When I was younger I would never have thought of traveling to Iceland; now, though, I think I would really enjoy it. I've read a very small smattering of books set in Iceland in the last couple of years, and a few months back I was introduced to Icelandic crime writer, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, through her first book, Last Rituals. It was a pretty good read, though in some ways it felt like a first novel. It was the 'voice' of the protagonist, attorney Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, that really caught my attention. When I found out her next book was due out soon I promptly got in line for it at the library. My Soul to Take is out now in bookstores, and it looks like my library is processing it, so I hope to have a copy in my hands soon.
I came across a short video of the author (via) talking about Iceland, Thóra, and her two books. It's an interesting look at contemporary Iceland. Although Iceland looks like it can be a harsh country and somewhat bleak in its terrain, there's a great beauty to it as well. In some ways it seems like the perfect setting for a crime novelist, but as the author mentions there's not a lot of crime in Iceland, so it must be a challenging setting as well.
Anyway, take a peek at the video, it'll be well worth your time. If you are a fan of Yrsa Sigurdardottir's books, it's also a nice way of orienting yourself and establishing a nice mental image of where Thóra lives and where the crimes take place. For me, it's only made me want to travel to Iceland all the more, but I will have to satisfy myself by just reading about it for the time being.