Books - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

634 Items Tagged

Books

Share Tweet
A page from the Zibaldone da Venice, a 14th-century hodgepodge.
medieval

How to Keep a Zibaldone, the 14th Century's Answer to Tumblr

After their invention by Venetian merchants, forms of these books were kept by everyone from H.P. Lovecraft to Thomas Jefferson.
Cara Giaimo August 29, 2016
Duke Humfrey's Library reading room, the oldest at Oxford.
libraries

Get Lost in the Stacks of These 10 Beautiful University Libraries

These stunning historic libraries will vanquish any academic dread.
Molly McBride Jacobson August 29, 2016
libraries

The New York Public Library is Moving 1.5 Million Books to an Underground Lair

The books will live highly organized lives underneath Bryant Park.
Sarah Laskow August 17, 2016
literature

Ayn Rand’s One-Sided Love Affair With the FBI

Hoover shrugged.
JPat Brown August 3, 2016
Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station
film locations

6 Real-World Harry Potter Locations You Can Visit

Ready your broomsticks.
Meg Neal August 2, 2016
The Reference Room
New York, New York

New York Society Library

New York's oldest and possibly grandest keeper of books.
The Red Hall, Seattle Central Library
Seattle, Washington

The Red Hall at Seattle's Central Library

A colorful architectural gem in Seattle's uniquely modern Central Library.
The exterior of the Haskell Free Library and Opera House.
libraries

The U.S.-Canada Border Runs Through This Tiny Library

One of the only libraries in the world that operates in two countries at once.
Sarah Yahm July 7, 2016
"The Outhouse." Books about the outdoors
East Lyme, Connecticut

Book Barn

With some 500,000 books across five buildings, this bookstore is a reader's paradise.
Handbound Books made by students at San Francisco Center for the Book
San Francisco, California

San Francisco Center for the Book

This shop and studio is dedicated to the art of the book, from letterpress to bookbinding.
Menie Muriel Dowie
literature

The 1890 Version of 'Wild' Saw a 10-Week Slog Through the Carpathian Mountains

Feminist travel writer Menie Muriel Dowie was understandably irate about her book's reception.
Atlas Obscura June 30, 2016
literature

How a Portuguese-to-English Phrasebook Became a Cult Comedy Sensation

Meet 1883's most absurd language guide.
Tucker Leighty-Phillips June 29, 2016
libraries

Dan Brown Is Paying a Lot of Money to Digitize a Library Devoted to Mysticism

The "Da Vinci Code" author has an abiding interest in ancient symbols.
Erik Shilling June 21, 2016
art

The D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths Is Famous. But What About Their Forgotten American Stories?

The husband-wife team chose to tell American myths first.
Sarah Laskow June 17, 2016
churches

Europe's First Pornographic Blockbuster Was Made in the Vatican

Copies of the 16 explicit paintings were turned into a booklet that circulated throughout the continent.
Esther Inglis-Arkell June 13, 2016
literature

How a 1918 Author Introduced the World to the Concept of Female Pleasure

Married Love by Marie Stopes was revolutionary in its frank depiction of sexuality.
Tao Tao Holmes June 10, 2016
books

Letter-Writing Manuals Were the Self-Help Books of the 18th Century

Need to kindly but firmly chastise your son for buying a horse? Read the manual.
Ella Morton June 2, 2016
trees

Read the Tree Leaves, With an Artist's Invented Tree Font

The plants are speaking. Time to read what they have to say.
Ella Morton May 19, 2016