Living Well / Free resources

Books, art & creative exploration

A useful way in

Choose one place to begin.

Find something to read, hear, look at, or make, without needing to turn the encounter into an achievement.

Creative work gives attention somewhere to go. You might spend a few minutes with a poem, compare two artworks, listen to a story, or make a simple rhythm. The point is not to complete a cultural checklist; it is to encounter something that holds your interest.

Start with: Project Gutenberg. Find a title or subject and use the browser-reading option to sample a few pages.

6 selections

Resources with a clear purpose.

Read online or download · Free to browse

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

A direct route to older books and essays without a subscription or a new reading app.

Begin here: Find a title or subject and use the browser-reading option to sample a few pages.

Access: Free ebooks, including browser reading, without registration. The collection focuses on U.S. public-domain works.

Perspective: Volunteer digital library

Explore Project Gutenberg

Context & source

Related reading on Living Well

Source information reviewed 2026-10-09. Provider details.

Public provider description and source information reviewed. Registration, app installation, media playback, and completion were not tested.

Listen or download · Free to browse

LibriVox

LibriVox volunteers

Human-read audio offers another way to spend time with older writing, especially when listening fits better than reading.

Begin here: Sample a recording before downloading a whole book.

Access: Free volunteer-read audiobooks. Check local copyright rules; recording styles and quality vary.

Perspective: Volunteer audiobook library

Explore LibriVox

Context & source

The library includes historical views, not endorsements of every work. Media playback was not tested here.

Related reading on Living Well

Source information reviewed 2026-10-09. Provider details.

Public provider description and source information reviewed. Registration, app installation, media playback, and completion were not tested.

Images and collections · Free to browse

Smithsonian Open Access

Smithsonian Institution

A rich source of objects and images to look at closely, ask questions about, or use as a starting point for creative work.

Begin here: Choose one object and read its description and rights information before using an image.

Access: The public collection is free to explore. Reuse depends on the individual item’s rights and Open Access designation.

Perspective: Museum collections

Explore Smithsonian Open Access

Context & source

Open access does not erase cultural context or make every item available for every use.

Related reading on Living Well

Source information reviewed 2026-10-09. Provider details.

Public provider description and source information reviewed. Registration, app installation, media playback, and completion were not tested.

Art and cultural context · Free to browse

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A way to understand an artwork through materials, history, and context rather than only a quick visual impression.

Begin here: Open one essay on a medium or period that catches your attention.

Access: Public essays and chronologies are readable without museum admission or membership.

Perspective: Museum scholarship

Explore Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Context & source

The museum’s scholarship is a perspective on its collections; check separate permissions before reusing images or text.

Related reading on Living Well

Source information reviewed 2026-10-09. Provider details.

Public provider description and source information reviewed. Registration, app installation, media playback, and completion were not tested.

Creative browser activity · Free browser interactive

Learning Music

Ableton

A playful route into rhythm and musical structure that lets you make something small while learning.

Begin here: Start with the opening beat activity and change a pattern.

Access: Free browser lessons. JavaScript and audio are needed; no Ableton software purchase is required.

Perspective: Creative education from a software provider

Explore Learning Music

Context & source

Vendor-created education; this is not a recommendation to buy its production software.

Related reading on Living Well

Source information reviewed 2026-10-09. Provider details.

Public provider description and source information reviewed. Registration, app installation, media playback, and completion were not tested.

Read a poem · Free to browse

Poetry Foundation: poems

Poetry Foundation

A broad starting point for finding a poem by theme or poet without needing to turn the reading into a lesson.

Begin here: Choose one poem and read it before looking for a summary or interpretation.

Access: The selected web poems are publicly readable; books, print subscriptions, and reuse permissions are separate.

Perspective: Literary collection

Explore Poetry Foundation: poems

Context & source

Free reading is not permission to reproduce a poem. The collection includes many distinct perspectives.

Related reading on Living Well

Source information reviewed 2026-10-09. Provider details.

Official indexed poems-page description reviewed. Direct retrieval was restricted in the research browser; individual poem pages were not tested.

Keep the context

Take what is useful, thoughtfully.

Free access and permission to reuse are different. Read the rights information attached to an item before copying it into your own work. Older books may contain dated assumptions or language, and a digital collection represents editorial choices rather than a complete history. Enjoying a work does not require adopting all of its author’s views.

Selections are based on public source review, not a claim that Nolan uses every resource or belongs to the organizations listed.

Selection principles and review limits

Connect the resource to an idea.

On Living WellRead a poem without turning it into a lesson

On Living WellWhen does documenting your life get in the way of experiencing it?

All 12 resource collections · Explore the related subject