Category Archives: Books

Book Day, 1932

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I have been intrigued by this photograph for many years and finally made the effort to find out about the image and the photographer who captured it. Titled Día del libro or  Book Day, 1932, the picture was created by Gabriel … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Europe, Photography | Tagged , | 1 Comment

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though … Continue reading →

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

on tyranny

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I know that I’ve posted about Timothy Snyder’s Twenty Lessons on Tyranny a number of times, but we are staring at the abyss in the United States and Democracy is on the verge of ruination. In this 10-minute video, John Lithgow reads … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Freedom of Speech, History, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Actual Pictures of Atlantis and more

Posted on April 1, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Depictions of Atlantis in retro science fiction art. OK, so they’re not actual pictures of Atlantis. It is actually April Fools’ Day. “SomaFM is an independent Internet-only streaming multi-channel radio station, supported entirely with donations from listeners. SomaFM originally started broadcasting out of founder … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Books, Europe, Libraries, Museums, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

where everything was forbidden

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

“Making Do” by Italo Calvino translated by Tim Parks There was a town where everything was forbidden. Now, since the only thing that wasn’t forbidden was the game tip-cat, the town’s subjects used to assemble on meadows behind the town … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Renaissance Kindle

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The Bookwheel, invented in 1588 by Italian engineer Agostino Ramelli, was a heavy, 600-pound wooden rotating bookcase that let scholars easily use up to eight open books at once. It had a clever gear system to keep the books upright … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Libraries | Tagged | 1 Comment

fooleries of magic and religion

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

  Man is so intelligent that he feels impelled to invent theories to account for what happens in the world. Unfortunately, he is not quite intelligent enough, in most cases, to find correct explanations. So that when he acts on … Continue reading →

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

An Amusing Anecdote

Posted on March 23, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

 

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

Book store humor

Posted on March 22, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

A very nice, well-appointed lady spends about an hour browsing the stock, including the locked cases. After building a rather formidable stack of unrelated books worth over $3,500 (including some very scarce Mark Twain first editions), I couldn’t resist asking: … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, USA | Tagged , | 2 Comments

This morning’s hallowed moment

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Presently the smell of coffee began to fill the room. This was morning’s hallowed moment. In such a fragrance the perversity of the world is forgotten, and the soul is inspired with faith in the future […]. Some day, incredible … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe | Tagged | Leave a comment