Monthly Archives: September 2025

Top Secret

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The 1984 action comedy Top Secret! contains an odd sequence set in a Swedish bookstore. Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, and Peter Cushing acted the entire scene backward, and the filmmakers then reversed this performance to produce a dreamlike atmosphere in which … Continue reading →

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Fill your life with metaphors. And then explode.

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Ray Bradbury // “Fall in love and stay in love. Explode. Don’t intellectualize. Get passionate about ideas. Cram your head full of images… Stay off the internet and all that crap. Read all the great books. Read all the great … Continue reading →

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Most Boring Book in the World

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve read some horribly tedious books, but apparently they do not come close to this one. In 1978, Clive James reviewed the official biography of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982) … Continue reading →

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Making me nostalgic for Autumn in Switzerland

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Regular visitors to TBTP know that I am a sucker for well produced tourist bureau travel ads. This one is a bit cringy, but hit home for me. Way back in the 20th century I spent most of a glorious … Continue reading →

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Navigating a city without an address

Posted on September 14, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I have been in some places that have confusing address systems, but nothing as baffling as Costa Rica. Direcciones is a short documentary about how giving directions works in Costa Rica, where “a centralized system for street addresses does not exist”. … Continue reading →

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Peek at Peak Color

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

While it may feel as though there is nothing positive to look forward to these days, at least we have the potential for another spectacular show of color this Autumn from Mother Nature. If you are planning any travel in … Continue reading →

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Sometimes in a pickle is where to be

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Over the years, I’ve discovered hundreds of used, secondhand and antiquarian bookshops, but none as unique as New York City’s Sweet Pickle Books.  The founder and owner Leigh Altshuler had always dreamed of opening her own bookstore, but the time never … Continue reading →

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One of These Days

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

“One of These Days” by Gabriel García Márquez translated by J.S. Bernstein Monday dawned warm and rainless. Aurelio Escovar, a dentist without a degree, and a very early riser, opened his office at six. He took some false teeth, still … Continue reading →

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Clearance, or why did I save these in the first place

Posted on September 10, 2025 by Brian D. Butler
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History of the Book

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I had the good fortune to live near Princeton University during much of my adolescence and spent many hours lost in the treasures of the University’s Firestone Library. Over the years, the University began to limit access to students and … Continue reading →

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