Travel Between The Pages

Manifest Destiny Did Not Involve Sharing

Posted on June 24, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Charte von Nordamerica nach den neuesten Bestimmungen und Entdeckungen (1804) was published by Christian Gottlieb Reichard (1758-1837).And as the legend shows, the hand coloring denoted what countries had stake in the lands of North America…

Posted in Books, History, Maps | Tagged Atlas, Cartography, colonialism, Mapping | 3 Comments

So much to read

Posted on June 23, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Les Cousins 1959, director Claude Chabrol

Posted in Books, Europe, Film | Tagged Claude Chabrol, French cinema, Reading | Leave a comment

The next draft

Posted on June 22, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Summer Reading

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

As a former teacher, I still worry about the potential deleterious impact of long summer vacations on student development. The infographic below outlines the importance of keeping children engaged in learning, or at least reading, over the summer months. If you have kids in your family, it’s worth the extra effort to encourage them to read. Now is the time for those unexpected book gifts.

Posted in Books, Writing | Tagged Education, Reading | Leave a comment

See Naples and sleep with the books

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

The Mondadori Bookstore in Naples’ Vomero District has made it possible to spend the night surrounded by thousands of books. Under the name Mooks Bed & Books, the bookshop has installed two beautiful suites, each furnished with antiques and thousands of books ranging from 18th century antiquarian tomes to contemporary novels. One suite is named for my favorite Italian author, Italo Calvino and one is named after Sigmund Freud. If you are considering a visit to Napoli, check it out here.

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Europe, Hotels, Tourism | Tagged Bookstores, Italy, Mondadori, Naples | 2 Comments

Happy 200th Herman

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

With all of the hullabaloo about local literary star Walt Whitman’s 200th anniversary celebrations, I completely missed the fact that it is also the 200th birthday of Herman Melville. To celebrate the anniversary, Chronicle Books has published this splendid pop-up book version of Moby-Dick. This re-telling of the iconic 19th century American novel portrays key moments from the book with lincut artwork. The illustration by Gerard Lo Monaco and Joëlle Jolivert are accompanied by select quotations from the novel and page note offering context to the plot.

Posted in Art, Books, USA, Writing | Tagged American Literature, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, novels | 1 Comment

Writing Science Fiction

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

h/t Tom Gauld

Posted in Animation, Art, Writing | Tagged Cartoons, Comics, Sci-Fi | Leave a comment

Kitsch is King Even In NYC

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Diehard Harry Potter fans will undoubtedly love the new Wizarding World-themed coffee shop just opened in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood. Cleverly named Steamy Hallows, the kitschy cafe boasts a whole range of over the top decor, including floating candles to mimic the Great Hall at Hogwarts, bubbling cauldrons, broomsticks hanging from the ceiling, mandrakes, and quotes from the Harry Potter book series.

The menu features drinks with pun inspired names such as Basic Witch (a sea-salt-topped latte with a caramel drizzle) and Love Potion #9 3/4 (a coffee drink with espresso, mocha syrup, rose water, and a sprinkle of red sugar on top). And of course there’s a Butterbeer beverage, but the version at Steamy Hallows is topped with a dash of edible gold glitter.

Steamy Hallows is located at 514 East 6th Street in Manhattan, although the door says 514 3/4 . Probably not a destination for serious coffee fiends like me, but Harry Potter fans may be tempted.

Posted in Books, Film, Restaurants, Tourism, USA | Tagged coffee shops, East Village Manhattan, Harry Potter, New York City | Leave a comment

Little Free Bogskab

Posted on June 16, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Leave to the Danes to create a wonderful little free library and situated it on the waterfront in a popular public park. The Bryggens Bogskab (bogskab means book case) is the brainchild of two book -loving residents of the Islands Brygge neighborhood. Constructed of recycled lumber, the tiny library can be found in central Copenhagen at Njalsgade near the Havneparken.

The Bryggens Bogskab, which was installed in 2017,is maintained by local volunteers. Book borrowers are asked to take no more than three books at a time and to replace any books that they keep.