I stare at the flashing cursor, tongue-tied and stupefied-- outwitted by the subject. How to write about a project which is at once worthy and fundamental, and arrestingly, profoundly beautiful? The Reconstructionists features a different trailblazing woman every Monday who has "reconstructed ... our understanding of ourselves, the world, and our place in it." It's a hefty feat, but if anyone could pull it off it's surely the talented team of illustrator Lisa Congdon and writer Maria Popova.

The project begins with a cartoonist, the original soul sister, a timeless diarist, an inventor/actress, an author/art collector, and an abstract-expressionist painter -- iconic and provocative women who played, performed, and permeated meaning, better known as Lynda Barry, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Anais Nin, Hedy Lamarr, Gertrude Stein, and Agnes Martin, respectively.

The illustrated portraits, hand-lettered quotes, and accompanying micro-essays are as vibrant and compelling as the women they honor. Hats off ladies.