Books & Reading Adventures | Winter Edition
Solitary winters, hikes, adventures and saving the world’s largest owl
Hello, I’m Claudia, and Happy Quiet Life is where I share my view on the world as a Highly Sensitive Person. You’ll find reflections and stories about slowing down & living simpler, reconnecting with nature, mental health & self-care, books & reading adventures. Welcome!
When you are dreaming of snow …
Right now we have just the perfect winter wonderland for these kinds of books in my small hometown just north of Hamburg (as you may have seen on my Notes lately). I am so thrilled by the sight of this beautiful snow-covered landscape here. We haven’t had this much snow in more than 15 years!
But when I chose the books back in December, I had different reasons. As I was still feeling the need to be somewhere solitary and quiet after a kind of exhausting year, I made sure to go somewhere remote on my reading adventures. And as I am a snow lover at heart, for me that meant somewhere snowy, icy and really winterly.
The snowy winter has caught up with me in the meantime, and I am more than happy about it.
My non-fiction winter reads took me hiking the Cape Wrath Trail in winter as part of a digital detox and looking for silence and solitude, and spending a winter in search of wild creatures in Scotland’s mountain landscape. I also accompanied an American wildlife researcher to the Russian Far East to find and save the world’s largest owl from extinction.
They all left a deep impression on me.
At the end of this post, you find my all-time favourites for being out in nature in snow, ice and solitude.
Non-fiction winter books
The Farthest Shore: Seeking Solitude and Nature on the Cape Wrath Trail in Winter (Alex Roddie)
In February 2019, the author set out to walk 300 miles through the Scottish Highlands along the remote Cape Wrath Trail, seeking solitude and answers. In leaving the internet and the never-ending flood of emails behind for a month, he hoped to learn how being online all the time was truly affecting him – or if he should look elsewhere for the causes of his anxiety. The Farthest Shore is the story of Alex Roddie’s solo trek. (I listened to the audiobook read by Alex Wingfield.)
Alex Roddie’s journey is both exploration and introspection. Along the way he reflects on his battles with loss and anxiety, and explores his relationship with technology, connectivity (and connection) and the environment.
This includes making his own choices instead of googling everything, and being aware again that in the mountains choices have real consequences.
He also reflects on the question if the praise of the outdoors as balm for any kind of anxiety and worries is entirely true for him, if being out in nature heals everything miraculously - or if it’s more nuanced and complex with mental health.
The author also questions the impact and the responsibility he has as an outdoor writer and whether what he does might be harmful for the wilderness, because more people come and visit, making it busier (and therefore less wild), or if the positive effects may outweigh the negative ones: More people learn to love the landscapes and campaign for them, resisting developments of inappropriate use. If this were not the case, there might be significantly less wilderness.
Although the book is full of great nature observations and becomes pretty adventurous at times, which I really enjoyed, Alex Roddie’s introspection and the questions he pored over made this book special for me.
Overall, a multifaceted book that I liked a lot.
Owls of the Eastern Ice: The Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl (Jonathan C. Slaght)
Primorye in Far East Russia, a remote mountainous, forested region near to where Russia, China and North Korea meet, bordering the Sea of Japan, is home to the world’s largest owl, Blakiston’s fish owl, a very rare and elusive bird. American wildlife researcher and conservationist Jonathan C. Slaght teams up with Russian scientists to safeguard the owl from extinction.
The book tells of months-long journeys over several winters covering thousands of miles in which the author pursued the owls through harsh and forbidding terrain to study them, their habitats and territories, how they hunt, mate and how they raise their young. Preserving their habitats will secure the forest for future generations, both animal and human, and that’s the goal of his study and the whole undertaking.
I had never heard of the Blakiston’s fish owl before. Size, wingspan and appearance is more like that of an eagle, it’s quite impressive. Also its songs and calls are unlike anything I’ve heard before. Such an interesting bird! It also doesn’t fly silently like other owls, as there is no need to do so because its prey is underwater anyway.
