Divine Bookstore

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Waanders-In-de-Broeren-Book-Store-by-BK-Architecten-2-600x630

The Dutch are still devoted to reading and to their bookstores. You might even say that they are religious about literature. Booklovers around the world are familiar with the glorious Selexyz Bookstore in Maastricht which is housed in a gorgeous medieval Dominican church. Now the city of Zwolle, just east of Amsterdam, can boast of their very own bookstore in a church.

Waanders-In-de-Broeren-BK-Architecten-1

Waanders-In-de-Broeren-BK-Architecten-2

July 13th marked the official opening of Boekhandel Waanders in de Broeren set in the beautiful 15th century Dominican Broerenkerk in the heart of Zwolle. Designed by Norwegian artist Kjell Nuper and realized by BK Architecten of Utrecht, the stunning bookstore is a bibliophile’s dream.

Waanders-In-de-Broeren-BK-Architecten-6

Waanders-In-de-Broeren-BK-Architecten-4

Waanders-In-de-Broeren-BK-Architecten-7

Waanders-In-de-Broeren-BK-Architecten-5

photos by Hans Westerink and Joop van Putter

Posted in Architecture, Books, Bookstore Tourism, Europe, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Hold That Review

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

quebec

Do you post hotel and restaurant reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor and Yelp? Do you ever worry about retribution from the businesses for a negative review? It may be time to reconsider that angry post on shoddy service or a less than clean hotel room.

A popular hotel in the Quebec City neighborhood of Sainte-Foy has struck back at a former guest for his stinging, negative review (see below) on TripAdvisor with a $95,000 lawsuit. The guest, Laurent Azoulay, claimed that he had captured bed bugs in a glass and on video after being bitten soon after going to bed. When he asked for redress or compensation, Azoulay claims that the hotel only offered a $40 discount.

TripAdvisor-review-by-Laurant-Hotel-Quebec

For its part, the hotel claims that it tried to resolve the situation and that no bed bugs were reported or found in any other of their rooms, and that it is only suing because the guest refused to remove the negative review.

It was only a matter of time before businesses began to respond to poor reviews with legal action against customers. There’s already a $10 million suit against TripAdvisor by a resort hotel in Tennessee that refutes the claim on the site that it’s the “dirtiest” hotel in the country.

Will these types of cases set a precedent that will scare customers from posting negative, albeit, accurate reviews? Would you go ahead with a negative review if you thought that you might be sued?

florida-bed-bugs-chart

Related articles
Posted in Canada, Hotels, Tech, Tourism, Travel Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Imagine The People’s Library

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

peoples_library

Imagine a library stocked with books written by you, your family, your friends and neighbors. And each of those books handmade with recycled paper and book bindings. Well, The People’s Library project at the Richmond, Virginia Main Public Library is just that library.

The remarkable, ongoing project is the brainchild of student activists Mark Strandquist, Riley Duncan and Courtney Bowles, and is being created by a team of dedicated community participants.

peoples-library-1

The People’s Library is creating a thousand books for any member of the Richmond community to take home and fill with their memoirs, histories or stories. The process begins with paper that has been sourced from 5,000 discarded books. The recycled pages are pulped, blended and dried to fabricate new paper. The book bindings are fashioned from the discarded books as well.

Project participants are also designing and building unique bookshelves to house the community sourced literature. There’s even a custom built old school card catalog to manage the People’s Library books.

peoples-library-5

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

Conversations With Booksellers

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

BOOKSTORE_003

As a bookseller myself, I found this little documentary film called Conversations With Booksellers encouraging in this era of the so called “death of the printed book”. I hope that the booklovers following this blog will find the conversations with booksellers from nine popular and successful North American bookstores equally heartening. The film visits indie bookstores across the continent from the fabulous Politics and Prose bookshop in Washington D.C. to the legendary Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon, with stops at great shops, such as Prairie Lights in Iowa City, Iowa.

992945_10151732705267521_2103120571_n

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

Friday the 13th is so random

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

psst…here’s that bookporn you’ve been looking for xxx

Vedi Napoli e poi muori or just visit the creepy Bourbon Tunnels.

Margaret Atwood has a new book out and has taken the time to discuss horror fiction over blueberry pie right here.

margaretatwood

More TVwithCheese at newyorkshitty.com .

raccoon

Have you tried airbnb yet ? Well, now there are spinoffs.

There are more than six thousand known languages spoken around the world. Some of us are barely fluent in one, but think we can still communicate just fine. Here’s a chance to test your linguistic skills by playing the Great Language Game.

How many books have you read from F.Scott Fitzgerald‘s reading list?

Fitzgerald

“our bones like stems into the sky

will forever cry

victory”

00-Vandalog-EKG-ImaginationQuotePic

The great Elmore Leonard is gone, but he left us some words of wisdom:

elmore-leonard-writing-advice

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

What Do We have in Our Pockets

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

suddenly

I’m an unabashed fan of the Israeli writer and filmmaker Etgar Keret. If you read any of his terrific short story collections, I’m confident that you’ll fall under his thrall too.

keret-interview-1024x635

Keret recently posted an amusing annotated version of his short story “What Do We have in Our Pockets?” on the Poetry Genius website, which encourages writers to post commentary on their own work. There’s even a link to Goran Dukics’s marvelous animated version of the short story.

Posted in Books, Middle East, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

More than a bed for the night

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

bestofbritish

I continue to be an unrepentant fan of print travel guides and of publishers who remain committed to keeping the format alive. So, I was pleased to stumble across the Sawday family of guide books. And they are really a family operation. Founded 19 years ago by Alastair Sawday, and now headed by son Toby, the publishers champion independent, locally run, quirky, creative and decidedly non-corporate places to visit, stay, eat and drink at.

PUB_10_Edition_Cover

With the company motto “More than a bed for the night“, Sawday has a terrific catalog of guide books with a focus on the UK, Ireland and France, but with books on Spain, Portugal, Italy, Morocco and India as well.

intro440x303

Sawday has a strong commitment to sustainable travel and also is starting to supplement their guides with smart phone apps.

cover_2

Related articles
Posted in apps, Books, Europe, Tourism, Travel Writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dare to be Tender

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

milka

We’ve shown you vending machines that dispense free beers ( twice ) and machines that provide a hot cup of coffee for the weary airport traveler, now here’s the best one yet. Under the slogan “Dare to be tender”, the Milka chocolate company is encouraging strangers to try a little tenderness and old school social networking in order to receive free chocolate bars. What a sweet concept.

milka3

milka2

milka5

milka4

Posted in South America, Tech, Tourism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Whither Goes the Travel Guidebook

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

The travel guidebook has been a trusty companion for travelers since ancient Rome, but the future of the print guidebook is seriously imperiled by smartphone apps and digital books. This neat infographic (see below) from the travel booking website Cheapflights chronicles the long and useful history of the print travel guidebook. Check it out:

9567057391_6b6635155e_o

Posted in apps, Books, Tourism, Travel Writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Wherever

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

59579d99545026b90e3dc936060de0b7

[wherever]: an out of place journal is a spanking new print magazine focusing on travel writing, travel culture and the politics of travel. Planned as a three times per year publication, the magazine’s inaugural issue will be released next Thursday and will be available for purchase on its website.

slideshow_2

Founder and Editorial Director Rawan Hadid has pulled together a mixed bag of international contributors for the NYC-based publication. And she promises to keep the focus on the personal travel essay.

wherever-1-thumb-620x367-65939

Issue #1 of [wherever] has excellent city guides to Istanbul, Rome and São Paulo, along with a visit to the ever popular North Korea, book reviews, and much more for the travel lover. I’m looking forward to a print travel magazine that will eschew the endless visits to luxury resorts and “in” eateries in favor of coverage of travel the way most of us do it.

wherever-3-thumb-620x386-65944

wherever-2-thumb-620x299-65937

Posted in Books, Europe, Tourism, Travel Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments