Category Archives: Books

There and Back Again

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Air New Zealand —the official airline of Middle Earth (really)—recently released a new safety video. Titled An Unexpected Briefing , the video was produced in conjunction with WETA Workshop, which created the special effects for Lord of the Rings and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Film, movies, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Happy Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

One of the first true horror films that I saw as a child was F.W. Murnau‘s 1922 silent vampire flic Nosferatu. When I was a little older and I finally read Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula, I realized that the Murnau’s … Continue reading →

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Is Book Art Blasphemy

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

I admire the cut-out book collages of Alexander Korzer-Robinson, but still cringe a little at the evisceration of antiquarian books. He says of this work: “By using pre-existing media as a starting point, certain boundaries are set by the material, which … Continue reading →

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Bibliomania

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Rosalie Osman is a freelance animator based in Melbourne, Australia. She describes her film Bibliomania as: A twisted fairytale about a young man obsessed with the acquisition of books to the detriment of all else. Having inherited his father’s library … Continue reading →

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Every Dot On The Map

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

“Every dot on a map interests me.” “unless the sun inside you is burning your gut, don’t do it.” Samizdat is here. Sometimes we all want to run away and live in cave.

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Pleasures of a good bookshop

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Waterstone’s, the last large bookstore chain standing in the UK, is launching a clever print ad campaign to encourage bookshop browsing. The ads are set to run in the London Underground, in national newspapers, online and in outdoor locations. It … Continue reading →

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Or, the Whale

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Yesterday, Google treated us to a neat Google Doodle to celebrate the 161st anniversary of the publication of Moby Dick, or, the whale, the iconic American novel by Herman Melville. If you have yet to meet the challenge of the … Continue reading →

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Literary Snacks

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Taipei-based web and graphic designer Alice Wang has created the “Quote Vendor” —a novel vending machine that dispenses bottled literary extracts just like snack food. Each plastic bottle contains an individual text quote along with the book’s title and author’s … Continue reading →

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All Hallow’s Read Is Coming

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Are you ready for All Hallow’s Read ? Do you even know what it is ? Want to find out more? Then check-out this little video presentation by Neil Gaiman, who created the new “literary holiday” way back in 2010. … Continue reading →

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Book Mountain

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

On October 4th, Rotterdam inaugurated the stunning new Boekenberg Bibliotheek and education center in the heart of the Spijkenisse market square. Designed by the prolific hometown architectural team at MVRDV, the Book Mountain project is the dramatic centerpiece for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, Europe, Libraries | Tagged , , | 2 Comments