On the Shelf at Paragraphs - "Atlas Obscura"

At Paragraphs we believe a book is the perfect gift. Selecting a book for a friend or family member is a way of sharing an experience that will be remembered long after the wrapping paper has been torn off and thrown away. I still have books that I was given as a child and they are cherished memories from family members who are no longer alive.

Everyone has that one person, on their list, who has everything and poses a unique challenge when trying to find a meaningful gift that will be treasured beyond the holiday season. “Atlas Obscura – An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders” is the type of book that will appeal to just about anyone who is interested in discovering something new about the world we live in.

The new book “Atlas Obscura” introduces the reader to over 700 of the strangest and most curious places in the world and will inspire equal parts of wonder and wanderlust. Created by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras and Ella Morton, “Atlas Obscura” revels in the weird, the unexpected, the overlooked, the hidden and the mysterious. The book covers the entire world: split into sections by each continent and then country, each country gets a handful of entries. Every page expands our sense of how strange and marvelous the world really is. And with its compelling descriptions, hundreds of photographs, surprising charts, maps for every region of the world, it is a book to enter anywhere, and will be as appealing to the armchair traveler as the die-hard adventurer.

In 2009, Foer and Thuras, founded the website Atlas Obscura to celebrate a different way of looking at the world in an age where everything seems to have been explored and there is nothing new to be found. The online collaborative project depends on a far-flung community of explorers to discover amazing, hidden spots, and share them with the world.

Foer and Thuras identify the basic beliefs behind the website and book:

1. There is something new under the sun, every day, all over the world.
2. Around the corner is something that will surprise the hell out of you.
3. Atlas Obscura is for people who still believe in discovery.

This is not your traditional travel guide. It is a book that steps off the well-traveled path, and actively encourages its readers to explore the world. As with any book published with material originating online, the content is limited by the number of pages you can reasonably bind together. The website has a considerable amount of additional information on it, and if the book arouses the readers curiosity she can follow-up by becoming a part of the online community or to do some additional research while flipping through the pages.

This is just one of the many titles included in our 2016-2017 Winter Catalog and Holiday Gift Guide. Stop by Paragraphs and pick up a free copy to discover more great gift ideas that have been specially selected by members of the Mountain and Plains Independent Booksellers Association.

"Atlas Obscura – An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders”
By Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras and Ella Morton
Published by Workman Press on September 20, 2016
ISBN: 9780761169086
Hardcover, 480 pages