Arctic Adventures – A Reading List

How better to prepare for my arctic adventure than compiling a reading list and working my way through. I hope to learn about the life style, the culture and the climate change that all of us will feel hopefully later than sooner.

The Greatest Polar Expedition of All Time by Markus Rex

Genre: Non-Fiction, Adventure, Science
Content blurb: The log book of expedition leader and an insight into arctic life and climate change.
Have I read: Yes, ★★★★★ Review on the blog
My two cents: Loved it. So interesting. Would have loved to learn more about the logistics behind such an endeavor.

Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius

Genre: Historic Fiction, Contemporary
Content blurb: On a winter day north of the Arctic Circle, nine-year-old Elsa – daughter of Sámi reindeer herders – sees a man brutally kill her beloved reindeer calf and threaten her into silence. When her father takes her to report the crime, local police tell them that there is nothing they can do about these “stolen” animals.
Have I read: Yes, ★★★★★ Review on the blog
My two cents: Sad and eye opening tale about the discrimination against the Sámi population.  Following the story you learn about tradition and culture.
Noteworthy: There is a Netflix movie based on the book which I have seen yet.

A woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter

Genre: Non-Fiction, Adventure, Classic
Content blurb: A wife follows her husband to Spitsbergen for a season and recounts life in the icy landscape.
Have I read: Yes, ★★★ Review on the blog
My two cents: Very interesting look into a woman’s life a 100 years ago and even though braking out of norm depending on men to survive.

A Winter Amid the Ice by Jules Verne

Genre: Fiction, Classic
Content blurb: A man and a woman await the return of a sailor. Wehen he doesn’t show they venture out to find him.
Have I read: Yes, ★★★★ No review on the blog
My two cents: I can’t quite remember details but all Vernes books have that special adventurous atmosphere.
Noteworthy: The author has numerous books published but I have only read this one.

Das Lied der Arktis by Bérengère Cournut

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
Content blurb: A young girl is separated from her Inuit family when the ice breaks. Throughout her life we follow how she lives, survives and raises a family.
Have I read: Yes, ★★★ Review on the blog
My two cents: Interesting but violent. A bit distant and observant rather than tugging at my heartstrings.

Kälte, Wind und Freiheit by Robert Peroni

Genre: Non-Fiction, Adventure, Memoire
Content blurb: Burnt out by his (sponsored) explorer job he settled in Greenland and found himself and learned a lot along the way.
Have I read: Currently Reading, ★★★ Review on the blog
My two cents: 

Polarschimmer by Dr. Aurelia Hölzer

Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography, Science
Content blurb: A look behind the scenes of wintering at Neumayer III – the author, a surgeon gives us a glimpse into the often somewhat bizarre everyday life in the ice and at the research station.
Have I read: Not yet read.

The Northpole by Erling Kagge

Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
Content blurb: Fulfilling a childhood dream traveling to the north pole and realizing this place is so much more and can teach a lot more too.
Have I read: Not yet read.
Noteworthy: The author has written another book “Silence” that was recommended to me which I also haven’t read yet.

Punished by Ann-Helén Laestadius

Genre: Historic Fiction, Contemporary
Content blurb: Five Indigenous children forced to attend a government-run boarding school in 1950s Sweden, revealing the emotional scars they carry thirty years later.
Have I read: Not yet read.
Noteworthy: Second book in the Sápmitrilogin series.

Die Rückkehr der Rentiere by Ann-Helén Laestadius

Genre: Historic Fiction, Contemporary
Content blurb: Marina leaves her hometown of Kiruna in northern Sweden in a hurry. But she doesn’t feel at home in warm and noisy Stockholm. She decides to follow the example of the reindeer that shaped her childhood and act on her impulse to return.
Have I read: Not yet read.
Noteworthy: Third book in the Sápmitrilogin series.

Die Umrundung des Nordpols by Arved Fuchs

Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
Content blurb: The North Pole, a fictional point beneath tons of ice, triggers a range of emotions – but it leaves no one cold. The first person to successfully circumnavigate it was Arved Fuchs – expedition leader, adventurer, and polar explorer.
Have I read: Not yet read.

The Right To Be Cold by Sheila Watt-Cloutier

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoire
Content blurb: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet.
Have I read: Not yet read.

Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic by Jennifer Niven

Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
Content blurb: The remarkable true story of a young Inuit woman who survived six months alone on a desolate, uninhabited Arctic island after setting out with a team to colonize the desolate Wrangel Island for Great Britain.
Have I read: Not yet read.

Der Gesang des Eises by Annabelle Wimmer Bakic

Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography, Spiritual
Content blurb: In her spiritual biography, the shaman recounts her exciting search for meaning, during which she delves deep into the sacred knowledge of the Greenlandic shamans.
Have I read: Not yet read.

Das Eis brechen by Julien Blanc-Gras

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoire
Content blurb: Two Breton sailors, an artist, and a writer with no sailing experience set sail for Greenland aboard the Atka.
Have I read: Not yet read.

Durch die Arktis – zu mir selbst by Bernd Späth

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoire
Content blurb: Stories about five polar expeditions to Spitsbergen – at a time when cell phones and modern navigation aids had not yet been invented.
Have I read: Not yet read.

Am Rande der gefrorenen Welt by Nicola Vollkommer

Genre: Non-Fiction, History, Religion
Content blurb: John Sperry lives with his family among the Inuit north of the Arctic Circle for 19 years. He shares their hardship, their hunger, and temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius. And he translates the Bible into their language, which has no words for tree, sheep, or field—and none for love.
Have I read: Not yet read.

Apparently a lot of these books on my Arctic Adventures – A Reading List have not been translated to English (hence the many German titles). Does it not interest North Americans? Mhm…

Any book from this list you would pick up? If you would have to choose: going to the Arctic or to Antartica? Any book I should add and is missing in my list?