calling to Other Worlds" by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.
Transcribe →Life on a Medieval Barony, by William Stearns Davis, Part 2
3w ago00:58:04Tap to summarizeLet's ride the sands of time to sleep as we learn more about manor life in the year 1300. This time, the construction of St. Aliquis, its "modernized" defensive fortifications, and how status is measured by who gets two armrests and The Good Bed. Same as it ever was, 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 "Life on a Medieval Barony" by William Stearns Davis at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46455 Music: "Dream Colours" by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.
Transcribe →The ABC of Relativity, by Bertrand Russell, Part 5
4w ago00:44:15Tap to summarizeLet's journey to sleep with science as we learn more about Einstein's radical new theory of relativity, why geometry is physics when it comes to space-time, and how light spectrums reveal directions of travel. Is it difficult to understand? Eh, it's all relative. 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 ABC of Relativity" by Bertrand Russell at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67104 Music: "Boring Books for Bedtime" by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.
Transcribe →Pyrotechnics: The History and Art of Firework Making, Part 4
Jul 600:53:46Tap to summarizeLet's celebrate the sparkliest time of the year with more from this detailed guide to fireworks. This time, rules about their manufacture, the lackadaisical habits and accidents that led to those rules, good factory design, and why mixing potash and sulfur is…not a good idea. Boom! 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 "Pyrotechnics: The History & Art of Firework Making" at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64922 Music: "Peace" by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.
Transcribe →The Railway Traveller's Handy Book, Part 4
Jun 2900:50:07Tap to summarizeLet's conclude our month of travels with more from this helpful yet somewhat snarky guide to riding that newfangled device, the steam train. This time, advice for the journey itself, including how to read a book, have a chat, fall asleep, rush the snack bar, and avoid losing your head out the window. All aboard for sleep! 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 Railway Traveller's Handy Book" at the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/railwaytraveller00unse Music: "Healing" by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.
Transcribe →Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, by Robert Louis Stevenson, Part 5
Jun 2200:49:06Tap to summarizeLet's continue our pleasant plod to sleep with more from Mr. Stevenson and Modestine as they make their way through the mountains of France. This time, quite a lot of philosophizing about the lasting nature of belief, getting along, sleeping outdoors, and the poetry of stars. The donkey says nothing. 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 in the Cevennes" by Robert Louis Stevens at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/535 Music: "earth 2 earth," by PC III, licensed under CC BY If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.
Transcribe →Faery Lands of the South Seas, by James Hall and Charles Nordhoff, Part 5
Jun 1500:51:48Tap to summarizeLet's continue our sail to sleep through a month of travel readings with more from this wonderful wander through the South Seas. This time, another interesting fellow passenger, notes on linguistics, a scary reef crossing, and…the island version of a kegger? Cheers! 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" by Hall & Nordhoff at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54479 Music: "Ocean Tapping," by PC III, licensed under CC BY If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.
Transcribe →Pictures from Italy, by Charles Dickens, Part 4
Jun 800:52:40Tap to summarizeLet's continue our sojourn to sleep through a month of travel readings with more from Charles Dickens and his tour through Italy. This time, we conclude our visit to Genoa, have a strange experience with puppets, an even stranger visit to Marseilles, and consider that things are often more beautiful seen from a distance. Truth 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 "Pictures from Italy" by Charles Dickens at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/650 Music: "Peace," by Lee Rosevere, licensed under CC BY, https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.
Transcribe →Sailing Alone Around the World, by Captain Joshua Slocum, Part 4
Jun 100:51:37Tap to summarizeLet's sail to sleep with the first read of our new theme month, Travels! This time, we return to an epic journey around the world in a handmade boat, and wrestle with Cape Horn, seasickness, and williwaws. Also, the benefits of carpet tacks and the kindness of strangers. 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 "Sailing Alone Around the World" by Captain Joshua Slocum at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6317 Music: "Ocean Tapping," by PC III, licensed under CC BY If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading for soft-spoken relaxation to help you overcome insomnia, anxiety and other sleep issues, connect on our website, https://www.boringbookspod.com.
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