Books and beer

Posted on September 7, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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The multi-talented, Dallas-based writer, comedian and musician Jason Hensel curates a wonderful tumblr called Book and Beer. The blogs asks two simple questions: What book are you reading ? and What beer are you drinking? . If you want to participate, just submit a photo that answers the questions. It’s a fun project, but be prepared to get thirsty.

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Good Omens Are Ineffable

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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At this year’s Edinburgh Book Festival some of Britain’s most popular authors shared their one favorite word. It sounds like a daunting task to choose just one word, but when I saw Neil Gaiman‘s video I knew that he was spot on. Ineffable—pure dead brilliant choice.

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Travel By Design

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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Regular TBTP followers are well aware of my bias for old school print travel guide books. So you won’t be surprised to discover that I’m liking a new series of city guides called The Design Guide.

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Aimed at both travelers and local residents alike, the guide books are designed to “connect creative people with creative places”. Each edition in the series will focus on art, architecture, design, fashion and culture in a single city.

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So far, The Design Guide  has issued editions for Sydney, Melbourne and Berlin. They will be followed in the near future by Helsinki, Zurich, Istambul, Tokyo and more. But you can find samples here.

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On Any Wednesday

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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The charming blog On A Wednesday is a pared-down, uncomplicated peek into the lives of ordinary New Yorkers. Brooklyn-based designers Dave Dawson and Bekka Palmer simply set out each Wednesday to visit neighborhood parks in NYC, approach random folks, ask a few questions and take a photo.

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How authentic is that ? How many times in your travels have you wanted to just ask people what they were up to and what they thought about their corner of the world ?

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London vs Paris

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

London vs Paris is a clever tale of two cities by infographic. The Tate vs the Louvre? Big Ben vs the Eiffel Tower? Tube vs Metro? Pub vs Café? It’s a real challenge to choose. Although I’ve spent more time in London, and published a London travel guide book, I’m leaning towards Paris. Probably due to three recent visits. Can you choose?

This terrific infographic was created by Ally Biring for HouseTrip.

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Nowhere to go but everywhere

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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Jack Kerouac‘s now iconic road novel has been mined by writers and artists for a generation. In the last year alone, we’ve seen two major films. But for my money, the best recent riff on the classic Beat novel is California-based artist/graphic designer/book illustrator Paul Rogers’ On the Road: Illustrated Scroll project, in which he illustrates a line of every page of the book. Check it out here and you’ll be hooked too.

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Travel Love

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Travel Love is a wonderful mix of video footage from three trips to eight countries in Asia and South America. Filmed by German freelance photographer and videographer Christian Grewe, the beguiling little film runs for under five minutes. The music is The Telephone Box by Uniform Motion. Have a peek; it’s well worth your time.

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Books Are My Bag

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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Books Are My Bag is an upcoming nationwide campaign throughout the UK celebrating books and bookshops. The collaboration among publishers, writers and bookstores—both chain and indie—is the biggest promotion for bookshops ever launched in Britain. The mission is to rally support for bookstores under threat from Amazon and digital books.

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Books Are my Bag is calling on booklovers to show support by visiting their favorite bookshop on Saturday September 14th and to purchase a book (or more). Bookstores throughout the UK will be hosting a “Big Bookshop Party” to mark the debut of the campaign, which runs through Christmas. They will also be handing out a quarter of a million book bags.

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Hopefully, the concept will catch on in the U.S. and other countries.

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Whadda You Lookin’ At

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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New York City’s Little Italy neighborhood is a pale shadow of it once was. Block after block has been subsumed by the ever-spreading Chinatown sprawl. But a new street initiative called the L.I.S.A. Project aims to turn Little Italy into Manhattan’s only dedicated mural arts district.

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Created by the Little Italy Merchants Association and the New York Comedy Festival, the exciting project is designed to stimulate renewed interest in the neighborhood from tourists and New Yorkers alike.

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So far, works have been contributed by a number of popular street artists, including Ron English, Nosego, GILF!, Hanksy and AVSP. The latest piece is a stunning abstract portrait of Audrey Hepburn by Tristan Eaton. You can see some behind the scenes photos here and learn more about the project on their website.

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What Came First

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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As a bookseller, I am frequently asked to help folks determine if they have a first edition book or a less valuable reprint. In fact, I get more calls and emails about this question than any other requests for information. Although I have been collecting and selling books for decades, I sometimes have difficulty answering these queries to the satisfaction of the questioner. Ironically, it’s often more difficult to determine if a “modern” book is actually a first than in making that evaluation for antiquarian  titles. So, here’s a very helpful short video on identification of modern firsts from the staff at London’s terrific Peter Harrington Books. If you’re in London, and love books, don’t miss the opportunity to visit the Chelsea bookshop.

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