Category Archives: USA

Bookstore Tourism : The Bronx

Posted on April 25, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Way back in 2017 I shared a story about one woman’s efforts to bring an independent bookstore to the New York City Borough of the Bronx. It’s still difficult to believe that this entire district of the largest city in … Continue reading →

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

Party Like It’s Bookstore Day

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

This coming Saturday, April 27, will mark the fifth annual Independent Bookstore Day in the United States. The day-long party will take place at hundreds of indie booksellers from Alaska to Florida. Bookshops will celebrate the occasion  with author events, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, USA | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Weekend Links To Love

Posted on April 21, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Travel On A Sunbeam with Tillie Walden’s online sci-fi comic. Get your Surrealist Starter Kit right here. Who doesn’t need some more Gorey ? Transit maps should work for residents and tourists alike. Check out this amazing but unofficial re-imagined map for … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Art, Books, Europe, Libraries, Public Transport, Tourism, USA, Writing | Leave a comment

NYC Bookwagons Are Coming Back

Posted on April 17, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Starting this summer, the New York Public Library will be bringing books to residents of the Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan via a new fleet of brand new, strawberry red-colored vans. These new NYPL bookmobiles are designed to help communities … Continue reading →

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

Hey, It’s National Poetry Month

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Just Beyond Yourself David Whyte Just beyond yourself. It’s where you need to be. Half a step into self-forgetting and the rest restored by what you’ll meet. There is a road always beckoning. When you see the two sides of … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

History Repeats Itself

Posted on April 14, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Karl Marx wrote that “history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” This reprint from the St.Louis Dispatch September 9, 1923, should be a reminder of the farce playing itself out across the United States and Europe today.

Posted in History, USA | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

21st Century Libraries

Posted on April 13, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Librarians from the historic California State Library in Sacramento created the cartoon-style infographic below to celebrate National Library week and to explore the many roles that libraries can play in the 21st century. Established in 1850, the California State Library … Continue reading →

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

A Very Timely Reminder

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

The American Library Association recently released its annual Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books, included in the ALA’s State of America’s Libraries Report 2019, an annual summary of library trends “that outlines statistics and issues affecting all types of libraries. Never … Continue reading →

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

American Weirdo

Posted on April 9, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

This weekend I stumbled upon this terrific retrospective on the way under-appreciated alternative comics series created by R. Crumb in the 1980s. Weirdo bridged the cultural and generational gap between the “underground comix” of the 1960s and the later so-called “alternative comics”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Friday Funnies

Posted on April 5, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Some of you may know that about a year ago I joined the ranks of the coffee-obsessives and began roasting my own coffee beans. So far, I’ve subjected my friends and family members to my experiments without too much complaint. … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Art, Books, USA | Tagged , | 3 Comments