Category Archives: Books

Literary History Trips

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

How about a trip through literary history ? The Australian website BibliOZ offers a clever tool that will help you discover the books that led the New York Times bestseller lists on your birthday. All you need to do is … Continue reading →

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Our Cultural Chernobyl

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Last month we posted two stories on Chernobyl’s new-found status as a tourist destination. This week we stumbled upon a photo-documentary by French photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre that’s now available in the book Detroit in Ruins. The young … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, Photography, USA | Tagged | 2 Comments

Old Dutch (map) Porn

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

The 17th century Dutch cartographer Frederik de Wit created the extraordinary Stedenboek or Book of Cities. With only four copies of the book known to exist, the National Library of the Netherlands has digitized and uploaded two excellent versions to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, History, Libraries, Maps | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Path to Knowledge

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

“With the discarded books that I have acquired, I am attempting to blur the line between objects, sculpture, and photographs…My photographs are a lament for the passing of eras when books were considered much more valuable and a path to … Continue reading →

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The Year in Reading

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

As 2010 closes, I thought I’d look back on my year in reading. My best approximation is that I read about 156 books this year. These days most are fiction. So here’s a sampling of the good, the bad and the … Continue reading →

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The Last Man in Europe

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Some of our most important classic novels were nearly released with very different titles. Would they have been as successful with the original choices? George Orwell’s editor at Secker Warburg didn’t think that the title The Last Man in Europe … Continue reading →

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A Novel Idea

Posted on December 18, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

         

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As requested, More Book Art

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Artist and advertising art director Su Blackwell’s stunning book art is based on her intricate scenes crafted by carefully cutting and folding book pages. Blackwell brilliantly reinvents the text to bring an entirely new dimension to storytelling.

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Have You Ever Wondered…

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Have you ever wondered what art museum guards are thinking about all day ? Well, now you can find out. There’s a new art and literature magazine being published by professional museum guards. In fact, everyone involved with Sw!pe —writers, … Continue reading →

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First Cut Is The Deepest

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Like most booklovers ( and bookdealers ), I still cringe a little at the notion of cutting-up a book for art. But the brilliant work by Japanese artist Ryuta Iida is definitely engaging. With just a knife and an old … Continue reading →

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