Looks like we’re going to get a little weather here on the east coast this weekend. Which doesn’t sound too distressing, honestly… there’s a bag and a half of rock salt in the garage, we had the roof patched this past fall, and—that ageless refrain—I have plenty to read. Granted, much of it is required, but once I knock that out of the way I have a lot of really good stuff piled up in drifts around my desk.

And for those moments when I need a little palate cleansing in between more substantial fare, I have Byliner’s 102 Spectacular Nonfiction Stories from 2012 bookmarked. Conor Friedersdorf has picked an impressive selection of long-form narrative nonfiction from all over the web—well-trodden journals like the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, and the Atlantic; popular online venues like Boing Boing and Buzzfeed; and more obscure spots you might not stumble over otherwise—Vela, say, or Empirical Zeal (with an essay on color nomenclature, a favorite topic of mine). There are articles here for every esoteric interest, from the intersection of origami with computer science to the Ugandan gay rights movement to government LSD experiments to “The Giant, Underestimated Earthquake Threat to North America” (which, no, I am NOT reading).

Why 102? I have no idea, but the argument over those last two pieces, whichever they were, must have been a doozy. It’s a great collection of essays that should keep your mind off all that weather outside. Either that, or inspire you to write about it.

(Image is Snow, a piece by sculptor Alexis Arnold [book and Borax crystals, 13.5'' x 9.5'' x 3'', 2011].)