The Raven's Nest

I had this book on my shelf from when it first came out, sitting staring at me from my every-growing 'to read' pile. It was going to accompany me to Iceland on my most recent trip, but in the end I took a different book instead.

I finally got round to reading it a few weeks ago.

The book is excellent, and combines a personal story along with a slow connection with the deeper meaning of the landscape, and its strong connection with the Icelanders.

A description of the book:

Visiting Iceland as an anthropologist and film-maker in 2008, Sarah Thomas is spellbound by its otherworldly landscape. 

An immediate love for this country and for Bjarni, a man she meets there, turns a week-long stay into a transformative half-decade, one which radically alters Sarah's understanding of herself and of the living world. 

She embarks on a relationship not only with Bjarni, but with the light, the language, and the old wooden house they make their home. 

She finds a place where the light of the midwinter full moon reflected by snow can be brighter than daylight, where the earth can tremor at any time, and where the word for echo translates as 'the language of the mountain'.

Highly recommended. Perhaps put it on your Christmas list.