Category Archives: Europe

Island Reading

Residents of the tiny Greek island of Kimolos, located in the southwest of the Cyclades island group, have installed free lending libraries at all the major beaches of the island to make tourists’ visits even more enjoyable. The little free … Continue reading

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Words and Music

Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts has evolved from the humble  Worthy Farm Pop Festival in 1970 headlined by T-Rex and attended by around 1,500 people, to a renowned cultural phenomena—one of the biggest festivals in the world. Over the … Continue reading

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La Sagesse

La Sagesse (1940-1941). Tamara de Lempicka (Polish, 1898-1980). Oil on panel. La Sagesse, or “Wisdom,” takes its inspiration from the Old Masters, all the while exuding Lempicka’s signature style. The layout and type of figure in this painting bring to … Continue reading

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In Bruges

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit Bruges before it became completely Disney-fied by over tourism. Still, I never got to see the Belgian gem as viewed in these amazing Photochrom prints from the 1890s. This … Continue reading

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All animals are equal…

I recently ran across the wonderful 50th anniversary edition of the first U.S. publication of George Orwell’s Animal House. Issued in 1995, Animal House: A Fairy Story features 100 mindblowing illustrations by the inimitable Ralph Steadman. Along with the addition of the brilliant illustrations, … Continue reading

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Alternative Literary Mapping

Map loving bibliophiles at In The Book designed this clever alternative London Tube map, replacing actual station names with titles from novels set nearby. Covering just zones one and two, the map features book titles from authors including Zadie Smith, Arthur Conan … Continue reading

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Banksy pranks Venice

So it seems that that lovable street art scamp known as Banksy has brought his personal commentary on overtourism, commercialism, and the art world to Venice on the heels of the pretentious Biennale.

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Copenhagen : Books and Coffee

Although I have my quibbles with the baffling commitment to light roasts by Scandinavian 3rd wave coffeeshops and roasters, I do appreciate that there are coffee drinking opportunities everywhere—even in libraries. One of the coolest place to enjoy a good … Continue reading

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A Little Fjord Music

Part of Iceland’s problem with overtourism is that too few tourists take the time to visit the beautiful East of the country. I always try to see the “real” Iceland by driving to some of the little waterfront towns like … Continue reading

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Hope For All Of Us

The Bookseller has reported that Silence Under a Stone, by the 81-year-old Irish writer Norma MacMaster, has been shortlisted for the Society of Authors’ Awards. What is noteworthy is that it is also Norma’s debut novel. The book, which the Independent … Continue reading

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