Weekday Links to Love

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

I was recently asked: “Why do you call softcover books paperbacks ?” So, I had to get an answer and here it is.

Not to burst your bubble, but here are 5 reasons you shouldn’t work in a bookstore.

Although I stopped visiting Venice over a decade ago due to the overtourism and Disneyfication of the city, I am still intrigued by the magical place. This short film offers a fascinating look at the city’s unique infrastructure.

Every few days I check in at the Books and Art blog. It delivers just what it says on the tin and more.

Offering 500 years of the vulgar tongue, Green’s Dictionary of Slang is now online and free to use.

I was absolutely blown away by the blockbuster show “Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future” at the Guggenheim New York earlier this year. Although the exhibition has closed, the recent issue of The New York Review of Books had a great article on the artist called “Painting the Beyond.”

 

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Vintage Covers

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

I know that it’s my juvenile sense of humor, but I do love these silly re-imagined vintage book covers. You can find more of these parody covers at the website for Vintage Covers and even purchase posters and postcards of your favorites.

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All Books

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

H/t to Canadian illustrator and author Elise Gravel.

 

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Blue Mondays

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Minima Muralia

Posted on April 28, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Those of you who regularly visit this humble blog are all too well aware that I am an enormous fan of street art and basically obsessed with books. So when I stumbled upon the book Minima Muralia, which explores more than 200 large murals painted by the Italian artist known as Blu , I was hooked. The book covers every major piece created  by the pseudonymous Bologna-based street artist over the first 15 years of his career. This special edition of the book was released with a 32-page zine, two posters, and a specially-designed book casing from Zooo Print & Press.

 

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Books a gogo

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

GoGoBooks is a new mobile bookstore specializing in books for young readers that has hit the road in the state of Delaware. Owner Kate Keeper has turned a former delivery truck into a bookmobile carrying a couple thousand titles that range from board books and picture books to young adult novels, as well as some children’s-focused sidelines. The bookmobile launched  earlier this month.

Keeper, who left her job as a registered nurse to found GoGo Books, says that she was inspired to open a bookstore of her own after visiting Stories Bookshop + Storytelling Lab in Brooklyn, N.Y. about a year ago. While they felt that they could make a bookstore work, Keeper was skeptical about the idea of a bricks-and-mortar store. After researching bookmobiles, however, Keeper decided to take the leap.

She plans to host storytime and singalong sessions at the truck, and set up shop at festivals and other events in the area. She hopes to form partnerships with a variety of local businesses, and her next appearance is scheduled for May 4-5 at the Creamery of Kennett Square, across the border in Pennsylvania.

“I left my nursing job because I wanted to do what I want to do when I want to do it,” Keeper said. “And this is what I hope will help me get there. I seriously just love being around books, I love being around people. I just want to be out in the community.”

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Making Your Mark

Posted on April 26, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Most of us don’t give a second thought to the greatest human achievement in history. But now the British Museum’s new interactive exhibition Writing: Marking Your Mark is celebrating more than 5,000 years of our most amazing legacy. The exhibit, which runs through August 27, 2019, offers an introduction to five millennia of technological innovations in writing. Visitors can discover the extraordinary evolution of writing from Mesopotamian tablets to the early printed text, and onto the age of emojis. From my observations of the children in my family and community, the act of writing with a nondigital instrument should be disappearing by the mid-21st century.

Sandstone figure of a sphinx

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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 the United States had no bookstores. I rarely post links to crowdfunding campaigns, but Noëlle Santos’ crusade got my attention and support. I hope that some of you also contributed to the Let’s bring a goddamn bookstore to the Bronx campaign too. Long story short, the project was a huge success earning more than $170,000 and also attracting a grant from the New York Public Library.

This Saturday, on Independent Bookstore Day, the Lit Bar will have its official grand opening. So if you are in NYC, take a trip to the Bronx for the festivities, if not tell your New York friends to support the bookstore launch.

 

 

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Children’s Literature Reimagined

Posted on April 24, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Since we have a new crop of kids in our family, I’ve been spending more time in the children’s section of bookstores, but there aren’t many titles like these. This series of reimagined kid’s books come from the pen of San Francisco-based artist Ted McCagg, so blame him if you are offended.

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Berlin: Word on the Street

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

h/t Herakut & Dr.Seuss

 

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