Plan Your First Post-Pandemic Trip With 9 New Travel Guidebooks
A spread from Fathom's latest book, "Travel North America (and Avoid Being a Tourist)."
We're celebrating the release of Fathom’s latest book, Travel North America (and Avoid Being a Tourist), with a roundup of other great guidebooks and inspirational tomes hitting the shelves of your local bookshop. Whether you're ready and able to travel far and wide or are keeping it relatively close to home, these newbies are just waiting to be read cover to cover, flipped-through, highlighted, bookmarked, sticky-noted, dog-eared, and used as a means of dreaming big and/or actually getting out the door.
Travel North America (and Avoid Being a Tourist)
From the Fathom universe, this nearly 300-page book is an homage to the stories, histories, landscapes, and cultures of the vast and diverse North American continent (covering the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean). Just like our first book, Travel Anywhere (and Avoid Being a Tourist), we tapped into a treasure trove of time-tested recommendations (both classic and little known) and a network of fun people (chefs, novelists, designers, innkeepers, musicians, writers) to provide inspiration and practical trip-planning advice for modern travelers looking to rediscover the continent in the wake of the coronavirus. Filled with gorgeous photos from friends and Fathom contributors, chapters explore the joys of slowing down, following nature’s lead, vacationing with a group, and taking a road trip, and offers recommendations for traveling more responsibly, sustainably, and thoughtfully.
Hello Sandwich Japan: A Travel Guide
We follow art director Ebony Bizys' lead anytime we head to the Land of the Rising Sun and are so, so excited to put her shiny new book to the test whenever they'll let us back into Japan. Bizys shows us the country through the eyes of a designer – her selections are charmingly curated and totally kawaii. From tiny sashimi bars to forest bathing spots to adorable gift shops and, of course, epic craft shopping experiences, the book has tons of tips and recommendations for navigating Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Hakone, and Sapporo.
Afro Surf
A successful Kickstarter campaign by the all-African-manufactured streetwear brand Mami Wata led founder Selema Masekela to undertake an exciting project, "the first ever book that will document the entirety of African surf culture." Essays, poems, playlists, comics, recipes, and ephemera from surf obsessives in Mozambique, South Africa, Somalia, Morocco, and more showcase the style, tradition, and diversity that make up surfing culture on the continent. It's packaged with bright colors and bold design and serves as a super fresh coffee table book that wholly benefits two African surf therapy organizations, Waves For Change and Surfers Not Street Children. Order one for yourself, order one as a gift, and, while you're at it, throw in a cool T-shirt or two.
Hand Luggage Only: Great Britain
It's clear that popular UK blogging duo Yaya Onalaja-Aliu and Lloyd Griffiths had a field day with their field guide exploring castles, small road trips, and city jaunts through England, Scotland, and Wales. The fun-loving pair do their best to surprise readers (palm trees in England?!) and delight along the way. See chapter 3 for Double-take Destinations that will surprise you; find top beach spots you can reach by rail; and, of course, whet your whistle at any number of pubs and "wondrous watering holes." (Pre-order for August 2021)
500 Walks With Writers, Artists and Musicians
A luxury travel outfitter recently told us that requests for "coastal walks" have been soaring — post-pandemic travel trends point toward taking it slow, going on foot, staying outside, packing lightly, and traveling deeply — which feels like the best way to ease back into social life. Bring on the walking adventures! Follow the footsteps of street artists in East London, Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island, or Stieg Larsson in Stockholm. During the pilgrimages, meanders, and neighborhood strolls, editor Kath Stathers makes sure travelers encounter the places where icons of the arts lived, wrote books, and had affairs. Consciously following others gives fans the opportunity to see the vistas artists painted and the sunsets musicians contemplated in their songs (and where C.S. Lewis found his Narnia).
World Travel: An Irreverent Guide
Anthony Bourdain's legacy is to eschew the same-old, same-old in favor of digging deep for a true taste of local culture and food experiences — and always championing the underdogs and the marginalized. The book is a compilation of fun destinations favored by the food emissary/TV personality/writer/cook, as compiled by his colleague/assistant/friend/cookbook co-author Laurie Woolever from writings by and interviews with Bourdain, as well as a handful of essays from friends and family. Recommendations span the globe from Nairobi to Tangier to Toronto, with service-y tips that help people move from the armchair to the airline seat.
Black Girls Take the World: The Travel Bible for Black Women with Boundless Wanderlust
When Georgina Lawton travels, she looks to places where she sees herself reflected (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Costa Rica) and offers a path for those interested in doing the same. Beyond top-five hit lists for cities, adventure trips, and R&R, the book covers Black identity (from DNA heritage tours, to managing micro-aggressions, to the complexity of passport privilege), makes a case for the importance of solo travel, and offers recommendations for "how to not travel like a basic bitch." Lawton brings inspirational voices into the fold as well: Jessica Nabongo, the first Black woman to visit every country in the world; Rhiane Fatinikun, founder of Black Girls Hike; and other modern-day travel pioneers.
Destination Wellness
Wellness industry veteran Annie Daly searches for non-commodified sources of healing and sanctuary as she travels to Norway, Hawaii, India, Japan, and Brazil. Through personal narrative, photography, and reportage, she makes recommendations for traditional rituals and Ayurvedic retreats, connects to food and landscapes, finds peace and quiet, and learns the power of embracing community. Her message: Better living can be found wherever you are — without gimmicks and without products — as long as you commit to making it part of your life. Read an excerpt on Fathom.
Amazing Art Adventures
London-based arts writer Yolanda Zappaterra takes readers from continent to continent in search of incredible art installations, sculpture parks, festivals, museums, and experiences that can change your perspective — and your life. From Walter de Maria's Lightning Field in New Mexico, to Inhotim Art Museum in the Brazilian rainforest, to Japan's art islands, people who are moved by visual expressions of humanity will appreciate 400 unusual, quirky, iconic, and wild recommendations.