Category Archives: Writing

Predicting The Future

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

The late American author Octavia Butler died nearly 15 years ago, but the disturbing plague year that is coming to a close has resulted in a renewed interest in her books. Her Parable books were especially popular in 2020, with … Continue reading →

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The Person of the Year

Posted on December 27, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

The book trade magazine Publishers Weekly has named the “Book Business Worker” as person of the year. The wonderful graphic above illustrates just some of the multitudes who keep publishing and bookselling going even in the midst of a world-wide pandemic. You … Continue reading →

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The Ghost of Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

If you are a habitué of certain regions of social media, it’s likely that you have stumbled upon the work of Brian Bilston who has been called the “unofficial poet laureate of Twitter” for his clever, digestible, pun-tastic poetry. He recently … Continue reading →

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Get the Christmas Edition

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

 

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The Good Kind of Flood

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

If you follow TBTP on a regular basis you are well aware of my tremendous affection for Iceland and all things Icelandic. One of the most surprising things about the island nation is the love of books and reading. In … Continue reading →

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Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary

Posted on December 20, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Hermann Hesse : “This day will never come again and anyone who fails to eat and drink and taste and smell it will never have it offered to him again in all eternity. The sun will never shine as it … Continue reading →

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another good thing about books

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

 

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like a downhill brakes-burned freight train

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

AND STILL IT COMES Thomas Lux like a downhill brakes-burned freight train full of pig iron ingots, full of lead life-size statues of Richard Nixon, like an avalanche of smoke and black fog lashed by bent pins, the broken-off tips … Continue reading →

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the gods wait to delight in you

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

It should come as no surprise to any one that the poet Charles Bukowski was an inspiration and muse for the great Tom Waits. I am always moved by the short Bukowski poem “The Laughing Heart” so I love the … Continue reading →

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Sea of Cortez

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

We know it as the Gulf of California, but in 1940 it was called the Sea of Cortez. In that year, the novelist John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed Ricketts  traveled there to research a book project on the region’s … Continue reading →

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