Category Archives: USA

And the 2025 lists begin

Posted on December 11, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The staff of the New York Times Book Review choose the year’s top fiction and nonfiction titles. “The envelope, please: After a full year spent reading hundreds of books and meeting regularly to bicker — er, converse — about their … Continue reading →

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It Goes On

Posted on December 6, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

by Lyn Lifshin  

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Too Many Rivers To Cross

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Possibly inspired by All Streets, Ben Fry’s map of all the streets in the US, Nelson Minar built a US map out of all the rivers in the country.  

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Word of the Year Doot Doot

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

For its Word of the Year, Dictionary.com has selected “6-7” from its list of contenders for terms capturing the Zeitgeist of language and culture over the past twelve months. The meme, phrase and accompanying hand gestures from a nonsense lyric … Continue reading →

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The problem with despair

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

“It may just be a refusal to take the counsel of despair. I think to admit despair and to revel in it — as many 20th- and 21st-century writers do — is an easy way out. Whenever I get really … Continue reading →

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Do Halloween like it’s 1920

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I recently stumbled upon this fantastic vintage Halloween book filled with crafts, decoration ideas, DIY costumes, and more. The book is called Dennison’s Bogie Book for Halloween. It was written in 1920, but the activities and decorations inside can make … Continue reading →

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Sometimes in a pickle is where to be

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Over the years, I’ve discovered hundreds of used, secondhand and antiquarian bookshops, but none as unique as New York City’s Sweet Pickle Books.  The founder and owner Leigh Altshuler had always dreamed of opening her own bookstore, but the time never … Continue reading →

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September Song (hot, hot, hot)

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Here in North America meteorological Fall started on September 1st. But if you live here and have been paying attention, you may have noticed that the usual cooling after the Summer season has been arriving late. That’s because the Autumn … Continue reading →

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The First Day

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

“On an otherwise unremarkable September morning, long before I learned to be ashamed of my mother, she takes my hand and we set off down New Jersey Avenue to begin my very first day of school.” –“The First Day” from Lost … Continue reading →

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“It takes a train to cry”

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

  Although I reside in the Philadelphia metro area, I frequently use the New Jersey Transit system to travel to New York City. When it works smoothly, the trip is quick, convenient and relatively inexpensive compared to Amtrak. However, NJTransit … Continue reading →

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