Get Lost

Sad. This store is closed for good.

Very sad to see this store close its doors last month, but I’m glad I was able to stop by and check the place out.
There aren’t many niche/​themed bookstores left in this world. Luckily indie bookstores can still (somewhat) thrive in this city of bibliophiles. Get Lost could have lasted longer, but I don’t know the real reason they closed their doors.
When I went early last month, they had already vacated the second floor level. Looked like there was a small farewell gathering upstairs a few days before; little odds and ends were upstairs, but all the books were left on the first floor.
I liked being able to find some international fiction and also some fun trinkets from overseas. They had a lot of guides for all over the US and the world.
Not a bad place at all, but RIP Get Lost. Hope one day another store like Get Lost will come along!

Stopped by Get Lost this week, and was told, politely, by the owners to get lost, as they were closing shop for good. Sad day.

Love this store from my head to my toes! Just walking in inspires you to start saving saving for your future travels!
A travellers delight,

Right now I am watching the USA vs Iran FIBA basketball game which reminded me of my trip I took to Tehran last year.
I learned a few things about Iran which I will share here.
1. You can find some really amazing pizza in Tehran. I mean AMAZING! Thin crust, simple, quality ingredients. Similar and almost as good as what you find in Italy.
2. Booking tour excursions is a very frustrating experience. Like when I thought it would be cool to go skiing. I went to a booking office four days in a row and sat in the lobby for two hours and completely ignored by the customer service agents. I never made it to the slopes.
3. Caviar in Iran is not only the best I have tasted, it is shockingly cheap. And they spread it on everything! Walk into a Dunkin’ Donuts and just say «umm yeah, I’ll take one of those jelly donuts… no, not that one, the one in the back… yeah that’s the one… and oh!.. could you spread a ½ pound of your finest caviar on top?»
4. Getting a visa is very tricky, but there are things you can do to make it easier on yourself. I flew to Europe and got mine there. It took nearly a week and it came down to the last minute, but I was finally able to get one.
5. Do not expect to order a drink on the flight down.
6. Internet cafes are everywhere, but forget about surfing any website you want. If it’s youporn that you want it probably won’t happen. Unilocal too.
7. Petty crime is almost non-​existent. You can literally leave all your belongings anywhere and no one will touch it. It was hard getting used to at first, but after a few days I started leaving my camera equipment on the table while I ordering my lunch across the street.
8. They only allow something like 4 rolls of film upon entering the country. But who carries film these days?
9. There are secret underground parties where you can get a drink. Not recommended.
10. Learn a little Farsi, it will help go along way.
Iran was an interesting experience and I am glad I went but do not feel a burning desire to go back. Maybe if they had let me ski I would feel different.
I learned about Get Lost Travel Books from a coworker. They carry stuff that go beyond Frommers and Eyewitness Guides. Some great reads can be found here.

In a time when publishing is in flux and travel agencies are obsolete, it’s reassuring there’s a specialty store that has knowledgeable passion for travel resources. This place is inspiring; sometimes I come here to decide where I should travel next.

I was pleased with the selection of books this place had. I’m headed to New Zealand in December & wanted to bulk up on my knowledge before i got there.
The reason I came here instead of simply going to Amazon was the fact that I could browse different types of books to see which one actually worked best for me & my needs. I think that is important with a book you plan on carrying daily on an adventure.
They also had a good selection of other general things you might need while out exploring the world. It was nice seeing it all laid out to begin contemplating what to pack.

If you’re a traveller on any level, from short-​trip vacationer to roughing-​it backpacker, this bookstore (and other travel-​related stuff store) has everything you need to get started (and sometimes to finish up). I went in looking for a guide for my upcoming trip to Colombia, and found the staff friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable.
There is a large selection of maps (which I noticed, but wasn’t shopping for) and some general backpack/​luggage related supplies, and some travel games, sporkie things, and little med kits, all of which are very useful.
But the selection of guidebooks is not to be overshadowed here. This is the best selection of travel-​related books (from guides to language phrasebooks) I have come across, anywhere.
What I did not notice were books in other languages, so if English is not your first language, you might not find what you are looking for at first glance. However, I have no doubt that they could help you to order or locate something in another language.

I love love love this place! I try to leave the country twice a year and was hunting for guidebooks for Iran and Colombia. I live across the street from Dog Eared, and they had a Lonely Planet for Iran but NO ONE had any books for Colombia, until one of the employees at Modern Times suggested this place.
I walked in the harsh ass rain and wasn’t disappointed at all. The guy behind the country was quiet but super helpful and wasn’t pushy. I came in dripping wet, loitered around the comfy pillows, make a mess and knocked over a ton of stuff, but he was nice.
AND, you get a free calender when you’ve made a purchase! I will definitely go back next time I travel.

I always go to mass market bookstores and complain about the travel section. I want more, I want quality and I would love it if the travel literature and relevant fiction were mixed in with the standard Lonely Planet and Hip Hotels Books. A Moveable Feast alongside the Paris Luxe Guide. Don Quixote nestled between Time Out Barcelona and Homage to Catalonia.
Perfection.

