Armchair travel to ICELAND with Katie for Vegout Voyage

11th September 2025

Armchair Travel to Iceland With Katie for Vegout Voyage

Note: In this article, all Icelandic letters have been anglicized (i.e., converted into their closest English equivalents) to improve readability. Any accents or diacritical marks are removed as well.

Hi! I’m a new indie author of travel-themed puzzle game books. In this article, I share the inspiration behind my latest release, Armchair Iceland—available now on the link below! In true TripFiction spirit, I’ve also included my top recommended reads set in Iceland, along with suggestions for Icelandic TV shows, movies, pop music, and social media influencers. I hope you enjoy exploring them!

Who likes puzzles?

Armchair Iceland: A Puzzle Game-Inspired Travel Adventure Book for Grown-Ups

Are you obsessed with The New York Times Crossword? Have you been captivated by the logic puzzles of Murdle? Or, nostalgic for the brain teasers in Highlights BrainPLAY? I get it! I am one of you.

I’m also a big fan of TripFiction. Travel is in my blood—not just checking off hot spots, but immersing myself in the culture, literature, and the societies they reflect. My upbringing across Germany, the United States, and Taiwan sparked a deep curiosity about the shared humanity woven through different cultures, which later led me to field research in Uganda and in the Tibet-in-Exile settlements.

Buy Now

Many years later, that same curiosity took shape as puzzle-filled travel adventure books. It is my humble hope to expose more people to accessible and relatable global stories. My latest release, Armchair Iceland, blends trivia, word games, crosswords, and logic puzzles with fact-checked travel tips—no passport required. 

I’m thrilled to share with you some of the wonderful recommendations I discovered while researching the book but couldn’t fit into the final pages. They deserve their own spotlight. Thank you for reading on!

Iceland Dreamin’

At the very start of 2020, my partner and I spent a week in Iceland for a year-end getaway. Just three months later, the world changed. That trip became my last carefree, outdoorsy memory for years. I hereby invite you to peruse the frozen snapshot I held onto during lockdown:

Like most tourists, we landed near Reykjavik and explored the city on our first night in Iceland:

We tried the famous fermented shark, got traumatized by it, but put on a brave front on Instagram:

The next morning, we set out on the Golden Circle, alongside a hodgepodge of world strangers, each in their own rental car, navigating snow and ice under just three hours of daily sunlight. I teared up at the ethereal sight of Gullfoss Falls due to, for the record, very icy wind blowing into my eyes:

Trekking further south, we spent the next few nights at Hotel Katla in Vik. Looking out the window from our room, the view was so stunning it almost felt staged: 

In southern Iceland, we hiked up the Solheimajokull glacier and crouched low in its ice caves:

We also witnessed Diamond Beach, where massive glacier break-offs rest on gleaming black sand:

A few months after our trip, my partner surprised me on my birthday with a custom-made 1500-piece Ravensburger jigsaw puzzle, featuring a photo we took at Diamond Beach:

During the pandemic, I binged everything Iceland-related: novels, recipes, volcano livestreams, Icelandic YouTube channels. By 2024, I thought, Okay, that’s it. I have to do something with this obsession. And so just like that, it was settled that my next travel puzzle book would be none other than Iceland.

Read Your Way Through Iceland

If you want to explore Iceland from your armchair, the following books make excellent companions. All of my book recommendations can also be found in TripFiction’s database!

1. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Agnes Magnusdottir awaits execution for the murder of her employer. Sent to live with a family until her sentence is carried out, she faces suspicion, fear, and moments of unexpected connection. Originally developed as Hannah Kent’s PhD thesis, Burial Rites blends true historical events with stark 19th-century Icelandic landscapes, composing a meditation on guilt, resilience, and the human need for understanding.

I am not qualified to judge how much this book represents Iceland, but I’d argue Burial Rites has been one of the most accessible novels to English-speaking readers in the past decade. This was one of the novels I was reading in preparation for our 2020 Iceland trip. I loved this book so much that in 2024, I reached out to the author’s literary agent in Australia and secured a license to incorporate its plot as themed puzzles in the final chapter of Armchair Iceland.

Content warnings: Animal death, Death, Rape, Blood, Murder, Violence

2. Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason

Indridason is one of Iceland’s most celebrated crime writers, and he is known for weaving social commentary into his stories. In Jar City, Detective Erlendur investigates a murder that leads deep into Iceland’s genetic research practices and unsolved crimes. 

