Author Archives: Brian D. Butler

Bookstore Lover on the Road

Posted on November 14, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Bob Manson is a retired teacher from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He’s also a superfan of independent bookstores. So much so that he has now visited over 600 of them across the country. At each one, he talks with the owners … Continue reading →

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

Encounters with French culture

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Last week, the American Library in Paris announced the winner of their 2024 Book Award, which recognizes titles originally published in English “that best realizes new and intellectually significant ideas about France, the French people, or encounters with French culture.” … Continue reading →

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The more things change, etc. etc.

Posted on November 12, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

In 1951, British philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote an article titled “The Best Answer to Fanaticism—Liberalism” in The New York Times Magazine. Sadly, the piece could have easily been written this week. Russell wasn’t advocating for any particular political party or economic … Continue reading →

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Things Fall Apart

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

  Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is … Continue reading →

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Twenty Lessons

Posted on November 10, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

In 2016, Yale history professor Timothy Snyder took to Facebook to share some lessons from 20th century about how to protect our liberal democracy from fascism and authoritarianism. In response to this week’s catastrophic election, I’ve reproduced it in its entirety here. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Freedom of Speech, History | Tagged | 4 Comments

The fight against Fascism is never ending

Posted on November 9, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

His Millennium trilogy was a worldwide hit. But to the Swedish author, it was only ever a sideshow to his true life’s work: fighting fascism, racism and rightwing extremism. Today marks the 20th anniversary of the untimely death of Stieg … Continue reading →

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The Unfortunate Narrator

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Forget Dystopia

Posted on November 7, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Thinking about all of the dystopian speculative fiction that I’ve been binging on in recent years, I am reminded of the great Ray Bradbury’s imagining of a more positive future for humanity. The 1984 short story The Toynbee Convector tells the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Theater, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

After London, or Wild England

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

During the Pandemic, I oddly began reading dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction. I recently ran across Richard Jefferies’ 1885 novel After London which likely is one of the first post-apocalypse English language novels. The tale is set in a future England … Continue reading →

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Banned In the USA

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Banned In The USA isn’t a classic Springsteen tune, but instead it’s the newly released report from PEN America  documenting  public school book bans for the full 2023-2024 school year. The report records 10,046 instances of books banned nationwide, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Freedom of Speech, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments