Monthly Archives: December 2022

Map of Stories

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

The Map of Stories is a wonderful interactive map that provides the opportunity to explore tales from throughout Scotland. The site allows visitors to discover the oral storytelling traditions of Scotland and listen to folktales from the ancient land. The … Continue reading →

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The Answer is Still 42

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Although the wildely popular comic sci-fi novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was published in the UK in 1979, it wasn’t released in the colonies until 1980. This year, legions of fans in North America are celebrating the 42nd anniversary … Continue reading →

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Book of the Year

Posted on December 10, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Alice in Wonderland

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

It’s been a while since I shared another example from the seemingly endless versions of Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. This version from the 1920s features 48 full-color illustrations by Margaret W. Tarrant. The illustrator: Margaret Winifred Tarrant (1888 – … Continue reading →

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We shall by morning Inherit the earth

Posted on December 8, 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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First Around The World Trip

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Ever since I was indoctrinated as a young child with filiopietistic reverence for Columbus and the entire panoply of European explorers, I’ve been fascinated by their extraordinary journeys. Recently, I discovered a wonderful website that traces the route of Ferdinand … Continue reading →

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The Most Beautiful Bookstore in the World ?

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Over the past few decades nearly every listicle on the world’s “most beautiful bookstores” has included the incredible Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal. I am embarassed to admit that although I was briefly in Porto, I never made it to … Continue reading →

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Just a postcard from Kafka

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I recently stumbled on this postcard from the German National Library that is dated 1918 from Franz Kafka to his publisher Kurt Wolff. Personally, I never sent postcards to my publisher, but then again he was a terrible person. And … Continue reading →

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“When coffee is gone, it’s over.”

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Language-learning app Duolingo has opened a “Museum of Wonky English” in Harajuku, Tokyo, and is giving mundane phrases that have been mistranslated new and novel meanings. Duolingo is inviting people to step into its Museum of Wonky English, a tongue-in-cheek … Continue reading →

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Games for Booklovers

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

 

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