An Icelandic Adventure:
One Family’s Mostly Successful Quest for Puffins, Pleasure, and Perfect Pizza
by S. Bavey
DETAILS: Publication Date: November 23, 2024 Format: eBook Length: 118 pg. Read Date: September 14, 2026
What’s An Icelandic Adventure About?
This is a day-by-day recounting of the Bavey family’s vacation to Iceland in June 2024—a great way to get away from some record heat in New England. The two parents and two teen children visited a number of places in their seven-night trip along the south coast (and back again).
Bavey gives a detailed itinerary, shares some nice photographs, and provides pronunciation guides throughout—I’m sure even with that help I didn’t read correctly, although I tried. That’s on me, not her.
Why did I pick this up?
I helped out with the book’s cover reveal back in November 2024, and picked it up when it came because it sounded fun. And it was.
But what led me to finally getting around to it was The 2026 BookTempter’s TBR Challenge prompt, “Treat yourself to a book that is not from your usual genre. Expand your minds!”
So, what did I think about An Icelandic Adventure?
One—it was a perfectly pleasant read. Bavey writes with a light, conversational touch—and did make me grin a few times. I do wonder about the level of detail when it comes to what was eaten, restroom breaks, and whatnot—and then the relative lack of detail when it comes to descriptions of some of the attractions.
Two, it felt like sitting down with a friend describing a family vacation—you can enjoy it, but not really get invested in it. Particularly if it’s somewhere you’re not terribly interested in visiting yourself.
Three, despite those two thoughts—there’s a reason this is not “a usual genre” for me—I really don’t have a desire to track down more things like this. It’s really not for me. Which isn’t to say that if Bavey, or some other aquaintence/friend, writes something like this in the future that I won’t pick it up (and likely have fun), but I’m not going hunting for them.
I do recommend it for a quick, pleasant read—full of nice tips if you’re visiting Iceland, including some great links in the back to various places.
