Category Archives: Books

Wherein I Eat My Words

Posted on November 4, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

I recently posted a story about an amazing, futuristic-looking library that opened in Tianjin, China. In doing so, I also bemoaned the sorry state of library support in the United States and the lack of commitment to public libraries in … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, Libraries, USA | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Did you remember to get your visa

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Some of us spend more time traveling through fictional lands than we may care to admit. What if those imaginary countries actually issued their own passports and travel documents? Well, thanks to NeoMam Studios and Budget Direct we can have … Continue reading →

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Dance Macabre

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

 La portentosa vida de la muerte (The Prodigious Life of Death) by Joaquín Bolaños, is a late 18th century Mexican novel that stars Death as a female protagonist ( la muerte in Spanish is a feminine noun).  The story begins in the Garden … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History, South America, Writing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Stephen King Inspired

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

I’m a huge fan of the always wacky art work by the brilliant Brazilian artist and illustrator who goes by the name Butcher Billy. These seasonally appropriate pulp fiction and horror inspired faux book covers are a treat. Here’s what … Continue reading →

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Spooky Stories & Inconceivable Tales

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Inspired by pulp periodicals and pop culture, Massachusetts-based illustrator Stephen Andrade creates brilliant retro-style magazine covers for imagined publications. Andrade cleverly incorporates contemporary television, cinema, and literary references in his 40s and 50s style cover art.

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Napoleon’s Kindle

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Unlike our maniacal Emperor wanabee, Napoleon Bonaparte was a devoted book lover. He was such a serious reader that in 1803 he commissioned the creation of the wonderful traveling library pictured above to take on military campaigns. The leather-lines, velvet-trimmed … Continue reading →

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Bookstore Taboo

Posted on October 15, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Tabook is an amusing short film that takes on the silliness of cultural taboos. In Amsterdam-based director Dario van Vree’s animated short a young woman endures the pitfalls of book browsing in a puritanical society. The cheeky film was created with … Continue reading →

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Libraries On Wheels

Posted on October 14, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Rural communities in Zimbabwe seldom have their own libraries, so in 1995 educator Obadiah Mayo founded the Rural Libraries & Resources Development Programme to bring books to the countryside. Today, his organization has fifteen donkey-powered mobile library carts that each … Continue reading →

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Monsters In Philadelphia

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

With Frankenstein and Dracula, Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker created two of history’s most memorable monsters. Two hundred years after Frankenstein was published, pages from Mary Shelley’s manuscript will make their only appearance in the United States, to be displayed for the first … Continue reading →

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Isn’t It Romantic

Posted on October 12, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

England’s famed Lake District has recently been recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage region, but it has long attracted literary tourists and nature lovers. The Craig Manor Hotel on beautiful Lake Windermere has produced the charming infographic below … Continue reading →

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