Author Archives: Brian D. Butler

Summer Sunday Sundries

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“In its June 26, 1948, issue, The New Yorker published Shirley Jackson’s unsettling story “The Lottery,” and it’s not an overstatement to say that readers freaked out. They wrote letters in droves, angry or unsure about what this slowly unfolding … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Books, Europe, History, Museums, Restaurants, Tourism, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

A problem involving Don Quixote

Posted on July 1, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“A Problem” by Jorge Luis Borges Translated by Andrew Hurley Let us imagine that a piece of paper with a text in Arabic on it is discovered in Toledo, and that paleographers declare the text to have been written by … Continue reading →

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Beach Reads

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Brian D. Butler
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Down a research rabbit hole

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

The free new research tool from Yale University called Lux is a fascinating opportunity to be led down a rabbit hole of infinite connections for any subject of interest.  The digital tool works by building relationships between objects users look … Continue reading →

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Books on Maps

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

If you stop by TBTP regularly, you probably know how I feel about maps and literary websites that manage to combine books AND maps. Books On Maps: is a new project that is mashing up cartography and novels. You don’t … Continue reading →

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Rules for Writers

Posted on June 27, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Raymond Chandler’s 10 rules for writing a detective novel: It must be credibly motivated, both as to the original situation and the dénouement. It must be technically sound as to the methods of murder and detection. It must be realistic … Continue reading →

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Bookstore Mapping

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

The Pandemic had a devastating effect on the book trade in Philadelphia. Over the last two years, the city has lost some of its oldest and most beloved bookshops. I was heartened however to discover that the city’s surviving booksellers … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Maps, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Roman ruin that’s not just for cats anymore

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Invariably when I visit Rome I always seem to wander by the Largo Argentina to gape at the inaccessable Area Sacra where Brutus stabbed Caesar on the Ides of March in the year 44 B.C.E. Until just recently, the site … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Europe, History, Museums, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Living in the Real World

Posted on June 24, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Most reasonably educated adults—other than flatearth nincompoops—are well aware that the way we map our planet distorts the actual size of countries and continents. For centuries, we have generally ignored the wildly misleading maps that are used in most publications. … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Asia, Europe, Maps | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Five for Friday

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Hermann Hesse // “This day will never come again and anyone who fails to eat and drink and taste and smell it will never have it offered to him again in all eternity. The sun will never shine as it … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Libraries | Tagged , , | 1 Comment