It’s almost time for Jólabókaflóðið! If you’re not familiar with this term, it roughly translates to Christmas book flood and refers to Icelanders’ tradition of exchanging books on Christmas Eve and reading at home for the rest of the evening. This inspired my family’s newish literary tradition a few years back.
You don’t have to exchange Icelandic books in order to do your own version of Jólabókaflóðið but I thought it would be a fun time to share this reader-generated book list inspired by a WSIRNReaderRecs request.
A reader was looking for books set in Iceland and we shared their request on our What Should I Read Next Instagram account. We went through the comments on that post and this curated list is the result. This is not an exhaustive list but hopefully it’ll provide you some good literary tourism all the same.
We’d love to hear your favorite books set in or about Iceland—both your favorites from this list and new additions to it—in the comments section.
Some links (including all Amazon links) are affiliate links. More details here.
Fiction:
- Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was by Sjón, translated by Victoria Cribb
- The Blue Fox by Sjón, translated by Victoria Cribb
- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
- Woman at 1,000 Degrees by Hallgrímur Helgason, translated by Brian FitzGibbon
- Independent People by Halldór Laxness
- The Sagas of Icelanders by Anonymous
- Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, translated by Brian FitzGibbon
- Butterflies in November by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, translated by Brian FitzGibbon
- LoveStar by Andri Snaer Magnason, translated by Victoria Cribb
- Beautiful Wreck by Larissa Brown
- The Sacrament by Olaf Olafsson
- The Northern Lights Lodge by Julie Caplin
- Heaven and Hell by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, translated by Philip Roughton
- Frozen Out (Officer Gunnhildur #1) by Quentin Bates
- Snowblind (Dark Iceland #1) by Ragnar Jonasson
- Last Rituals (Þóra Guðmundsdóttir #1) by Yrsa Sigurdarsdottir
- Icelandic Folk Legends: Tales of Apparitions, Outlaws and Things Unseen by Alda Sigmundsdóttir
Nonfiction:
- Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland by Sarah Moss
- Wild Horses of the Summer Sun by Tory Bilski
- Viking Age Iceland by Jesse L. Byock
What Icelandic books would you add to this list?
P.S. For more literary tourism: 65 recommended reads for those traveling to England, 130 recommended reads for those traveling to New York City.
35 comments
Who knew there were 20 books for those who dream of traveling to Iceland? I have never read ONE! What an unexpected treasure chest!
How Iceland Changed the World. Haven’t read it yet but it’s sitting on my shelf waiting for a snowy afternoon.
Thank you for this list!!!! My husband promised me a visit to Iceland (for a major birthday) and then the pandemic hit. Still waiting for the trip. I’ve read some books on the list; others are new to me. Currently, I’m halfway through “How Iceland Changed the World” by Egill Bjarnason.
I’m especially interested in finding books about when the USA occupied Iceland during WWII. Britain had to remove its troops in preparation for the invasion of Italy, so Churchill asked Roosevelt to take over the safe-guarding of Iceland. The idea was to keep Germany from gaining an outpost in the North Atlantic.
Iceland in World War II:A Blessed War would be your cup of tea!🙂
Thank you Rachel. I added this to my TBR.
This year my husband and I are going to celebrate Jólabókaflóðið. I would like to recommend Jar City by Arnaldur Indriðason. It is an excellent thriller. I am hoping to go to Iceland next October. I think it is a fascinating place.
I was also going to recommend Indridason’s books. I’ve read 5 (which I think is all) of the Inspector Erlendur series and they are full of fascinating details about life in Iceland.
My daughter and I have tickets for Iceland in February. I so hope we can go. This list will be fun in preparation, and especially if we end up having to cancel.
We actually have a trip to Iceland planned for next June. (It was originally planned for 2020.) A few of these books were already on my TBR, and I’m adding Butterflies in November.
The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea.
I was lucky enough to visit Iceland (and Greenland!) in 2014. Time flies! Can’t wait to go back one day.
My last trip to Iceland was 2019 & I read loads of books before going. I recommend all the books by Nancy Marie Brown. A Good Horse Has No Color. The Far Traveler. Ivory Vikings. Song of the Vikings.
I also recommend Island on Fire (Alexandra Witze), The Secret Lives of Glaciers (M. Jackson) and Vikings (Neil Oliver).
For fiction, everything by Halldor Laxness.
I am so wanting to hear you pronounce this word! I don’t even attempt it! It may be worth an entire book club MMD episode!!!
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/566643/christmas-book-flood-icelands-literature-loving-holiday-tradition. How to pronounce it.
The Tricking of Freya- Christina Sunley.