Since reading Elegy for a River by Tom Moorhouse in October, I’ve discovered a subgenre of nature writing I currently enjoy very much: interesting, entertainingly written field studies. This is another such book, and it was not only exciting, entertaining and informative, but my favourite book this winter. Jonathan C. Slaght made the people, wildlife and landscape of the Russian Far East come alive.
If you are curious about the owl, this video has some very impressive footage:
Wild Winter: In Search of Nature in Scotland’s Mountain Landscape (John D. Burns)
In Wild Winter, the author sets out to rediscover Scotland’s mountains, remote places and wildlife in the darkest and stormiest months (at least, that’s the plan). He traverses the country from the mouth of the River Ness to the Isle of Mull, from remote Sutherland to the Cairngorms, in search of red deer, seals, minke whales, beavers, pine martens, mountain hares and otters. There are chapters for each month from October till March which concludes with Walking into Summer.
The author finds lost bothies and adventure, old friendships, innovative rewilding projects and and a deep sense of connection with this wild land. What he often didn’t find were the wild creatures he was looking for, he instead found habitats in crises.
It was bad luck that Covid hit just that winter, and that the author was hampered by lockdowns and wasn’t able to complete his journey as plannend. He filled the gap with his experiences during lockdown, the feeling of being imprisoned, not being able to go outside, being in nature.
It’s a quiet book. In a way nothing much happens. He sets out to find certain animals, often without success. He doesn’t get into every bothy and sometimes he even has to abort a hike. But all this doesn’t matter. It’s interesting and even mesmerising to follow him around regardless. His nature descriptions, his honesty, his humour makes it more than worthwhile. (The author several times referred to “What David Attenborough would do” or “A mistake David Attenborough would never have made …”.)
It’s what I support wholeheartedly: If you are out in nature, there doesn’t have to happen much or anything at all. It’s the social media hype, the Instagramification that leads many to believe that it has to be eventful or striking, a top spot, a selfie point, spectacular landscapes or surroundings. Being in nature is not about that at all. It’s just about being in nature. It’s more than enough. It’s the whole point. I love books that let you feel just that. They are my kind of books. (It reminded me of Torbjørn Ekelund’s A Year in the Woods, which I wrote about in August.)
I especially enjoyed the audiobook narration by Stewart Crank which evoked beautiful pictures of the landscapes. Lying in bed with my eyes closed, it was just perfect, helped a lot for my imagination to listen to it instead of reading it, made it easier even. (I’d never thought I would say this, but exhaustion made me crave for easier access this month.)
The book is a reminder of the wonder of nature and the importance of caring for our environment, and I came out of this Wild Winter deeply inspired.
All-time favourite winter books
If you’d enjoy more winter-related book recommendations, here are some from earlier posts of mine. (Clicking on the links will take you to the original reviews.)
Call of the Wild: My Escape to Alaska (Guy Grieve), a wild adventure and a thrilling read, a story told with humour and insight. Gripping!
Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival (Velma Wallis), a very moving book and my all-time favourite.
A Wilder Time: Notes from a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice (William E. Glassley), technically not a winter book, but my favourite about Greenland (and geology). The author describes the overwhelming beauty of the extreme wilderness, one of the last untouched landscapes, in a beautiful, poetic language. Full of poignant observations, and how the old, wild, silent landscape has affected and influenced him. (More Greenland books.)
A Winter Dictionary: A Collection of Words for the Festive Season (Paul Anthony Jones) for winter, nature and language enthusiasts.
What’s your favourite winter book?
You've read some lovely winter books again, Claudia! I can't keep up 😁 I've seen the Winter Dictionary you mention quite often, it looks like a lovely book too. Last year I read A Woman in a Polar Night by Christiane Ritter, which I really enjoyed!
And, like you, I love this snowy period so much! So much beauty outside. Enjoy as long as you can ❄️ and when it’s over there will always be books…. 😊📚
Thank you for your nature book reviews Claudia. I keep a list of books I want to read and I have added some of those. I too am really enjoying the back to nature genre at the moment.