Category Archives: Asia

Mother Tongues

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

The National Geographic’s senior graphics editor Alberto Lucas López created this wonderful pie chart to illustrate the proportional representation of the world’s twenty three most spoken languages. López based the graphic on native speakers, with each language marked by black … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, Maps, Middle East, South America, USA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The New Yorker in Tokyo

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

The Tōkyōiter is a brilliant project from Tokyo-based artists Andrew Joyce and David Roberts, along with a disparate group of Japanese and European illustrators. Riffing on the iconic format of The New Yorker magazine cover, they created an imaginary periodical for Tokyo incorporating … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Art, Asia | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Infinite Books

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

The Zhonghuge Bookstore in Yangzhou, China has been transformed by XL-Muse Architects into an inception-like space for bibliophiles. The illusion of infinite bookshelves is achieved with mirrors, lighting, and arched ceilings meant to reference local waterways.

Posted in Architecture, Asia, Books, Bookstore Tourism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Really Big Books

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Thanks to the British Library, bibliophiles and map geeks can now view the second largest atlas in the world online. The colossal book was a gift from Dutch merchant Johannes Klencke in 1660 to King Charles II of Great Britain. The massive … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Asia, Books, ebooks, Europe, History, Libraries, Maps, Middle East, Museums, Photography, Tech | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Whirlwind Touring

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

This week, Taiwan-based photographer Stan Chang released the second in a captivating series of timelapse videos based on three years of travels around thirty European countries.

Posted in Asia, Europe, Film, Photography, Tourism | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Unforgivable

Posted on May 5, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

I’m usually drawn to street art that is amusing, snarky, or lyrical, but I was blown away by Cuban artist Erik Ravelo’s series “Unforgivable”. These heartbreaking images use street art to challenge  the world’s complacency, and the inaction of our … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

What It Says On The Tin

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Last week, Karabük University in Karabük, Turkey inaugurated the new Kamil Gūlec Library. The impressive facade is composed of fifteen books up to 20 meters high. H/t to Ahmet Yildirim for the post.  

Posted in Asia, Books, Libraries | Tagged | 2 Comments

Train Car Nuisance

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Japan’s Seibu Railway, which operates trains in Tokyo, has created a new poster campaign aimed at educating both regular riders and tourists alike on courteous travel behaviors. Capitalizing on the universal appeal of the traditional ukiyo-e style woodblock prints, the railway has … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Asia, Public Transport | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

24 hour bookshop

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve never visited Guangzhou City, but when I do my first destination will be the wonderful 1200 Bookshop. The only 24 hour bookstore in China’s third largest city was the brainchild of architect Liu Erxi. After a long backpacking trip, … Continue reading →

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

Singapore Does It Better

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

The government of Singapore has launched an initiative to provide residents with the world’s best transit stops. Located in the Jurong District of the city-state, the first example of these super stops features both book racks for print reading materials … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Asia, ebooks, Libraries, Public Transport, Tech | Tagged , | Leave a comment