Dylan Thuras
Dylan Thuras is the co-founder of Atlas Obscura, a compendium of the world’s wonders, curiosities and esoterica. He has spoken at conferences including SXSW and the New Yorker Festival about discovery, wonder and changing the nature of travel. A self-professed nerd, Dylan enjoys drawing and science fiction when he’s not busy travelling.
If you could recommend 3 books to anyone, what would they be?
Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
Its complexity of character and clarity of expression showed me how much world building is really about building the honest interior world of characters. All of her work is a beautiful mirror held up to our own world.
Anyone who loves science fiction of fantasy would benefit from reading Le Guin and seeing the possibility of the genre to explore the self. Also, in my opinion, anyone who can read, to see words used with unmatched artful efficiency.
Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson
A sprawling trilogy and fictionalized look back at the advent of physics, calculus, monetary policy, piracy, these books blew my mind. They are great adventure, but contain enough things taken from fact to sent me on countless wikipedia rabbit holes.
Nerds of all stripes! Science fiction in tone, but historical in setting, it turns a fascinating period of history into a delightful adventure. Much to recommend in all of Neal Stephenson's work.
Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide Fifth Edition by Wizards of the Coast
As a long time player and Game Master of all kinds of role playing games, the books put out by Wizards of the Coast, both in the form of the core rulebooks and specific adventures have brought me and friends countless hours of joy!
Though they are not traditional books, for me they serve as manuals on how to craft collective narratives, help guide both players and the person running the game in how they can use their imagination to build unexpected, exciting storylines, characters and settings.
What are you reading now?
Just finished Kim Stanley Robinson's "Red Moon", which is a fascinating exploration of moon colonization and an imagined near future China, as well as "Agency" by William Gibson, a mind bending multiple dimension jumping look at the emergence of a general AI. Up next is Charlie Jane Anders's "The City in the Middle of The Night" set on a world tidally locked around its star and exploring the dynamics of power and rereading N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, a truly astonishing world building trilogy.
Whose reading list are you most curious about?
"Anyone who likes the same types of books I have listed here! I am a sci-fi and fantasy genre nut (although I read tons of non-fiction as well) and love anything that pushed the edges of genre. If you enjoy work by Emily St. John Mandel, China Miéville, Naomi Novak, Ann Leckie, Octavia Butler or anyone I listed above I want to hear your recommendations!”
— Dylan Thuras
