Categories
- Africa
- Air Travel
- Animation
- apps
- Architecture
- Art
- Asia
- Books
- Bookstore Tourism
- Canada
- Car rentals
- Cartography
- Comics
- ebooks
- Europe
- Film
- Freedom of Speech
- History
- Hotels
- Libraries
- Maps
- Middle East
- movies
- Museums
- Music
- Photography
- Public Transport
- Restaurants
- South America
- Tech
- Theater
- Tourism
- Travel Writing
- Uncategorized
- USA
- Writing
Share this Blog
Translate
-
Author Archives: Brian D. Butler
The one where I compare myself with Leo Tolstoy
You may be dubious that a humble blogger, bookseller, and failed author could possibly have anything in common with the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, but hear me out. Both Tolstoy and I have roots in Czarist Russia. The legenday … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Europe, History, Writing
Tagged cookbooks, Leo Tolstoy, Russia, Vegetarian
4 Comments
Six for Sunday
After reading Moby-Dick for the first time last year, Peter Gorman published a fascinating book called Kaleidoscope Brain that consists of 100 visualizations of Moby-Dick. The graphics, diagrams, and maps were his way of making sense of the iconic American … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Books, Europe, Film, Hotels, Maps, Photography, Uncategorized, USA, Writing
Tagged Cartoons, Comics, James Baldwin, John Donne
Leave a comment
Erasing Books for the Sake of Art
I am always somewhat ambivilant when it comes to book art that actually damages or destroys books, however, I am a fan of Vermont-based poet and book artist Mary Ruefle’s decades-long project Erasures. Since 1998, she has amended more than 100 books … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Books, Museums, USA, Writing
Tagged Book Artists, Book Arts, Robert Frost, Vermont
1 Comment
Five For Friday
I just discovered this never before published novel by Simone de Beauvoir. It seems that it was deemed “too intimate” to be published during her lifetime. Inseparable has been described as a story of the power of female friendship and … Continue reading
taste the blood of revenge
Another hilarious re-issue from the brilliant folks at Paperback Paradise.
Open a Book, Open the World
The Library of Congress National Book Festival 2021 will run Sept. 17-26 this year in Washington D.C.. It will feature more than 100 authors, poets, and writers in a range of formats, including Tana French, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Claudia Rankine.The … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Libraries, USA, Writing
Tagged Library of Congress, Literary Festival, Washington D.C
Leave a comment
A man like a city…
from Book I, Paterson William Carlos Williams Paterson lies in the valley under the Passaic Falls its spent waters forming the outline of his back. He lies on his right side, head near the thunder of the waters filling his … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Film, USA, Writing
Tagged National Parks, New Jersey, Paterson Falls, Poetry, William Carlos Williams
Leave a comment
The Great Bibliohoax
I love a good prank, especially if it is at the expense of the pretentious. While bibliophiles and antiquarian booksellers are not known for their hijinks, back in 1840 an infamous bibliohoax was perpetrated on wealthy collectors, librarians and booksellers … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Europe, History, Libraries
Tagged Antiquarian Books, Belgium, Bibliophile, Binche
1 Comment
Book of Hours
In my ongoing deep-dive into obscure books, today we have the amazing 15th century Codex Rotundus.This medieval book of hour takes its contemporary name from its odd circular format. It was created in Flanders and is written in Latin as … Continue reading
A New Breath
I continue to be blown away by the magnificent “land art” created by French-Swiss innovator Guillaume Legros (aka Saype). His latest work, “Un Nouveau Souffle” (A New Breath) was completed above the village of Moleson-sur-Gruyeres, Switzerland, not far from Montreux … Continue reading
