Tag Archives: Sweden

How Clean Is Yours

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks 180 countries on climate change performance, environmental health, sanitation, and ecosystem vitality from the cleanest to the dirtiest in the world. There are few surprises in thie top ten list described in the short … Continue reading →

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Here Be Monsters

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

The Carta Marina (Latin for map of the sea) is the earliest known map of the Nordic countries with details and place names. The map was created over a 12 year period by the Swedish cartographer Olaus Magnus (1490–1557) and the first … Continue reading →

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Signs of Hope

Posted on September 17, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

TheHope Signs initiative was created by Gothenburg Book Fair and advertising agency Nord DDB, and sees authors such as Jojo Moyes, David Lagercrantz, Lauren Groff, and Anthony Doerr sharing their thoughts on global warming for climate crisis demonstration placards. Printed on the … Continue reading →

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Another Tolkien Surprise

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

As a collector and bookseller, I’ve seen many versions and editions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved novel The Hobbit over the years. However, it wasn’t until recently that I was aware of Swedish and Finnish language editions that were illustrated by the anti-Fascist … Continue reading →

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All Aboard

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I love a good story about a creative way to bring books to people. Thanks to the town of Norrtälje  all residents in Stockholm’s far-flung archipelago of islands have access to free reading materials by way of the Bokboten library. … Continue reading →

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Lowdown in Sweden

Posted on August 22, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Perspicacious followers of TBTP may recall a short story from a while back about the World’s Smallest Bookstore. Now the folks from the aptly named AnonyMouse street art collective have returned with the World’s Smallest Record Shop. Located in the … Continue reading →

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Wild Horses

Posted on January 28, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Chances are if you have ever visited Sweden you came home with at least one souvenir Dala wooden horse. When American street artist Shai Dahan moved to Sweden a few years ago to live and work, he decided that the … Continue reading →

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Coffee Makes The World Go Round

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

 

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William S. Burroughs gets spooky

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

The Witches or Witchcraft Through the Ages, or Häxan, is a Swedish-Danish film that is a curious and groundbreaking mix of documentary and silent horror cinema, written and directed by Benjamin Christensen. Christensen’s vision was unique, basing his film on non-fiction works, mainly the Malleus … Continue reading →

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Go for the bookstore, stay for the town

Posted on August 26, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

I just discovered that The English Bookshop in Uppsala, Sweden was named the bookstore of the year  at the London Book Fair. It’s not surprising when you learn that founder and manager Jan Smedh personally curates the store’s stock of all English … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Europe, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment