To help you get a feel for what's available, we look at some of these regionally focused books. Shawn Blore's slender volume is partially a culmination of city trivia from the pages of Vancouver Magazine , a publication to which Blore regularly contributes. Unfortunately, Blore has brought Vancouver Magazine 's snide tone along for the ride, but Secrets of the City is still the best place to find out about some real Vancouver esoterica. For instance, where in the city one might find a Xena-fest, why The Vancouver Art Gallery is haunted and the location of some really cool secret tunnels. Sometimes books will bite off a whole regional chunk rather than just a single city.
Museums does a good job within the promised area, too.
Author Harriet Baskas had exactly the right sort of background for the project. It's not surprising that the book Baskas has produced includes not only cultural must-sees on the Northwest trail, but also smaller venues that would be easy to miss without the proper guide. Or, if traveling through Spokane, Washington, you might not know that you were passing right by the Crosbyana Room and Crosby Boyhood Home. Part of the delight of truly regional books is in the arcane bits of trivia that more general works often don't bother with. 0811820807 Same general area, different take.