Unsurprisingly, I frequently buy books. Ordering online in the evenings after a glass of wine or two, buying books is all too easy. Feeding the addiction. I like to think I don’t buy as much as I used to but it’s not an area of data I wish to explore too deeply.

I have a bit of a thing for maps. Many, many years ago my primary school was getting rid of some of big, canvas maps that used to hang on classroom walls. I recall grabbing several from the bin and taking them home. I’ve never quite had the space to hang them and these days I’ve whittled the collection down to two. One day they will hang.

I’m not into maps in any sort of cohesive way other than I like odd maps, curious maps, imaginary maps, pretty maps. I like map books that are big on images and with occasional text; books that I can easily dip in and out of. I recently ordered a few books for one of the kids’ birthdays and threw in a few for me as well. As it turns out, there were four books for me, all map oriented:

• The Curious Map Book – full of odd looking maps and bits of maps, maps that have been used for games, for teaching nobles and so on
• Atlas of Cursed Places: A Travel Guide to Dangerous and Frightful Destinations – with a title like that, how could I say no :)
• Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World – somewhat surprisingly this has few images and is mostly text. The basic idea is to explore the ways in which geography shapes a country’s outlook and how it impacts on the ways countries engage and interact
• A Renaissance Globemaker’s Toolbox: Johannes Schöner and the Revolution of Modern Science 1475-1550 – this is full of beautiful, colour facsimile images and ties into my interest in the history and philosophy of science