Travel /lit/

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman is a great read for Iceland

>>1297227
>Iceland
Laxdaela Saga
Njals Saga

They give you a completely different perspective on the places you will be visiting.

>>1297230
>>1297253
Thanks, but I was kind of hoping to avoid the sags or mythology. In hopes of understanding more of the modern Icelander

>>1297261
>modern Icelander
Modern Icelanders are very literate and very aware of their history and mythology. If you want to learn about them engage them in conversation. The sagas will give you a great starting point particularly the two mentioned.

>>1297274
Didn't mean to make it sound like an insult. Of course I'll talk to them, but it's just nice to have another frame of reference in my mind.

>>1297278
Icelanders like their Nordic noir crime fiction as much as their Scandi cousins, which often take a critical look at the idea of these perfect comfy societies. Download some of Arnaldur Indriðason's books.

And don't fall for the stereotype of Icelanders as pagans who read poetry by candlelight in the evening instead of watching tv. These were just marketing memes spread by people like Bjork in past decades.

>>1297227
I read Heart of Darkness and Dark Star Safari to prepare for a potential trip to Africa.

>>1297253
Okay I decided I'd read Laxdaela before I left, and it's actually pretty good so far. I'm pretty excited to go to that part of Iceland.

>>1297298
That should actually be pretty good airport reading
Thanks senpaitachi

>>1297227
>Iceland and Portugal
Those are interesting choices, how did you come up with that idea for a trip?

>>1297515
friends and I have wanted to go to Iceland forever. I'm starting Peace Corps in march, so I figured it was now or never. Called my parents shortly after, and it turned out they were walking the Portuguese Camino de Santiago the day I was supposed to come back. I walked the Spanish one a couple years earlier, so I just said fuck it and decided to go there after.

I'm spending 3x longer in Portugal, and it's like half the price I'll be spending in Iceland.

>>1297227
Pessoa's Book of Disquiet

File: traveling lit.jpg (33KB, 474x296px) Image search: [Google]

33KB, 474x296px

Steinbeck's The Pearl

try independent people. It's kind of anti-capitalist, but was written in the 30's

>>1297227
best portugese auhor is saramago, so consider blindness or the gospel according to jesus christ, especially if you read portugese

>>1297495
You can visit Gudrun Osvifsdottir's grave just outside the little churchyard at Helgafell near Stykkisholmur.

If you can walk from the grave to the top of the hill (92metres iirc) keeping your eyes fixed ahead and your thoughts pure, step into the remains of the little chapel at the top and look east, you will be granted a wish. Positive, wholesome wishes only though, I believe.

>>1298190
Purchased. This looks perfect

>>1298515
I was looking at Blindness, but it seemed very dark. I'm leaving today, so I think I'll either go with that or the Book of Disquiet.

>>1298650
I heard about the grave, but not the wish. I really want to go there, but it would be on our drive from Reykjavik to Akureyri, so paired with a stop to Kirkufell, it would be like a 7 hour drive. But I'm writing this down just in case :^)

Cheers and thanks, all