If there’s one thing I’m not humble about, it’s this: I am a travel GOD.
I’ve been all over the world, from group trips to see concerts in Europe to solo excursions in the rain forests of Central America. I’ve been logging zillions of miles since before I could talk. Before I go somewhere, I actually take some time and learn the language — I’m currently up to about 7 tongues. I’ve been working on my own travel book for the backpacker set, which would be out if I’d stop vacationing long enough to sit down and finish it. And I’ve been interviewed by USA Today. (You know, that newspaper with the pretty color photos they have at McDonald’s.)
Sure, I have my areas of weakness — even the world’s best surgeons have procedures wherein they may not have much experience. And despite being the best of the best — or perhaps because of it — they study. A lot.
And that’s exactly what I do. Travel is my passion, and I study it. Explore where I’m going before I even book the ticket. Learn as much as I can before I even zip up my travel bag.
While others geek out to baseball stats or car modifications or World of Warcraft, I soak up travel-​related information on the internet like a sponge. And being that I’m often on the go, I can’t always be on the internet.
And for those times, there are book stores.
And of all the book stores, Get Lost is the one that gets me drooling quicker than you can say Round the World Ticket with Optional Backtracking and No Hemispherical Restrictions.
Sure — the non-​fiction section of any book shop will invariably be stocked with your Lonely Planet, Time Out, Rough Guides — the standards-​bearers of travel books as far as I’m concerned. But Get Lost has all of them. I mean it: ALL OF THEM. After all, travel is ALL they do.
If you’re a hardcore travel geek, you can understand the frustration of finding only an outdated book on the Czech Republic. (Things change rapidly in countries with growing economies, dontcha know.) Or only being able to find the crappy Fodor’s book on the roads of Spain as opposed to the superior Via Michelin. (The Spanish government changes its road letters/​numbers seemingly every other year.) Or finding no book at all about regional storytelling in Costa Rica. (I don’t really know why you’d want that but I did.)
I can’t imagine any of that happening at Get Lost. Spread out amongst two floors of shelving, they stock what seems to be the latest edition of every travel guide and every piece of travel-​related fiction out there. Some of it even published in its native language. Hell, I didn’t even know — until I saw it here — that Frommer’s has a series of MTV-​branded travel books for the younger set. (Not that I’d ever be interested in that, but it’s there if you want it, dude.)
One travel god tip: All books are not created equal. I think Lonely Planet is great, but some of their books are best used as ass-​stamps in developing countries with no toilet paper. I normally don’t like See It guides, but they have the occasional gem. One of the best things you can do at Get Lost is take the time to sit down and compare everything in front of you, and get out without feeling rushed.
Hopefully — one of these days when I stop procrastinating — you’ll wind up thumbing through my book there. Until then, I’ll be fantasizing about my next trip, dispensing advice, and learning learning learning. As all minor deities in the world of travel must constantly do.

I travel. A lot. Internationally. And not the drive-​by-​sight-​seeing-​through-​the-​window kind of travel, but the frame-​pack off-​the-​grid for a month kind of travel. And that’s why I feel blessed to live a few mere blocks from this independent travel book store oasis. By far the most diverse and complete selection of travel books I’ve seen in a store of this size. Plus, travel gear. Plus, travel/​book readings. Plus, friendly and knowledgeable staff.
On that note I must respectfully counter the reviewers who were disappointed with the service they received. I come to this book store FOR the service. Otherwise, I would just follow the herds to Borders or shop in my underwear on Amazon. The great thing about going to Get Lost is that the clerks have actually traveled and truly know which guides are helpful and which ones are meant for the people who wear their camera like a necklace. Lee, the owner, is the best! After indecisively flipping through 3 different books on the same topic, I held them all up and asked him which one he recommends. He then asked me about my travel style, and based on that, he made a personalized recommendation based on my needs and interests! I dare you to get insight like that from a clerk at Barnes and Noble!
This store is not a warehouse (thankfully!) and only carries a few copies of each book, so yeah, they might run out of things. But it’s absolutely worth going here, your local indie specialized book shop, for the sage travel advice included at no additional cost.

I love this place. Not only is the book selection amazing and thorough but they have a nice selection of unique gifts for the traveler in your life!
Tip: Arrive early for the travel/​book events as they are very popular and the seats fill up quickly! Support your local indie bookstore!

I need a place like this. There’s always something you forget when you’re about to go on a trip. You can’t wait for the interweb to ship it, you got a plane to catch!
This place more than just fills a niche. The staff are friendly and helpful. The selection is very good, and they have a good amount of other stuff aside from the books and maps.

