“Thanks to the Jolabokaflod, books still matter in Iceland. They get read and talked about. Excitement fills the air. Every reading is crowded. Every print run is sold.” Hallgrimur Helgason
As I book lover I am completely enchanted by the concept of Jolabokaflod, the Icelandic tradition of exchanging and reading books on Christmas eve. The word translates into “Christmas book flood,” and I envision holiday-bedecked Icelanders snugly tucked up and silently reading in a world blanketed by snow.
Iceland is known for its love of literature, storytelling and reading, earning it a place among the most literate nations in the world. From the famous 1,000-year-old Icelandic sagas, to poetry and award-winning fiction, to the gripping genre of Icelandic noir, there is plenty of material here to while a way a deep winter or more.
HISTORIC/NONFICTION
- The Sagas of Icelanders – Dating from the 9th-11th centuries, these epic stories are described “as epic as Homer, as deep in tragedy as Sophocles, as engagingly human as Shakespeare.”
- How Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small Island, by Egill Bjarnason
- National Geographic: Vikings
- Letters from Iceland – by W.H. Auden – including the beautiful poem Journey to Iceland. Of his time in the country the author wrote “…the three months in Iceland upon which it [the book] is based stand out in my memory as among the happiest in a life which has, so far, been unusually happy, and, if something of this joy comes through the writing, I shall be content.”
- Growing Up Viking: Fond Memories of Iceland, by Ieda Jonasdottir Herman
FICTION
- Independent People, by Halldor Laxness – Iceland’s most celebrated 20th century writer and winner of the 1955 Nobel Prize for Literature, this book provides a deep insight into the Icelandic psyche.
- The Blue Fox (Skugga Baldur), by Sjón, translated by Victoria Cribb – a fox, a fable, a fairy tale.
- The Trolls in the Knolls: 35 Icelandic Folk and Fairy Tales, by Jón Árnason – this 19th century historian compiled centuries of Icelandic folk tales into the largest collection to date.
- Fish Have No Feet, by Jón Kalman Stefánsson
- Miss Iceland: A Novel, by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
MYSTERY/CRIME/NOIR
- The Flatey Enigma, by Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson
- Thora Gudmundsdottir series, by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
- Magnus Iceland Mystery series, by Michael Ridpath
- Detective Erlendur series, by Arnaldur Indriðason
- Season of the Witch, by Arni Thorarinsson
- Gunnhildur Mystery series, by Quentin Bates
- The Dark Iceland series, by Ragnar Jónasson
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Iceland travel notes: Iceland: Adventures in Fire and Ice
- Fun Icelandic music playlist: Listen! Iceland
- More reading recommendations:
- New York Times – Read Your Way Through Reykjavík
- Rick Steves – Iceland: Recommended Books and Movies
- Your Friend in Iceland: Recommended Reads From Iceland
- Five Books: The Best Books on Iceland
LISTEN! Iceland: Here’s a fun indie playlist to get you in the Icelandic mood.
ICELAND: Adventures in Fire and Ice: Inspired to visit? Here is my guide to itineraries, restaurants, hotels, entertainment, local food, waterfalls, and many sights in Reykjavík, the Golden Circle and beyond.
