Life on Svalbard: Finding Home on a Remote Island Near the North Pole¹ by Cecilia Blomdahl, hard cover, 256 pages, audiobook, 2h 26m
Synopsis from GoodReads: Join Cecilia Blomdahl in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, the world’s northernmost town. Located in the Arctic Ocean near the North Pole, Svalbard is a unique archipelago that boasts stunning wintry landscapes, endangered Arctic animals, and awe-inspiring natural phenomena. Since 2015, Cecilia has called this beautiful and remote location home. Along with her partner, Christoffer, and her dog, Grim, she has adjusted to life at the top of the world—where polar bears roam free and northern lights shine bright.
With evocative text and spectacular photography, Cecilia shares the joys and challenges of adapting to an inhospitable climate. Her story begins in the darkness of polar night, and the allure of her remote location is revealed gradually as sunlight returns months later. Through personal stories and firsthand advice, Cecilia offers insight for anyone seeking to thrive in unusual living conditions. Whatever your location, Life on Svalbard will give you a deeper understanding of why people choose to live in extreme environments and perhaps help you find the hidden magic of where you live too.
BOOK REVIEW: From the first time I heard her classic opening line in just about all of her Tiktok videos, "It's me, Cecilia on Svalbard, an island close to the North Pole." I was hooked. I do not like cold weather and the thought of living on Svalbard, for me, is a huge NO however I love watching her content. Everything from going to get her nails done, whale sightings outside of her cabin on the water, polar bears trucking through the snow, and information on polar nights and polar days is all fascinating to me. So when I opened the email from my local library (which I rarely do) to see that her book was being added when it came out in January, I felt it was kismet for me to put in a hold request. I had completely forgotten when it was coming out and giggle with glee when I saw that it was ready for me to pick up!
When I brought it home, I showed it to my daughter. There are so many amazing pictures, stunning images like the cover, throughout the entire book and I thought to myself I wonder if there is an audiobook for this? Sure enough it pulled up on Audible AND is narrated by the author herself. I immediately downloaded it and every night we listened to Cecilia read her book to us as we took in the pictures and diagrams included. I love that she narrates this because she speaks the language (Norwegian) and pronounces the words in the book so I don't have to guess or have a Google translate open to hear it pronounced.
My rating for the book and audiobook are both 5 stars. The information that she provides about Svalbard, Longyearbyen, the surround areas, as well as the polar nights/days, and seasonal information is wonderful. She includes person stories about trips she and her boyfriend have taken with her wonderful pup Grim as well as the story of how she came to have Grim and why cats are banned (okay...maybe I will visit). The narration in the book on audiobook were clear and easy to understand and follow along with the diagrams explaining how the earth is positioned in order for the island to experience the polar nights/days. An added bonus, in my opinion, is that when the author narrates their audiobook, you can feel the passion and love they have for the book they wrote and that was definitely felt when listening to the audiobook. My daughter has asked me if we can buy the book so she can have it on her bookshelf. I said you bet we can!
5/5 Stars
2025 Reading Challenge: 8/50 complete
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