Where You Are
New Visual Editions map book Where You Are is marketing itself on a rather unusual premise, claiming to be a volume ‘that will leave readers completely lost’.
It’s a sort of anti-self-help message, but one so beautifully executed that being lost within its pages is a rather enticing prospect.
The book explores the idea of maps through a series of personal cartographies from literary stars such as Alain de Botton, Leanne Shapton, Sheila Heti and Geoff Dyer.
Each writer was asked to respond to the question ‘what would your personal map be?’
The book was designed by London-based consultancy Bibliotheque as a physical box of maps, meaning readers can unfold each of the 16 pieces and delve further into the journeys they delineate.
Geoff Dyer’s contribution is a map of his childhood in Cheltenham, ‘drafted using the coordinates of sex, death and drugs’, according to Visual Editions.
Leanne Shapton, meanwhile, documents the objects on her desk at the end of the working day.
The book is accompanied with the Where You Are website, www.where-you-are.com, which expands on the maps and allows readers to zoom in and navigate around, with the possibility of viewing how others have explored the text.
Where You Are is published by Visual Editions on 14 November priced £35
Masterchep