Category Archives: Books

Habits Makes It Sound Disreputable

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

On December 20th, the Pew Research Center‘s Internet & American Life Project released a thought provoking study of “Reading habits in Different Communities” in the United States. It appears that only 78% of Americans ages 16 and older report reading … Continue reading →

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A letter from Santa Claus

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Illustration by Dave Thomson A Letter From Santa Claus My Dear Susy Clemens, I have received and read all the letters which you and your little sister have written me … I can read your and your baby sister’s jagged … Continue reading →

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Just In Time for Christmas Shopping

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Harry Potter fans have flocked to London’s King Cross Station for years in search of the secret Platform 9 3/4 . Now they can part with a few pounds at the new Harry Potter Shop appropriately situated between Platforms 9 … Continue reading →

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Outdoors Indoors At The Library

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Earlier this month, students from Cornell University Department of design and Environmental Analysis managed to “bring the outdoors indoors” by installing areas of real grass lawn in the Mann Library lobby Images © da wei. A sign in the lobby … Continue reading →

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It’s A Very Dickensian Christmas

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Following an extensive eight month, £3 million restoration and redevelopment project, London’s Charles Dickens Museum reopened on December 10th just in time to celebrate a Dickens Christmas and to top-off the Dickens 2012 Bicentenary year festivities. The beloved author’s Bloomsbury … Continue reading →

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A Christmas Miracle (almost)

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The English North Yorkshire town of Malton seems a likely place to figure in a Charles Dickens tale and this year it does. When residents of the old Roman town learned that a rare specially bound and signed copy of … Continue reading →

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Crime and Punishment

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

I was gobsmacked by Polish filmmaker Piotr Dumala’s extraordinary animated version of Dostoyevsky’s classic novel. This pared down version of the story is told without dialog and takes place entirely at night. Trained as an painter and sculptor, Dumala has … Continue reading →

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I Want To Go To There

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Just in time for the release of the first edition of the Hobbit trilogy, Tolkien nerds can now lift a pint of Gaffer’s Ale at the very same tables as Gamgees, Tooks, Brandybucks and Bagginses. The Green Dragon Pub in … Continue reading →

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Nothing Beats A Good Book

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Pundits have been writing obituaries for print books and libraries for years. But a recent study by the Pew Foundation suggests that even as e-readers proliferate print books and libraries remain popular in the United States. This neat infographic demonstrates … Continue reading →

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The True Way Is Along A Rope

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Are you a Kafka fan? Do you love animation like a kid craves Saturday morning cartoons? If you do, set aside twenty minutes to absorb this fantastic Japanese animated film version of Franz Kafka‘s cryptic story A Country Doctor directed by Koji … Continue reading →

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