Author Archives: Brian D. Butler

All Aboard

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I love a good story about a creative way to bring books to people. Thanks to the town of Norrtälje  all residents in Stockholm’s far-flung archipelago of islands have access to free reading materials by way of the Bokboten library. … Continue reading →

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Banksy and Bob

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

By now, you have likely seen photos of Banksy ‘s latest work painted on the wall of a historic British prison. The elusive street artist officially owned the piece by posting some footage of Bob Ross narration from The Joy … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Europe, Freedom of Speech, History | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

I Love Big Books

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I wish we had an amazing institution like the fantastic Karabuk University’s library, in Karabuk, Turkey. Designed to look like a row of giant books on a shelf; it’s obvious from a distance what the building has to offer. Renowned … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Books, Europe, Libraries, Tourism | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Kafka on the Shore (and t-shirts)

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

When I think of the celebrated Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami  fashion does not come to mind. However, it seems that the author is much more interested in style than his novels such as 1Q84 and Norwegian Wood suggest. Murakami recently collaborated with … Continue reading →

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all winter long

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

THE END OF THE LIBRARY Weldon Kees When the coal Gave out, we began Burning the books, one by one; First the set Of Bulwer-Lytton And then the Walter Scott. They gave a lot of warmth. Toward the end, in … Continue reading →

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How Kafkaesque

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

 

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The Expurgated Version

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

It may not be politically correct to profess admiration for the comedic genius of John Cleese these days, but I for one still find his work to be side-splitingly hilarious. I was surprised to recently learn that Cleese’s own favorite … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Europe, Theater | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Reach Out

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

This new mural by the award winning young Dutch artist JDL (aka Judith de Leeuw) in Amsterdam’s grand Central Station is appropriately titled Closer in Distance. The tryptic  mural reads like stills in an animation, with two hand gradually getting closer to … Continue reading →

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Vintage is better

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I recently ran across a treasure trove of vintage Japanese travel posters from the early 20th century. As you know, I’m a little bit obsessed with travel related advertising, but I think that early travel posters managed to do a … Continue reading →

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Goin’ Mobile beep, beep

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

If you land on TBTP on a regular basis, you know how I feel about bookmobiles, traveling libraries, and itinerant bookstores. So, you won’t be surprised by these two stories about mobile booksellers from opposite sides of the globe. I … Continue reading →

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