about this site
This site came about after reading two very different books, The Unnecessary Woman and The Happiness of Pursuit. Both sparked my desire to improve my pathetic knowledge of world geography and learn more about the world I long to travel. The first book, The Unnecessary Woman, written by Rabih Alameddine, takes place in Beirut, Lebanon. As I was reading, I realized I could not mentally locate Beirut in my mind's map. As the story unfolded, I wanted to know more about the history of both the city and country. Almost simultaneously I began The Happiness of Pursuit written by Chris Guillebeau . Having just spent ten years visiting every country in the world, the author interviewed various people who also spent time and energy in a variety of intriguing pursuits. He suggests that these pursuits bring new meaning to life. That is when I decided that while I could not travel to every county in the world, I could learn about every country...so I bought myself a world map for Christmas, posted it on my bedroom wall and today, January 1st, 2015, began my quest to explore the world, albeit through the pages of books and help of the Internet. I hope to pick one county every week or two, in no particular order and go wherever this new knowledge leads me. I also hope to read at least one book related to each country. Please join me at any point, and all suggestions, antidotes, and information are always welcome.