Category Archives: USA

Freedom of The Press

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Compass Books of San Francisco commissioned Oakland, CA sculptor Shaun Hibma Cronan to create The Press. Handcrafted from bamboo, oak, cork, rope and steel, The Press will be on display at the Compass Book store in San Francisco International Airport. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Freedom of Speech, Uncategorized, USA | Tagged | 1 Comment

Art In The Streets

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Art in the Streets is the first significant US museum survey of graffiti and street art. The show traces the historical development of graffiti and street art from the 70s to today’s vibrant, global movement. It focuses mainly on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Museums, USA | 2 Comments

PEN World Voices Festival Pt.7

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

A veritable United Nations of world literature will convene next week in New York City for the 7th annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature. Hundreds of writers from more than three dozen nations will meet in NYC to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Freedom of Speech, Libraries, USA, Writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

How to Recycle Paperbacks

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

New York City’s new Japanese restaurant Brushstrokes (30 Hudson Street) has cleverly recycled 12,000+ discarded paperback books by utilizing them to build the walls for its bar/lounge. The restaurant, which opens on April 20th, is a long-delayed project from chef … Continue reading →

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Big Brother Is Watching (the libraries)

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

  Justin Richardson’s and Peter Parnell’s “And Tango Makes Three” tops the list of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Top Ten List of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2010.  The list was released on Monday as part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Freedom of Speech, Libraries, USA, Writing | 1 Comment

It’s…National Library Week

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

It’s National Library Week from April 10th through April 16th. This annual event celebrates our local libraries, library workers, learning, and of course books. Begun in 1958, National Library Week is a nationwide observance sponsored by the American Library Association … Continue reading →

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Where in the world is Twin Peaks ?

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Where is Twin Peaks? The mythical community featured in the eponymous 90s television series isn’t that difficult to locate. The weather is perpetually soggy, primeval forests surround, and the coffee is an obsession; this must be the Pacific Northwest.   Twin … Continue reading →

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Amy Sedaris Can Be So Nasty

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Along with pithy book reviews and commentary on the New York literary scene, writer Bill Ryan posts cleverly insulting book dedications that he elicits from his literary heroes on his wildly funny blog Insulted By Authors. Be forewarned, the language … Continue reading →

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Who Needs Postcards ?

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Artist Bryan Lee Madden has been creating some amazing cityscapes and scenes on pocket Etch-a-Sketch models for the last two years:

Posted in Architecture, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Reading Group Guides : Top 25 Picks

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

From December 2010 through mid-February 2011, the Reading Group Guides, an online community for book clubs, surveyed reading groups on their month to month picks for 2010. Based on thousands of responses they came up with a “Top 25 Most … Continue reading →

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