A Haunted Road Atlas

It would be difficult to describe how much fun I had reading Christine Schiefer and Em Schulz's "A Haunted Road Atlas," a book as sublimely designed as it is written and a book that is absolutely sure to please lovers of their award-winning podcast "And That's Why We Drink" along with lovers of all things haunted, spooky, criminal, curious, and much more.

Schiefer and Schulz are hilarious hosts for this epic journey built upon cities from their tours across the United States, though this foundation is built upon in fabulous and freaky ways as they look at the most infamous haunted joints, dastardly deeds, and otherwise famous spots in each city in ways that will make you feel like you're sitting right next to them having a slightly intoxicated, and intoxicating, conversation. "A Haunted Road Atlas" is, indeed, jam-packed with illustrations, fun facts, travel tips, beverage recommendations, the best local bars, even better ice cream joints, curiosity shoppes, oddity museums, unseen city highlights, and stories that will simultaneously make you creepy, crawly, and giggly.

I haven't finished a book in a single day in a while, but once I started reading "A Haunted Road Atlas" nothing else mattered and I couldn't stop reading until I'd reached the end.

Then, I wanted to read it all over again.

This is the kind of book that even if you find yourself with an advanced reader's copy (eARC), as I have, you'll find yourself wanting to rush out to the book store just so you'll have this delightful literary journey on your very own bookshelf.

I'm perfectly willing to proclaim this one of the year's best books of humor or whatever category it is. It practically defies categorization.

I've never had it happen that I finished a book then began exploring a podcast, though by the time I'd finished "A Haunted Road Atlas" I hadn't had nearly enough of Schiefer and Schulz and found myself eagerly exploring their Webby Award-winning podcast that I will confess I'd never even heard of before reading this book.

"A Haunted Road Atlas" is well-researched, beautifully designed, engagingly written, and simply one of the most entertaining and rewarding reading experiences I've had in quite some time. There's no doubt I'll read it again and there's no doubt I'll be recommending it to everyone I meet and adding more than a few of these places on my bucket list for future travels.

"A Haunted Road Atlas" is scary good fun and an absolute must-read.

A Haunted Road Atlas is a hilarious and spooky romp across the country from the hosts of the podcast And This Is Why We Drink. The book is divided by region and then by city. Em and Christine tell a paranormal and true crime story for each city (and offer links to podcast episodes if they have previously covered the case). They also offer recommendations for placed to get wine and milkshakes (their favorite drinks). And they give a list of other odd, haunted, or creepy places to stay, eat, and visit.

This book is right up my alley. I wish it was available on my road trip last year to the southeastern part of the states. I'm also a listener of the podcast, so I kind of knew what type of stories and humor to expect. I learned so much and had a good laugh in the process. I also really appreciated that when they would give recommendations for businesses or restaurants that they would designate which were owned by minorities and women. Personally, that would be a deciding factor in which places to visit. This book was jam packed with a lot of information, fun facts, humor, sarcasm, banter, and food. A very satisfying, quick, fun read for my morbid heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for sending me a digital copy to review. The opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the authors or publisher.

A Haunted Road Atlas was a delightful mix of humor, supernatural and true crime. I’ve never listened to Christine and Em’s podcast, And That’s Why We Drink, but after this read I’ll definitely be checking it out. The book was well researched with the stories within its pages, and included local eateries and interesting attractions if you find yourself in a city featured here.
Even though this book was given to me courtesy of NetGalley, I will be purchasing it upon its release because this book has serious reread qualities. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy! Thanks NetGalley for the read, it was definitely worth my time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review!
This was so much fun. I am a huge fan of Christine and Em, but I was worried that this book wouldn't live up to the excitement I have for the podcast. It met all my expectations and more! I loved the short form stories, and I was over the moon about the local haunts/spooky attractions list for each place. I really liked how they really kept both Em and Christine's voices really distinct throughout the book by having list items by each person and little interjections by each person, and breaking up each chapter by the signature "paranormal" and "true crime" was a smart design choice, too. I also wasn't really sure how they were going to do the "road trip" aspect of this book but I think they made it work really well! This would be a great book for using to plan out a road trip to some spooky locations, coupled with the comedy and quips we know and love. I think having QR codes incorporated in the book will make it a good road trip companion because, if you can get this on audio one day, you could pause after each chapter to listen to the full podcast episode! I will definitely be buying a finished copy of this when it comes out to keep on my coffee table or bring on an as-of-yet unplanned road trip! I think you'll love this even if you don't know about the podcast/aren't a big fan of it! It's really well designed too--whoever did their graphic design was on it. I'm so thrilled at having gotten a chance to read this, and I think you all should keep your eyes peeled for when this beauty releases in May!