My first trip to this super amazing book store was last nite… because my friend was visiting from Tokyo and reading her book from Chin Music Press.
Sumie Kawakami did a reading for her first book called «Goodbye Madame Butterfly: Sex Marriage and the Modern Japanese Woman».
It was more of a discussion on the roles of love, sex, infidelity and the ideas we have in the US vs. Japan… etc.
The store was a great intimate place for a reading, the owner is a great host and the discussion w/​a small gathering of San Franciscans was stimulating…
«The book is a series of essays taken from interviews mostly of Japanese women, ranging from sexless and sex-​seeking housewives and downtown professionals, to a single mom having an affair with her boss, to the wife of a Shinto priest, to a male sex volunteer who helps women achieve orgasms. This is definitely a book about Japanese women and their roles, or lack thereof, in a seemingly lax sexual culture. Sumie Kawakami discusses the women she interviewed and reads from the book. «
I will definitely come back to Get Lost Travel Books for other great finds to plan my next trip in far away places!

This place is the bomb! A great selection of travel gear, some of the best you’ll find anywhere. And all the little absolutely necessary stuff one must have to make the task of travel easier. If you’re looking for travel books, this is the place. Great selection, many titles, very good maps.

Regarding travel it has been said:
«The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.» — St. Augustine
«Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the places and moments that take our breath away.» — Anonymous
«GET LOST!» — Amy C. (I know, I’m deep.)
Now, I don’t mean Get Lost in a «Get the hell away from me» sort of way.***
I mean Get Lost in a «Go to ‘Get Lost’ to get your No Jet Lag pills, travel pillows and blankets, adapters and converters, Sudoku books and playing cards, guide books and maps, travel journals, eyemasks, collapsable and squishible bowls, money belts, backpacks, globes, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY to get you reminiscing about where you’ve been, psyched about where you’re going and daydreaming about where you’ll go next» sort of way.
Bön voyage!
***Unless you’re all up in my grill. In which case, I TOTALLY meant it that way.

I love the idea of an independent and local neighborhood travel book store. I really want to get behind this place. The staff are helpful and the selection is pretty good. Besides straight-​up travel books they also have fiction/​non-​fiction that is travel /​going on adventures related. Good stuff.
But the breakdown comes to a screeching halt when they dont accept returns. Even with a receipt, even within 2 weeks of purchase.
I bought a handful of books here for a coming trip. At the last minute I had to cancel my trip and I tried to return the books, all in perfect condition.
Even with my receipt and items in flawless condition they have a blanket no-​returns policy.
C’mon people its 2010.
I now understand WHY people go to a big chain like Borders, Amazon, etc. If the small guys are not going to compete on price and not going to compete on customer service then whats the point?
Fail.

«Trains and boats and planes are passing by
They mean a trip to Paris or Rome
For someone else but not for me
The trains and the boats and planes
Took you away… away from me…»
That’s a Burt Bacharach song, my children. Forget the senile piano player you see on those Geico commercials. He’s a god. Elvis Costello knows it. So do I. You don’t agree? Well, you also probably think Flight 001 on Hayes is the ideal traveler store. Not me. Too chi-​chi. I like the idea of reading books that transport me to other places, and at least Get Lost makes an attempt at selling real travel reading.
I’m hardly on this stretch of Market — only when I’m in a post-​belch browsing mood after a short stack at It’s Tops. But I do enter and peruse the books, maps, travel supplies and various paraphernalia on display here. The place is so brightly lit by the daylight pouring through the windows that you can’t help but hang out for a bit. There are even some random cushions to park your derrière.
Upstairs is a selection of more geographically specific guidebooks and backpacks. There are more trivial items to be found downstairs like vintage Mexican calendars with voluptuous senoritas or Japanese mini-​magnets with travel themes. Go crazy if you like.
As for me, I just like the travel essay books — living vicariously as I face the face the mundane existence of an office drone. I like to think of myself as a travel junkie, and I do enjoy a long exotic trip when I can afford one. Perhaps when wanderlust strikes, I’ll come here of my own volition because…
«Trains and boats and planes took you a way,
But ev’ry time I see them I pray
And if my prayers can cross the sea,
The trains and the boats and planes
Will bring you back… back home to me.»
OK, here’s Dionne’s classic version of the song…

Good selection of travel books although not necessarily better than the large booksellers or
. Decent selection of maps. Seem to generate a lot of profit from massively overpriced «accessories». May be a one-​stop shop but certainly not the best deal in town.
The help is relatively unhelpful. I’ve been several times and engaged with three different employees, one girl who could care less whether she sold be a book or I fell over dead in the back of the store, a woman who was helpful but very curt and a dude with a completely vacant persona.
Each time, I was looking for books for work projects and in a rush and in each case, the help I received was so general and uninspiring.
«Where are the maps?» I say obviously in a rush.
«Over there,» pointing to a section.
«Where are the maps of Brazil?»
«Up there,» pointing to another section.
«I don’t see any up there.»
«Oh, that probably means we’re out of them,» completely distracted
«Are there more in the back?»
«What?»
I know booksellers operate on low-​margin and it’s not always a firehouse of cash but that kind of absent customer service is toxic. I go to Berkeley or Emeryville on Saturdays now to buy my travel books.