Topic: Henry David Thoreau

Stuck with student loan with variable rate? Shop around.

Student loan has a low interest rate. But if it's variable, it pays to lock in that student loan with a fixed rate. Question No. 1 of the reader mailbag.

Spaghetti with pecorino romano and pepper

So simple, Thoreau would have liked it. With only four ingredients, Spaghetti with pecorino romano and pepper is a lively, rustic Roman favorite quick enough for even the busiest weeknight dinner.

Martin Luther King Day: 10 memorable MLK quotes

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States. The civil rights leader was also one of the most famed orators in American history. Here are a collection of 10 MLK quotes.

You bought it. Are you happy?

Money can make you happier – to a point – but not in the way you think.

In Motion: The Experience of Travel

How the art of “Deep Travel” can transform even our mundane trips into something transcendent.

Opinion: Casino gambling in Massachusetts: the dice heard 'round the world

Massachusetts should reject this false elixir for revenue.

Opinion: Fourth of July and Thoreau remind us that US progress is linked with its ecology

If war is a way of teaching Americans geography, then environmental disasters such as the BP oil spill seem to be the primary way that Americans learn about ecology.

Opinion: How Japan can save face -- and whales

Japan has given the world green cars and technological marvels. It wouldn’t be a stretch for it to lead the 21st century protecting the world’s oceans and whales.

Lake life: taking lessons from the local inhabitants

Learning to fly, the art of self-defense, confidence – lake life offers daily lessons.

Seeds: Sow them and expect wonders

All garden treasures started as seeds. Be it a fragrant lilac, a juicy tomato, or a blue ribbon-winning pumpkin, the best, biggest, and most wonderful plants sprouted from an unassuming seed.

Happy Earth Day: Apologies for the late thank-you card

We're marking the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. That's a little embarrassing considering our 4.5 billion-year-old planet has been so hospitable.

The Journal Keeper

Memoirist and essay writer Phyllis Theroux tracks six eventful years of her own life.

How to tell if last year's garden seeds are still good

Here's an easy way to test last year's garden seeds to see if they're still good.

Opinion: More government oversight? Capitalist, regulate thyself.

Solutions to the abuses of capitalism are sought in new programs and corrective legislation – why not in the hearts of men? 

Best books of 2009: fiction

What we here at the Monitor liked best in 2009.

Faking a town hall -- a guide to what's real and what's not

Young Israeli settlers go hippie? Far out, man!

Last week's annual 'End of Days' music festival highlights how a new – and militant – hilltop generation embraces the counterculture symbols of the 1960s American Left.

The Wild Marsh

Rick Bass again assumes the role of America’s 21st-century Thoreau.

Woodsburner

How Thoreau set the Concord woods on fire.

Opinion: Cut hours, not employees

In some ways, reduced time can enrich our lives.

Defender of quiet places

Acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton says natural sounds are disappearing.

Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees

Nature writer Roger Deakin considers wood as a vital element of life.

Global warming's pitch: Go North, young bird

Promised Land

Works that reflect America's aims and desires.

DVDs and CDs for the elementary crowd

From fairies to pandas and penguins, with a little Beethoven thrown in, these movies and music will keep children watching again and again ... and again.