Category Archives: Books

Save the Guidebook

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

It may come as a surprise that purchasers of travel guidebooks in both the U.S. and the U.K. still prefer traditional print books to digital editions. That is according to the Bowker organization, which provides publishing and information management services … Continue reading →

Posted in apps, Books, ebooks, Europe, Tourism, Travel Writing, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Why the 50s ?

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The nonprofit publishing house The Library of America was created in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humani1ties and the Ford Foundation. Their ongoing mission is to preserve the cultural heritage of  American writing and publishing. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Library Himmel

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

I can never resist a collection of great library photographs. So, I was thrilled to stumble across a wonderful series of photos of libraries from around Northern Europe. Professional photographer Christoph Seebach is based in Köln, Germany, where he is … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Libraries, Tourism | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Do Fictitious Dishes Have Calories

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

For her very clever photo project called “Fictitious Dishes“, graphic artist/designer/editor/photographer Dinah Fried has reimagined meals for iconic fictional characters. She recreated and staged meals from Moby Dick, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Catcher in the Rye, Alice … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Photography, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Why Garamond Light

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

We see nearly 500,000 words in print every day—and that’s just on websites. Do we pay any attention to the typefaces website designers choose? Don’t know a Dunbar from a Lucida? Ever wonder why Garamond Light is suddenly everywhere? Well … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, ebooks, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Better Than a Pub Crawl

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Yesterday bibliophile bikers inaugurated Chicago’s first annual Bookstore Bike Crawl and Art Show. The participants pedaled from Powell’s Bookstore North to Bookworks Used and Rare Books, on to Unabridged Bookstore in Lakeview, then to Open Books (Chicago’s nonprofit bookstore) and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Tourism, Uncategorized, USA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Palace Under the Alps

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

I foolishly sold my first edition copy of Bill Bryson’s The Palace Under the Alps (Congdon & Weed, 1985) a few years ago. So, I was dead chuffed to stumble across this blog with the same handle that posts excerpts from … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Museums, Tourism, Travel Writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

TED : not just talk anymore

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Focused on short, quick-read books, the new TED Books app, set to launch this month, is a dedicated platform for TED‘s publishing efforts. Most of the e-titles will be in the 20,000 word range. The nifty app will offer optional … Continue reading →

Posted in apps, Books, ebooks, Tech, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Bookshop Band

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

Today marks the end of Independent Booksellers Week in the UK. To celebrate their love of indie bookshops, the “Bookshop Band” composed and recorded “A Shop With Books In It’ and toured England for three weeks performing at indie bookstores.

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Europe, Music | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Books That Shaped America

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Brian D. Butler

The Library of Congress in Washington, D. C.  opened an exhibition last week celebrating “Books That Shaped America.” The exhibition is on 88 books that they’ve deemed to have the most influence on American culture . The selection was hotly debated over … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History, Libraries, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment