4 Hardest to Find Bookstores in the World

If you're like I am, you can't pass by a bookstore without going in. Every town I visit has at least one bookstore or possibly a thrift shop with books for sale. But what if you can't find the bookstore? Thought I'd share this article on the 4 Hardest to Find Bookstores in the World from Bob Eckstein on Atlas Obscura on 4 of the hardest to find bookstores in the world. Have you visited any of them? Found them? Have any to add?

Read the article here.

James Bond Thriller Map

Atlas Obscura, one of my favorite sites, posted this James Bond Map. 

The Ian Fleming Thriller Map shows the real locations for all Bond’s escapades during the novels. The spy’s missions took him across four continents and dozens of countries-- to Japan, Seychelles, Mexico and French Guyana. Each spot, marked by cross-hairs, explains what happened for Bond, his rivals and lovers.

The legend for the map is divided into different books and lists his exploits during the most significant scenes in each adventure. It's essentially a list of ingredients for Fleming's recipe on how to plot a spy thriller.  Thrill

John Zelnick, an illustrator, created the map, which was published in 1987. This was the same year the Bond film The Living Daylights was released. The map forms part of PJ Mode’s collection of persuasive maps at the Cornell Digital Library.

Read more here.

Library Anxiety: A Real Phenomenon

Library Anxiety. Yes, it's a real phenomenon. Not one I have, and probably not you since you're a mystery reader, but...

This article appeared on AtlasObscura. The Strange Affliction of "Library Anxiety" and What Librarians can do to Help.

Library anxiety is real. The phenomenon, which involves feeling intimidated, embarrassed, and overwhelmed by libraries and librarians, was first identified by Constance A. Mellon in 1986. Her paper, "Library Anxiety: A Grounded Theory and Its Development," reported that college students in particular are prone to library anxiety because they believe their research skills are inadequate, which makes them feel ashamed and unwilling to talk to the very librarians who might be able to ease their worries.

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17th Century Female Spies and their Methods

Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, sent letters filled with cryptography, ciphers, codes and invisible ink

Love this article from Atlas Obscura on 17th Century Female Spies and how they smuggled information through Eggs and artichokes.

In the 17th century, espionage was more diverse than you might think. Not only did female spies exist, they employed some of the most fascinating techniques in their information gathering.

Forthcoming research into female spies that operated in Europe and England at the time shows that they utilized an ingenious arsenal of tools, such as eggs and artichokes, to smuggle secrets 
...

Read the rest of the article here.