Monthly Archives: July 2018

Diary of a Bookseller

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

On Saturday, TBTP featured bookseller Shaun Bythell’s tech help tips for coping with a malfunctioning Kindle. It seems that the proprietor of Scotland’s largest secondhand bookstore is also an author. His book, The Diary of a Bookseller, has been available in the … Continue reading →

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Reading Rx

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Since I’m laid-up this week due to a very dumb injury, I thought that a reading prescription was in order. This mix of novels and nonfiction should keep me out of trouble for a few days. So, what are you … Continue reading →

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A Book Is An Altar

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

The Portable Mayan Altar  was created by Taller Leñateros (The Woodlander’s Workshop), an indigenous publishing house in Chiapas, Mexico founded by poet Ámbar Past in 1975. This book features a cardboard case in the form a traditional Mayan house that opens up … Continue reading →

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Hi, Art Lovers

Posted on July 8, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Whenever I visit Washington D.C., I try and make time to stop in at the always amazing Hirshhorn Museum of Art and Sculpture Garden on the Mall. This branch of the Smithsonian Institution offers superb contemporary art and is often … Continue reading →

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Alternatives to the Kindle

Posted on July 7, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

The very helpful and informative video below is from Shaun Bythell, the proprietor of The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland—the UK’s best book town.

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Is It Mold ?

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

As a seller of collectible, antiquarian, and secondhand books, I get some very interesting queries about old books. The most common questions revolve around the value of specific titles, but I also hear from folks concerned about damage, stains, foxing, … Continue reading →

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Off The Map

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Off The Map is a wonderful collage series created by London-based Hungarian artist Zsofia Schweger. The component images all are derived from discarded old maps and found postcards that the artist collected while she was a student in the United States.

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Scale the Stacks

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Another wonderful cartoon by Grant Snider for the NY Times.

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Books Are Sharks

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

“We were talking about The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which was something which resembled an iPad, long before it appeared. And I said when something like that happens, it’s going to be the death of the book. Douglas said, … Continue reading →

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Somethings may be beyond satire

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

This week’s issue of the New Yorker features a post-modernist satirical short story by the award-winning author George Saunders. “Little St.Don” is told in a series of semi-comic vignettes that aim to capture our living nightmare. I’m a big fan of Saunder’s … Continue reading →

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