Object Lessons

Bloomsbury presents Silence by John Biguenet, read by Adam Sims. Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. What is silence? In a series of short meditations, novelist and playwright John Biguenet considers silence as a servant of power, as a lie, as a...

Bloomsbury presents Souvenir by Rolf Potts, read by Adam Sims. Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. For as long as people have traveled to distant lands, they have brought home objects to certify the journey. More than mere merchandise, these...

Bloomsbury presents Shopping Mall by Matthew Newton, read by Mack Gordon. Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. The mall near Mat thew Newton’s childhood home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was one of the state’s first enclosed shopping malls...

Bloomsbury presents Earth by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen and Linda T. Elkins-Tanton, read by Rachel Handshaw and Mack Gordon. Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. In Earth, a planetary scientist and a literary humanist explore what...

Bloomsbury presents Magazine, written and read by Jeff Jarvis. Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. For a century, magazines were the authors of culture and taste, of intelligence and policy — until they were overthrown by the voices of the...

Bloomsbury presents Hotel by Joanna Walsh, read by Stephanie Racine. Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. During the breakdown of an unhappy marriage, writer Joanna Walsh got a job as a hotel reviewer, and began to gravitate towards places designed...

Bloomsbury presents Hood by Alison Kinney, read by Rachel Handshaw. Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. We all wear hoods: the Grim Reaper, Red Riding Hood, torturers, executioners and the executed, athletes, laborers...

Bloomsbury presents Burger by Carol J. Adams, read by Noe Nishizawa Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. The burger, long the All-American meal, is undergoing an identity crisis. From its shifting place in popular culture to efforts by investors...

Bloomsbury presents Blackface by Ayanna Thompson, read by Rachel Handshaw. A New Statesman essential non-fiction book of 2021 Featured in Book Riot's 12 best nonfiction books about Black identity and history A Times Higher Education Book of the Week 2022 Finalist for the Prose Awards (Media and...

Bloomsbury presents Stroller by Amanda Parrish Morgan, read by Rachel Handshaw. The Best Books of 2022, The New Yorker Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Among the many things expectant parents are told to buy, none is a more visible symbol of...

Bloomsbury presents Bookshelf by Lydia Pyne, read by Rachel Handshaw. Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Every shelf is different and every bookshelf tells a different story. One bookshelf can creak with character in a bohemian coffee shop and...

Bloomsbury presents Taco by Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado, read by Michel Issa Rubio Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Taco is a deep dive into the most iconic Mexican food from the perspective of a Mexico City native. In a narrative that moves from...

Bloomsbury presents Pub by Philip Howell, read by Tim Frances "Erudite, quirky, and amusing." Sebastian Faulks Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. The pub is an English institution. Yet its history has been obscured by myth and nostalgia. In this...

Bloomsbury presents Videotape by Oana Godeanu-Kenworthy by Noe Nishizawa Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Over the span of a single decade, VHS technology changed the relationship between privacy and entertainment, pried open the closed...

Bloomsbury presents Metronome by Matthew H. Birkhold, read by Chris Gaines Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. When the metronome was invented in 1815, it transformed the music world. Composers and musicians now had a tool that could help them...

Bloomsbury presents Restaurant by Brian Duff, read by Chris Gaines Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. In the last few decades, restaurants and food culture have achieved extraordinary cultural presence. Chefs are heroes and thought leaders...

Bloomsbury presents Cat by Rebecca van Laer read by Skipper Mari Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Rebecca van Laer and her partner purchase a home and move in with their senior cats, Toby and Gus. Their loved ones see this as a step toward an...

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. In the hierarchy of foods, snacks are deemed trivial – perhaps even childish – especially in contrast to meals, which are seen as substantial and necessary. The multiple aisles devoted...

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Ballot examines the psychological, cultural, and political significance of voting in an increasingly anti-voting climate. Armed with her personal experiences as a poll worker, electoral...

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. From Revlon to Glossier, from Marilyn to Gaga, lipstick is as shape-shifting and unwieldy as femininity itself. Who wears lipstick today – as a matter of routine? And for those who do, is...