Category Archives: Libraries

Books break the shackles of time.

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

Posted in Books, History, Libraries, Restaurants, Writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

A history of witches and wizards

London’s Wellcome Collection is featuring a very timely book from 1720 on witchcraft and wizardry. The history of witches and wizards: giving a true account of all their tryals in England, Scotland, Swedeland, France, and New England; with their confession … Continue reading

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

Magical (not lucky) Charms

The Book of Magical Charms, is a handwritten occult commonplace book composed in England in the seventeenth century and currently in the holdings of the Newberry Library in Chicago, Illinois. Its author is suspected to be London attorney Robert Ashley. The Book of Magical Charms original volume, that … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Books, Europe, History, Libraries, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“The tourist is the other fellow.”

                                               “The tourist is the other fellow.”                       … Continue reading

Posted in Air Travel, Books, Bookstore Tourism, Europe, Libraries, Tourism, Travel Writing, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Frankenstein Season

The Frankenstein Varorium is an online tool which allows the user to explore the iconic Science Fiction novel’s text through its various incarnations, allowing the user to select individual passages and see how they have evolved through different revisions of … Continue reading

Posted in Books, ebooks, Europe, History, Libraries, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Mapping the Bans

The onslaught of reactionary right wing book bans does not seem to be abating in the U.S.. This attack on freedom of expression is just one component of the political/cultural war raging in America. The American Library Association (ALA) reports that … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Freedom of Speech, Libraries, Maps, USA | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Making of an Icon

Kafka: Making of an Icon is an exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka’s death and celebrating not only Kafka’s achievements and creativity, but also his continuing inspiration for new literary, theatrical and artistic creations around the world. After … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Books, Europe, History, Libraries, Museums, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Magic Lantern

These days Prague is another victim of European over-tourism, but 30 years ago it still was a place of history and mystery. I recently saw the marvelous 1993 documentary below that has had me waxing nostalgic for the Prague that … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Art, Books, Europe, Film, History, Libraries, Museums, Theater, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day

, In 1974, Saturday Review magazine asked some of the world’s leading thinkers (Isaac Asimov, Jacques Cousteau, Andrei Sakharov, etc.) what the world of 2024 would look like. Here’s what they got right (internet) and wrong (factories on the Moon) … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Libraries, USA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Books Can Set Us Free

American Booksellers for Free Expression has launched a campaign for Banned Books Week 2024 centered on the theme Liberate Banned Books (#SetBooksFree). “Resisting book bans is about liberation,” ABFE noted. “It’s about liberation for schools and libraries from the rash of book challenges … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, ebooks, Libraries, USA, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment