Category Archives: Books

Printed books prevail

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

A tip of the hat to TBTP’s most loyal reader for the link to this infographic and article on the abiding appeal of the printed book. There is some comfort for an old bibliophile in learning that readers everywhere still … Continue reading →

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Slightly bigger than my home library

Posted on March 4, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I have been waiting for my personal invitation to visit the extraordinary Walker Library of the Human Imagination in Ridgefield, Connecticut, but alas it does not seem to be forthcoming. However, I have discovered that it’s possible to take a virtual … Continue reading →

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Piracy Rules

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I was today years old when I discovered that the Dread Pirate Roberts of Princess Bride book and movie fame was an actual person. Not only was Welsh pirate Bartholomew Roberts (1682-1722) a famous swashbuckler, he was the most successful … Continue reading →

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A screaming comes across the sky

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

A screaming comes across the sky. It has happened before, but there is nothing to compare it to now. It is too late. The Evacuation still proceeds, but it’s all theatre. There are no lights inside the cars. No light … Continue reading →

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Miscellany Monday

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I usually lament the loss of dozens of New York City bookstores of my youth, but there some great shops still standing and, in recent years, a renaissance in bookselling has resulted in an optomistic turn for bibliophiles. Check out … Continue reading →

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everything at heaven’s gate is broken up into its component parts

Posted on February 25, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“A Society of Scoundrels” by Franz Kafka Translated by Michael Hofmann There was once a society of scoundrels, or rather not scoundrels per se, just ordinary, average people. They always stuck together. When one of them had perpetrated some rascally … Continue reading →

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The Poetry of Coffee

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

As an amateur coffee roaster, I have been accused of being mildly obsessed with the magical elixir. So my antenna is always up for books about coffee. But I was not prepared to stumble upon a one-of-a-kind, single copy poetry … Continue reading →

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Commodified fantasy takes no risks

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

  “All times are changing times, but ours is one of massive, rapid moral and mental transformation. Archetypes turn into millstones, large simplicities get complicated, chaos becomes elegant, and what everybody knows is true turns out to be what some … Continue reading →

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How to act around books (according to the NYPL)

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

How to act around books.  

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The Earl of Cattenborough owns Caturday

Posted on February 18, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

THE EARL OF CATTENBOROUGH ONCE upon a time there was a miller who had three sons, Charles, Sam, and John. And every night when the servant went to bed he used to call out: “Good-night, Missus; good-night, Master; Good-night, Charles, … Continue reading →

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