Category Archives: Writing

Alice is back home

Posted on December 27, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Christ Church Oxford and the Bodleian Libraries have become joint owners of an exceptionally rare first edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the most important of only 22 known surviving copies of the first and subsequently withdrawn edition. The book … Continue reading →

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there are precedents for mystical encounters of various kinds

Posted on December 12, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

“A man breaking his journey between one place and another at a third place of no name, character, population or significance, sees a unicorn cross his path and disappear. That in itself is startling, but there are precedents for mystical … Continue reading →

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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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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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Change, but start slowly

Posted on November 19, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Change But start slowly, because direction is more important than speed. Sit in another chair, on the other side of the table. Later on, change tables. When you go out, try to walk on the other side of the street. … Continue reading →

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Dylan’s mind and other diversions

Posted on November 16, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Can AI tell us anything meaningful about Bob Dylan’s songs? What was uncovered when computer scientist Prashant Garg  fed Dylan’s official discography from 1962 to 2012 into a large language model (LLM), building a network of the concepts and connections … 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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Short Story

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

 

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