Category Archives: History

Kafka is not buried here

Posted on January 24, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

“Frog in Prague” by Stephen Dixon They stand still. “And Kafka?” Howard says. “Kafka is not buried here.” “No? Because I thought—what I mean is the lady at my hotel’s tourist information desk—the Intercontinental over there—and also the one who … Continue reading →

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Orwell is turning in his grave

Posted on January 20, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I thought that I had stumble on something from The Onion when I saw a story about a £2 George Orwell commemorative coin being minted in the UK. Shockingly, it was a true story. The Royal Mint will honor author George … Continue reading →

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Oh, horror upon horror!

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

No writer has the ability to evoke a sense of horror and dread more effectively than Edgar Allan Poe, born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. Poe’s parents were actors. Their brilliant and unstable son grew up to be a … Continue reading →

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A message that sadly needs repeating

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

As 2025 dawns, here in the United States we face the prospect of a four year (or more) reign of Christo-Fascist zealots. But the world has seen it all before. The League of American Writers was formed by artists, authors … Continue reading →

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“They’ve been going in and out of style”

Posted on January 5, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Continuing a tradition started in 2016, Chris the Barker has made another collage frequently updated and up to the last minute to eulogize Olivia Hussey and Jimmy Carter, in tribute to those passed away this year. The field more crowded than … Continue reading →

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There is no love of life without despair of life.

Posted on January 4, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Albert Camus died on this day in 1960. Many have wondered over the last 65 years at an odd bit of trivia about that day when he was killed in a car accident. Why did he have an unused train … Continue reading →

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God Bless Us, Everyone

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

On this date in 1843, Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol. Dickens wrote the novel after his first commercial failure. His previous novel, Martin Chuzzlewit had flopped, and he was suddenly strapped for cash. Martin Chuzzlewit had been satirical and pessimistic, and Dickens … Continue reading →

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Books break the shackles of time.

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

The video below is an excerpt from the 11th episode of Carl Sagan’s iconic 1980s Cosmos series, titled “The Persistence of Memory.” What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts … Continue reading →

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Just another marbled Monday

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

The wavy patterns on the edges, covers, and endpapers on this tooled and blind-stamped, half-bound book are from Carew’s Survey of Cornwall printed in London by Thomas Bensley for J. Faulder and Rees and Curtis in 1811. The marbled-paper pattern is what the University of Washington’s site … Continue reading →

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Bookstore Tourism

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

The Abecadlo Antiquarian Bookshop is located in a former 19th pharmacy, at 18 Kościuszki Street in Krakow, Poland. Its beautiful interior is made up of antique pharmacy furniture dating back to the 1890s, which the owners managed to save and … Continue reading →

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