Category Archives: Books

The Mark on the Wall

Posted on August 17, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

  “The Mark On The Wall” is based on Virginia Woolf’s short story of the same name, which opens with the mysterious line—”Perhaps it was the middle of January in the present year that I first looked up and saw the mark … Continue reading →

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On The Beach

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I was surprised to stumble on the complete version of the Stanley Kramer film On The Beach posted on YouTube. The 1959 American post-apocalyptic science fiction drama had an enormous impact on me when I first saw the movie on television when … Continue reading →

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Penguins

Posted on August 15, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Any self-respecting book cover geek needs to take a gander at this website dedicated to the cover art of Penguin paperbacks, curated by Australian design instructor  Greg Neville . “Penguin Books has had numerous categories in its long history: fiction, … Continue reading →

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Definitely Not Hoarding

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

 

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We are all wingnuts to somebody and other trivia

Posted on August 11, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Berkeley, CA now has a Wingnut Museum. “The wingnut was invented in the first half of the 19th century and quickly became an indispensable piece of hardware. It lets users fasten bolts by hand, without tools, using little wings jutting out … Continue reading →

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In my writing I am acting as a mapmaker

Posted on August 10, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

In my writing I am acting as a map maker, an explorer of psychic areas… a cosmonaut of inner space, and I see no point in exploring areas that have already been thoroughly surveyed. William S. Burroughs

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Too Literary

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Books Can Set Us Free

Posted on August 4, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

American Booksellers for Free Expression has launched a campaign for Banned Books Week 2024 centered on the theme Liberate Banned Books (#SetBooksFree). “Resisting book bans is about liberation,” ABFE noted. “It’s about liberation for schools and libraries from the rash of book challenges … Continue reading →

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Rare Book Discovery

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I have a hazy recollection of a brief visit to Canterbury’s  The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge many decades ago on one of my first trips to England, but I was intrigued by a story about its current special … Continue reading →

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To leave the world a little better than you found it

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Paul Auster // “That’s all I’ve ever dreamed of… To make the world a better place. To bring some beauty to the drab humdrum corners of the soul. You can do it with a toaster, you can do it with … Continue reading →

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