Monthly Archives: July 2020

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

This wonderful volume is the 1934 Limited Editions Club re-issue of Erewhon by the English Novelist Samuel Butler, with a special introduction by Aldous Huxley, and illustrated with 10 color lithographs and reproductions of 30 line drawings by American artist Rockwell Kent. The edition of … Continue reading →

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This Side of Paradise

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

  Scribner has just issued a set of new,elegant editions of F.Scott Fitzgerald novels. The series of five “collectible” hardcover editions feature new dust jacket designs. The titles include The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night, The Beautiful and Damned, The Last … Continue reading →

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You have to see this place

Posted on July 9, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Two years ago, former journalist David F. Gallagher launched a clever Kickstarter project that was recently completed and posted online. He solicited backers to designate a geographic location anywhere in the world by address or latitude/longitude and promised to send … Continue reading →

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The Misery of Manila Folders

Posted on July 8, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

DOLOR Theodore Roethke I have known the inexorable sadness of pencils, Neat in their boxes, dolor of pad and paper weight, All the misery of manilla folders and mucilage, Desolation in immaculate public places, Lonely reception room, lavatory, switchboard, The … Continue reading →

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Magical Mystery Tour

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Vanity Fair magazine commissioned the marvelous video below guaranteed to warm the heart of any Beatles fan. It’s a 12 minute tour around the world using Google Maps, highlighting locations mentioned in the Beatles lyrics, from Liverpool to the Black … Continue reading →

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An American Tale

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Jamaican-born author Claudia Rankine is the author of Citizen: An American Lyric. It was named one of the best books of the year in 2014 by numerous media outlets, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Public Radio, and Publisher’s Weekly. The … Continue reading →

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How Books Have Helped

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Washington D.C. is blessed with an abundance of excellent bookstores. One of my favorites has long been the wonderful Second Story Books in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. Now they have partnered with the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress … Continue reading →

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A Declaration of Independence

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Back in 1971 the computer was barely understood by the average person and the concept of an ebook didn’t yet exist, but when Michael Stern Hart, a technologist and futurist, was given access to the Xerox Sigma V mainframe at the University … Continue reading →

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Memorable Opening Lines

Posted on July 3, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925) I lost an arm on my last trip home. — Octavia Butler, Kindred (1979) Once … Continue reading →

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Lost But Not Forgotten

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Amelia Mary Earhart disappeared  83 years ago on July 2, 1937. She was an American aviator, author, and the second person–after Charles Lindbergh–and the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.  Earhart was also a best-selling author. … Continue reading →

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