Please visit the Jolabokaflod Google Form to add more personal book recommendation choices for us to include in the Book Bulletin catalogue.
Choosing books to buy, give and read …
(1) for Christmas
The Book Bulletin for winter adapts the established Icelandic tradition of Bókatíðindi—a key feature of Jólabókaflóðið—to fit the shape of the global book trade. Rather than showcasing every new or revised title published this year in a catalogue sent to every household in the country, our Book Bulletin shares titles online that are loved and championed by avid readers everywhere.
Books make for ideal Christmas presents—they are cheap, can be read immediately, are portable (whatever the format), flexible and last for more than a day. Books can change lives forever.
Here’s how you can get involved in making the Book Bulletin as representative of your tastes as possible
- Introduction: Find out more about how the Book Bulletin is structured—including how you can make recommendations for inclusion in the catalogue to share the books you love—and how the Book Bulletin links in with the 80-year-old tradition of Jólabókaflóð in Iceland
- Recommendations: Explore the titles in the Book Bulletin to make your choices of which books to buy as gifts for loved ones to read over the festive season and beyond. You can also make your own recommendations—via this Google Form questionnaire—and see them displayed next to your name, your organisation/project (optional), with links to publicise you, the work you do, and the causes you feel passionate about. (See also our previous catalogues: Winter 2016; Winter 2019.)
- Book of the Day: In the lead up to Christmas 2025, throughout the month of December—and in the lead-up to summer vacations (during the month of June)—discover our ‘Book of the Day’ recommendations, chosen just for you, revealed on a day-by-day basis
- Top 20 titles: This page comprises a list of the top 20 titles included in the Book Bulletin, ranked in descending order by the number of votes they receive in a survey carried out in early 2026.
- Acknowledgements: See your name and organisation/project (optional) listed in a page of contributors to the current Book Bulletin.
The Book Bulletin needs your input.
Tell us your book recommendations all year by filling out this Google Form. New recommendations are added to the to the 2025 catalogue thoughout the year, starting on 1 January 2025.
The following year’s edition of the Book Bulletin will be open to include new book recommendations on 1 January 2026.
(2) for summer holidays
The other time of year when people generally have time to read to pleasure is during their summer vacations. Whether people like sight-seeing, adventure holidays or lying on the beach, they often have downtime—especially when travelling—that lends itself to reading books
The Book Bulletin captures recommendations for every taste when we are taking a break from our daily lives to get away from it all.
During the Sumarbokaflod season, we encourage people to buy and borrow books for themselves and loved ones to enjoy reading on their summer holidays. Whether people prefer to take printed titles or download ebooks to their ereaders and smartphones, books make ideal leisure and entertainment companions for summer breaks—they are cheap, can be read immediately, are portable (whatever the format), flexible (they even ‘work’ when covered in sand) and can stay in hearts and minds for a lifetime. Books are not such summer romances.
The Book Bulletin recommendations for summer are curated in exactly the same way as for winter. As in section (1) above, the catalogue comprises an introduction, ‘Book of the Day’ selections (in the month of June), Recommendations in catalogue form and a roll call of acknowledgements.
The Book Bulletin needs your input.
Tell us your book recommendations all year by filling out this Google Form. New recommendations are added to the to the 2025 catalogue thoughout the year, starting on 1 January 2025.
The following year’s edition of the Book Bulletin will be open to include new book recommendations on 1 January 2026.
(3) choose titles from our Book Bulletin catalogues
All editions of the Book Bulletin are available for you to browse for ideas regarding books you can buy as gifts for friends, family and as special treats for yourself:
Thank you so much for your support, through winter and summer, this and every year.
Jolabokaflod 