Yes! That was my favorite read of 2022… so good
Thanks Anne, pandemic permitting I have an Iceland trip planned for 2022 and haven’t read any of these EXCEPT The Sacrament by Olaf Olafsson which I read in December and it was wonderful.
We loved visiting Iceland in 2017 and have been doing Jólabókaflóðið ever since. I read both Burial Rites and Independent People before the trip.
The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey is set in part in Iceland. It’s a retelling of Jane Eyre. So good!
I’m adding a bunch of these to my TBR. My best friend and I are doing a 2 week tour of Iceland in September, so excited!
Arnuldur Indridason’s books, particularly Jar City, The Draining Lake or Silence of the Grave.
I loved The Museum of Whales You Will Never See, by A. Kendra Greene. It’s a non-fiction love letter to Iceland and it’s gorgeous.
I absolutely agree. This book was beautiful and you should try to visit some of the museums if you go!
This is my favorite post you’ve ever done. I love Iceland. I’ve been twice and my number one bucket list is to drive the Ring Road. Hopefully 2023? COVID permitting.
Alda Sigmundsdottir has written an entire series of books about life in Iceland, all of which start “The Little Book of….” The Icelanders, Tourists in Iceland, The Icelanders at Christmas, The Icelanders in the Olden Days and Icelandic. I recommend all of them but most of all the tourist book if you are visiting and the first (Little book of the Icelanders). I learned so much about Iceland from her short essays, including a lot about Icelandic naming conventions that no one finds as interesting as I do to my absolute dismay.
I read The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson and while it’s not incredible it was a quick mystery.
The Hitman’s Guide to Housecleaning is in most of the bookstores in Reykjavik and looks hilarious although I haven’t read it yet. It’s set in Iceland in part.
The Sealwoman’s Gift is historical fiction set partly in Iceland. I really enjoyed it.
Jar City is another Nordic noir set in Iceland.
Halldor Laxness has written many other books. Independent People is the Nobel winner but it’s not his most accessible book. The Fish Can Sing is easier to start with.
I agree with the recommendation of The Museum of Whales You Will Never See. Iceland has a fascinating array of museums (yes, beyond the one it’s known for).
Here’s another list: https://taleaway.com/books-set-in-iceland/
Lastly, I loved this movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_at_War it’s got some absurdist humor in it but I thought it was delightful. Subtitles only.
PS: If you are going to Iceland, Blue Lagoon is worth it. I went both times I visited. Once I went before sunrise (wintertime) and once I went late evening as the sun was beginning to set. Both times were absolutely incredible although I enjoyed being there as the sun rose more, being there in the absolute dark was magically eerie.
PPS: Perlan Museum is incredible. The indoor ice cave is cool but the location of Perlan is the best part. Absolutely incredible views from the top floor cafe. Try to go at sunrise or sunset if you can.
PPPS: Golden Circle tour is cool- it was awesome being able to look out at the European tectonic plate from the North American plate and see where they come together. The glacier hike is also pretty incredible. I went on this one: https://adventures.is/iceland/day-tours/glacier-tours/glacier-tours-from-solheimajokull/glacier-experience/ It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life- and there is a shrinking timeline to do it, the glaciers are disappearing.
I love Iceland.
Snare by Lilja Sigurðardóttir
The Flight of Gemma Hardy—for all the Jane Eyre fans—set in Scotland and Iceland
I’m reading Wintering and she visits the blue lagoon in Iceland and also talks about Christmas Eve stories. Totally inspired me to want to visit!
Who is she? You’ve piqued my curiosity, and I’d like to find the book you mentioned. Thank you!
I think she’s talking about Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
An Icelander here!
My absolute favorite icelandic novel is Summer light, and then comes the night by Jón Kalman Stefánsson. He writes beautifully and hopefully the translation does it justice.
I highly recommend LoveStar from the list!
‘Red Storm Rising’ by Tom Clancy is an excellent book that takes place in Iceland. My husband and I keep it on our bucket list because of that book.
You will find The Icelandic Sagas and Independent People on the bookshelves of most Icelanders. Halldor Laxness is Iceland’s Pulitzer prize winning author, and a national hero.
This is amazing. Please make this a monthly or quarterly topic. I would adore a similar list for Japan, Germany, India and Argentina. Or Australia.
My heart misses traveling so much.
This is incredible. This should be a monthly or quarterly topic. A list like this for Japan, Germany, India, and Argentina would be fantastic. Alternatively, Australia.
We have a nice library of these posts already! Click the “literary tourism” tag under the post title for the archives.
I definitely dream of Iceland! What a great, magical place to visit, but it takes a lot of planning. It is good to have these titles to check out.