There is a surge in literary events through the fall in preparation for the holidays. Authors even visit workplaces to offer lunchtime readings; many people tune into a popular TV show about literature to get ideas for gifts. To gear up for the season, book publishers print an extensive catalog and distribute it to every household.
Iceland is the most literate country in the world, with the highest number of published authors (one in ten people publish a book). Even the Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir is a novelist, with a co-authored crime thriller, Reykjavik. First Lady Eliza Reid is the director of the Icelandic Writers Retreat and author of Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World. When I reached out to First Lady Reid, she reflected that, “…Jólabókaflóð is one of our most dearly loved traditions in Iceland. Since the Second World War, books have been the most popular gifts to exchange for Christmas, and a large majority of the books published each year are released in the weeks before the big holiday.”
Reid describes Book Flood as “just one manifestation of Icelanders’ admiration and respect for writers and the written word.” Icelanders have a popular expression, “að ganga með bók í maganum,” which translates to “walk with a book in your belly.” Everyone has a story they are waiting to give birth to.
Read more: Literary Hub
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