<u>How To Live Icelandic</u> is the perfect travel guide/how to book/coffee table book for Iceland enthusiasts such as myself, or those thinking of traveling there for the first time. Filled with interesting facts about Icelandic history, culture, language, food, daily life, and more! You'll want to flip through this beautiful book often, so be sure to purchase a copy for yourself, as well as maybe one to gift to a friend!

This book did it's job, and did it very well. I definitely want to go to Iceland now. It was literally never on my radar as a travel destination but it's at the top of the list now. Well-done! The pictures are beautiful, the snippets of info so interesting and the love for the country shows through. This would make a wonderful coffee table book as well as a must-have travel guidebook.

This book is written by a former tour guide and journalist, making it a very good resource for anyone who wants to learn and/or visit Iceland. It's enjoyable, educational and interesting. Highly recommend!

Covering geography, culture, lifestyle and celebrations, this book transports the armchair traveller to Iceland. I learned many things I never imagined about the people and their pastimes; their love of ice cream and swimming outdoors, to name just two! If actual travel was a realistic option at this time, I think this would be a wonderful book to dip in and out of during the planning phase. It's informative, humorous and expansive. If I had one criticism it would be about the way the exquisite photos are incorporated. While clearly thematically related, they are not captioned, so landscapes are not identifiable with any certainty (activities depicted are generally more obvious).

This is a lovely book to have sitting on the coffee table to cultivate dreams of Iceland.

I'm hoping to travel to Iceland soon, so thought this might be a good book to review. It's so much more than a travel book, however, and in a good way. It really gives you the inside stories of Iceland, weaving history and culture while sharing gorgeous photographs of this beautiful country. I found insights there that I might not have found in a typical travel guide, such as proper etiquette for visiting a swimming pool or common idioms. I would highly recommend this book for its photos alone, but even more importantly for the inside look at the real Iceland and its people. The only thing I'd change would be to add captions with each photo. It's not always obvious what's being shown, even though it's alluded to in the text.

Fab book, great ensite on Icelandic life, would recommend to any who would like to find out more about Iceland

This was a beautifully put together book with lush photos of Iceland. I've been there once briefly as a stopover to Germany but was too young (high school) to appreciate the stark beauty of the land. This was an informative yet easy read.

Did you know Iceland is in my top Countries I’d Like To Move To As Soon As I Get The Chance list? Thing is, I’ve been dreaming of leaving my homeland since I was a little girl, and maybe, just maybe, the time has come now.

(Cross your fingers for me, please)

So, while I keep working toward that goal, deep-diving into Icelandic culture seems like an excellent idea.

**


This ultimate guide to one of the world’s most beautiful and fascinating island nations is packed with travel tips, cultural and historical facts, and insights from Icelanders into how we can all make our lives a little more Icelandic.

Known as ‘The Land of Fire and Ice’, Iceland is a country of contrasts, from the enormous glaciers to the active volcanoes, the summer midnight sun to the briefest of winter days, the ancient language to the modern technological innovations. This is a nation with a rich and diverse culture as unique as its stunning landscapes.

How to Live Icelandic is the ultimate insider’s guide to this northerly nation. You may have already tried skyr for breakfast and listened to Sigur Rós on your daily commute, but how much do you know about the real Iceland; the locals’ take on this one-of-a-kind island?

Icelanders Nína Björk Jónsdóttir and Edda Magnus have put together the highlights of Icelandic music, literature, cultural attitudes, food traditions and celebrations so the rest of the world can benefit from the special blend of old Norse wisdom with liberal modern attitudes.

This beautiful book is full of inspiration and insight into this progressive and peaceful nation that has freedom, community and equality at its core, revealing why Iceland remains one of the happiest countries in the world.

From the How To Live… series of insightful guides to some of the most intriguing cultures and locations on the planet, other books available include How To Live Japanese, How To Live Korean and How to Live North.

224 pages
Nonfiction, photography
Quarto White Lion Publishing
Goodreads

**

Cover: Meh. The white ruins it.

Yay!

- How to Live Icelandic is an educational book with an eye to the aesthetic of the country. From language to sport to local food, every topic is explored to the fullest, giving the reader a clear idea of what life in Iceland is like. Some aspects of the local culture compel me to look at flight tickets already.

- Marvelous, marvelous pictures. The ones I like best are about the great outdoors, but I also appreciate the candid snapshots.

- The written parts are quite long, but they’re informative and delivered with grace. The authors don’t fall for the infodumping trap, a detail I’m grateful for.

Nay!

- Nothing. I’m in love, don’t talk to me.

TL;DR

5 stars on GR

This is a great guide for anyone who is hoping to visit Iceland and wants a feel for the culture of the country, not just tips and tricks for seeing all of the sights. I've been to Iceland twice now and have fallen in love with this place. This book offers a detailed description of what life is like in Iceland, everything from the culture of smaller towns to how they celebrate holidays and major life events. I found it really fascinating and I wish I had been able to read this before either of my previous trips there. While it isn't designed to be a one stop guide book, it does offer some restaurant tips and some ideas of things to do in the capital city of Reykjavik.

Overall, this is a beautiful book with wonderful photos. For anyone hoping to visit Iceland, this book will inspire you and give you a good knowledge of Iceland's history and customs.

Thank you to Nína Björk Jónsdóttir; Edda Magnus, Quarto Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review.

What a beautiful book! I now need the hard copy for the exceptional photographs. I visited Iceland in 2018 and fell in love with its unique volcanic beauty, from the lava fields and beaches of Snæfellsnes to the glacier lagoon at Jökulsárlón. I wish i had read this before i had gone but love to read about places afterwards as well to evoke the sensory memories. Lots of useful tips, hisotory, language and cultural details

This book is an interesting and insightful look into the lives, customs, and traditions of the people in Iceland. Beautifully photographed.

I absolutely loved this book. I haven’t visited Iceland yet, but it is on my Bucket List.

The photographs throughout the book were stunning, particularly the aerial landscape photographs.

I liked the way the book was divided into chapters on the Areas of Iceland, the Culture, Life Indoors, Food, etc. Whilst the book covered aspects of Icelandic culture I was already aware of from other books and travel TV shows, there were aspects of Icelandic culture that I wasn’t aware of e.g. The Christmas Book Flood. I loved this and wish it could be something that we could absorb into our Christmas Tradition - The Christmas Book Flood is a his long-standing tradition where everyone receives at least one new book under the tree on Christmas Eve and the night is spent reading.

This book is delightful and a must read for anyone interested in Iceland.

Huge thanks to the publishers, Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion, and NetGalley for making the ARC available to me for a fair and honest review.

I found this book to fascinating. The pictures are beautiful. I have been to Iceland and upon reading this book, realized just how much I had missed in the country. It really gives us a good idea of life in a underappreciated country. I will have to plan to return someday.

YES - read it.

Wow - what a book! I was blown away. Having travelled to Iceland, I quite honestly thought this was better then any travel book I've read. While tourist books give you places to go & see, this book really explains the country. So if you travel just to take your picture in front of Sun Voyager like an oriental tourist, don't bother. If you travel to learn & understand more about a culture - oh this will give you a complete picture of Iceland and it's people. And absolutely GREAT pictures at that.

I had already learned most of things that the book talked about but even then, it often provided the back story or history behind why Icelanders do that. It really brought the Icelandic culture alive.

There are a few places on earth that are unique unto itself. Iceland is one of those (American desert SW another). So after reading this, it makes sense why the Icelandic culture is so unique.

I received an ARC from Netgalley to help prepare my honest review.

Short essays about different aspects of Icelandic culture, accompanied by tons of gorgeous photographs (although none had captions or identifying statements, so no way to tell specifically where they were). I found this book interesting because I recently visited Iceland and really enjoyed it - if you are planning a trip there, you will probably enjoy this book as well.

This is a lovely, informative, and well-written book about Iceland and Icelanders. I loved the easy and friendly, yet elegant writing style, the cadence of the book, the humor all wrapped around the sharing of what it takes to be Icelandic. From its geography, history, economy, culture, food, and society - the book gives the reader a wonderful and captivating window into the country. With facts and lore, the authors do a fantastic job in bringing us into their land of fire and ice, a country larger in land mass, and less populated than we think. I loved the various sections - on names, alphabets, how to make your home look and feel Icelandic, and other fun sections, which I don’t want to give away! And the pictures are literally gorgeous and are very much part of the book. The combination of the written word and pictures come together so well in this highly recommended book on Iceland, which I learned so much from and thoroughly enjoyed. Kudos to the authors for a wonderful gift to the world! Many thanks to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

How tonLive Icelandic is a beautiful informative book.So well written I learned so much fascinating information about the county the people who live there ,their way of life.I would love to see Iceland for myself but for right now in an armchair traveler loving touring through this guide.#netgalley #quartobooks

As someone who is fascinated by Iceland, this was the perfect travel book for me. While I read an ebook edition via netgalley, it is clear that the final physical book will be beautiful. With large, full colour pictures, this would make for a beautiful coffee table book. I will definitely be revisiting this book when I eventually get to plan my trip to Iceland. I loved that it shared a more intimate view of this fascinating country.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.

How to Live Icelandic by Nina Bjork Jonsdottir & Edda Magnus
This is a beautiful “coffee table” book for anyone who plans to visit Iceland. Although I read the e-book, I looked on line and the hard copy is ~7 in. x 9 in. I wish it was a larger format as the photos are stunning.
This is not a book that is in-depth on anything but instead a reasonable coverage of what to do and more importantly how to do it. I found this especially true for swimming in a thermal pool. The proper pre and post swimming cleansing is very similar to Japan. Having been to Japanese baths many times, I know this along with subway etiquette is very important.
If I found one flaw, I would like to have seen a section on how to circumnavigate Iceland either by car or bike and what precautions one should take.
Iceland seems to continue to be a very popular place for younger(25yr-45yr) old and I would certainly suggest this is a book to read and enjoy before traveling.

It's been a while since I saw one of the books in this series, but Iceland gets an entry at last courtesy of this. And again it's a slightly ungainly blend of good documentary writing about the place, so we can understand the people, the climate and something of the sagas, with things like lists of popular designers, the likes of which you'd flick past in an airline magazine even when a captive audience. As usual the photographic qualities are high, but with zero captions you're left with an unfriendly mix of waterfalls you can't name without having been there recently, and pop stars you can't identify. I know, snap it and search it, but a book should be a bit more welcoming, especially one that does seem like tourist board bumpf at times. That said, when things, such as Icelandic obituaries, get to be so interesting, not even the mediocre volume can fail to be fun.