Monthly Archives: October 2022

It’s That Shirley Jackson Time of the Year

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Like most U.S. students of my generation I was introduced to the work of Shirley Jackson through her story “The Lottery.” A small town in Vermont is the setting for “The Lottery,” and the town square where the locals gather … Continue reading →

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Mushroom Season

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

MUSHROOMS by Sylvia Plath Overnight, very Whitely, discreetly, Very quietly Our toes, our noses Take hold on the loam, Acquire the air. Nobody sees us, Stops us, betrays us; The small grains make room. Soft fists insist on Heaving the … Continue reading →

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This took me back to childhood

Posted on October 9, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

It’s always a bit serendipitous when one randomly discovers a blog post on a book that transports one right back to childhood.  This copy of ROBIN HOOD by Paul Creswick. (Philadelphia: McKay, 1917), illustrated by N.C. Wyeth, was one of the  volumes … Continue reading →

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What illusions can do to us

Posted on October 8, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

“The Nobel Prize” by Robert Walser translated by Tom Whalen Today, thank God, I’m back in the pink again, which I definitely deserve because I’m a nice person. How was it for me yesterday? I was emotionally ill. Full of … Continue reading →

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write the truest sentence you know

Posted on October 7, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

“Sometimes when I was starting a new story and I could not get it going, I would sit in front of the fire and squeeze the peel of the little oranges into the edge of the flame and watch the … Continue reading →

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Reading Tolkien

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Like millions of other J.R.R. Tolkien fans I have been transfixed by the new televised adaptation of the Middle Earth saga. Waiting for the next episode to drop, I searched out a wonderful set of recordings of Tolkien reading from … Continue reading →

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When a diagram is better than a map

Posted on October 5, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Long-time subscribers to Travel Between the Pages are well aware that I have an unusal interest in London’s Underground map. I can pinpoint my fascination with the well designed plans to my first visit to the British capital and my … Continue reading →

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Pound Sterling Gets Pounded, But London’s For Free

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

The headlines bemoaning the precipitous slde in the value of the British Pound have created an itch for me and many other Anglophiles to get back to London posthaste. While that’s not quite feasible at the moment, I of course … Continue reading →

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Our Libraries

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

‘Our Town’s Libraries’ which Tom Gauld drew for the @nytimes recently… Speaking of libraries, he has a new book out titled REVENGE OF THE LIBRARIANS and he is visiting Brooklyn NY, Philadelphia PA, and Columbus OH with it in the … Continue reading →

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Welcome to My Garden

Posted on October 2, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Welcome To My Garden is a wonderful initiative where average folks open up their yards and gardens for free camping. Created in Belgium during the Pandemic, the peer-to-peer scheme is aimed primarily at hikers, bike travelers, and backpackers. People who … Continue reading →

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