Salon has launched “The Literary Guide to the World,” a series of writeups about books about specific places, organized in map format. (And it’s all a promotional tie-in with the Travel Channel, it seems.)

Writes Salon’s Hillary Frey in the introduction: “The Guide promises to recommend the best books — fiction, history, memoir or otherwise — to take with you on your travels. And if there’s a place that you’ve always dreamed of seeing, but won’t visit in the foreseeable future, the Literary Guide will point you to the books that offer the best virtual tours around.” The early entries include Stephen Amidon on Arizona, Alexandra Fuller on Zimbabwe, and John Banville on Ireland, and the literary map will be updated regularly.

Related links:
Click here for Salon’s