Content warnings: Death, Sexual violence, Medical ethics themes

3. Independent People by Halldor Laxness

This Nobel Prize-winning novel follows Bjartur, a stubborn sheep farmer determined to live independently despite Iceland’s harsh conditions. Laxness paints a vivid portrait of rural life in Iceland, laced with pride and sacrifice.

Content warnings: Death, Animal death, Harsh living conditions

4. From the Mouth of the Whale by Sjon

Sjon is an acclaimed and prolific Icelandic author, poet, and lyricist. His work is often translated into English by Victoria Cribb. Set in the 17th century, From the Mouth of the Whale writes lyrically of history and lore, in the form of Jonas Palmason, a poet and self-taught healer, exiled for heresy by the local magistrate.

Content warnings: Violence, Religious persecution, Death

Watch Your Way Through Iceland

If you are not in the mood of stretching your attention span, Iceland’s TV shows and movies have plenty to offer:

1. [TV series] Trapped

A murder mystery set in a remote, snowbound town in Iceland, where secrets unravel as the storm cuts off contact with the outside world.

Genre: Cop drama, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
IMDB rating: 8.0/10

2. [TV mini-series] Katla

Set in Vik, this dark and atmospheric TV show talks about the aftermath of a volcanic eruption, where enigmatic ash-covered figures emerge from the glacier.

Genre: Suspense mystery, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller

IMDB rating: 7.0/10

3. [Movie] Under the Glacier

This movie was adapted from a novel by Nobel laureate Halldor Laxness, whom we previously introduced. A young city man is sent to Saefell glacier to investigate the behavior and rumors surrounding a remote village. Armed with a tape recorder, he faces evasive answers and soon finds himself drawn deeper into strange, almost magical events.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

IMDB rating: 6.1/10

Listen Your Way Through Iceland

Iceland has produced an incredible range of musicians, from the groundbreaking Bjork to the ethereal sounds of Sigur Ros. While working on my book, I often played Olafur Arnalds’ music in the background—his atmospheric and nuanced soundscapes made the perfect companion.

I also want to give a shout-out to Faroese singer Eivor, whose song, The Beloveds, is not only epic but quite accessible to English-speaking audiences, as it was created for the British historical drama, The Last Kingdom.

(Oh, have I mentioned I’m a hobby musician outside of work? I can’t help but share my soundtracks for the journey!)

Social Media Your Way Through Iceland

In our day and age where everyone is chronically online, you can for sure get a taste of Iceland from social media:

1. Alda Sigmundsdottir 

https://letterfromiceland.substack.com/ 

Alda is the author of the Little Books of Iceland series. Her bite-sized and witty essays really helped me understand Icelandic culture during my own book research. She also has a newsletter called Letter from Iceland that’s worth checking out.

2. Ivar Gunnarsson 

https://www.youtube.com/@ivargu

Ivar’s YouTube channel has the clearest Icelandic pronunciation and language tips I was able to find. He is also a pretty nice guy—I cold messaged him, asking if it is okay to feature one of his videos in my book, and he graciously agreed with no questions asked!

3. Greipur Hjaltason 

https://www.instagram.com/greipjokes

Greipur is a comedian who I find very sincere behind all his jokes and bits. His short reel often show off Iceland’s gorgeous nature as well as his son, Magnus.

4. Iceland with a View 

https://www.youtube.com/@IcelandwithaView 

This YouTube channel talks about Iceland through the eyes of an American expat. If you enjoy cultural and lifestyle comparisons, you’ll appreciate her content. I also picked up plenty of great tips for chasing the northern lights from her videos.

5. Hrafnhildur Rafns 

https://www.instagram.com/hrafnhildurrafns/ 

Hrafna was one of the very first Icelandic YouTubers I followed. I was very taken with how she went about her daily life in Iceland. Somehow it felt both exotic and relatable. Sadly, she stopped posting on YouTube a few years ago, but as of 2025, she is active on Instagram and shares a lot of photos from her world travels.

If you ever visit Iceland—physically or through literature—I hope you come to fall in love with its stark yet striking landscapes, the fierce tenacity of its people, and the modern convenience of Iceland travel, just as I had. Bon voyage.

Katie for Vegout Voyage

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