Jolabokaflod

Christmas Book Flood | Recommending reading

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The Christmas Cat

Christmas is not only a time in Iceland to celebrate the nation’s love of books; it’s also a time to get serious about wrapping up warm. If Icelandic children don’t get new clothes for Christmas, legend has it that a monstrous black Yule Cat will pounce and eat them up. It makes sense for parents to clothe their children well to keep them well-protected against inclement weather.

Although the origins of the myth are hazy, the cat is related to the story of the ogress Grýla and her thirteen Yule Lad offspring. The feline menace was popularised in a famous poem by Jóhannes úr Kötlum (1899–1972) – ‘Jólakötturinn‘ (‘The Christmas Cat‘) – that was in turn put to music by pop icon, Björk.

All the more reason to snuggle up in comfort reading next to a roaring fire, drink in hand, reading a new book gifted for Christmas, while the wind, rain and snow rage outside.

Happy Jolabokaflod. This Christmas, may you give the books you cherish, receive the books you desire, and read the books you love.


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Secret Santa 2022

From Thanksgiving to Christmas, Jolabokaflod CIC is hosting a worldwide party to celebrate the joy of reading. This year we are celebrating Jólabókaflóðið (The Christmas book flood) by sharing with you the chance to gift and receive books from reader friends around the world you have yet to meet.

All you have to do to take part in this Secret Santa book gifting campaign is to send us your first name and best email address via this landing page website: Secret Santa Book Gift. In return, we shall send you full details about how the process works, beyond the basic information on the landing page.

What are you waiting for? Santas of the world, unite! Let’s have some fun.


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‘Reading for Pleasure’ cash prize competition announced

Here is our press release about a new competition to promote Jolabokaflod (Christmas book flood), the 75-year-old Icelandic literary tradition: Jolabokaflod launches ‘Reading for Pleasure’ competition at 12R Prizes.

Jolabokaflod CIC’s £500 cash prize contest opened on 26 October 2019 (First Day of Winter in Iceland) for entries in less than 500 words to be submitted until Christmas Eve (the culmination of Jolabokaflod in Iceland). The competition is open to everyone in the book trade and in the general public beyond (as long as they not involved with the judging process): the application for the ‘Reading for Pleasure Prize’ is hosted on the 12R Prizes platform: Reading for Pleasure Prize.

We are looking for entries that have the following characteristics:

  • ORIGINALITY: Innovative solutions that have the power to capture people’s imaginations.
  • IMPACT: Disruptive ideas that have the potential to break through into the book trade and the public sphere via the press and media.
  • FEASIBILITY: Practical ideas that can be implemented with reasonable allocation of time, money and other resources and that have the potential to be replicated easily elsewhere.
  • PUBLIC INTEREST: Compelling ideas that can re-engage people with the idea that reading for pleasure is an enjoyable and valuable entertainment choice at any time of year.

An international panel of book-trade experts will judge the eligible entries. A shortlist of potential winners will be announced on New Year’s Day with the winner revealed on 6 January 2020 (Twelfth Night).

From 7 January to 14 February 2020 (International Book Giving Day), Jolabokaflod CIC will run a crowdfunding campaign at CrowdPatch to put the winning entry into action by raising money, awareness and engagement.

We invite everyone reading this announcement to submit your entries for the ‘Reading for Pleasure Prize’ competition. Good luck!


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May Jólabókaflóð bring you reading joy

‘So this is Christmas, And what have you done,’ as John Lennon once sang.

Hopefully, by now you’ll have enjoyed the Jolabokaflod season of discussing the books you’d like to receive for Christmas and the special delight that comes from spending money on books you hope will share your mind, love and soul with your loved ones.

Not long to go, now: one more sleep until Icelanders eat their big Christmas meal, open their presents and spend the evening reading their new books.

As John and Yoko continued, ‘Another year over, And a new one just begun.’

Well, almost. But for the Jolabokaflod Book Campaign, the New Year can’t come soon enough. We have plenty of Good News to share when the time is right to make 2018 the year when the world gets to hear about the Christmas Book Flood.

Merry Jólabókaflóð, everyone.

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The Advent of #FutureBook17

The Bookseller’s showcase conference – FutureBook 2017 – was held in London, England, today. According to the trade journal of record, ‘FutureBook brings together leading thinkers in publishing, retail, editorial, writing, marketing and tech, along with speakers from other industries.’

What better occasion is there, on this first day of the Advent calendar, to open a window on the Jolabokaflod Book Campaign for 2017?

The Book Bulletin will evolve between today and International Book Giving Day (14 February 2019) into a rich collection of your recommendations and favourite books. Get involved by reading our advice for the book trade and by contributing to our Book Bulletin 2018 crowdfunding campaign.

 

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Jolabokaflod visits the Frankfurt Book Fair

The Jolabokaflod Book Campaign is about to announce itself to the global book trade.

We are in Frankfurt between 11-15 October 2017 to tell the world of books about our take on the Icelandic Christmas book flood tradition.

We are attending Frankfurter Buchmesse (the Frankfurt Book Fair) to introduce the Jolabokaflod Book Campaign to every country exhibiting at this year’s event – the biggest book expo in the world – and to collect book recommendations for our next Book Bulletin.

The Frankfurt Book Fair describes itself as ‘the most important international trade fair for content, the centre of the international media world and a major cultural event. Nowhere else in the world does the publishing and media industry show itself from a more diverse, innovative and international side than during these five days in October.’

Our new catalogue and Book Bulletin 2018 crowdfunding campaign will launch on the First Day of Winter in the Old Nordic calendar (21 October 2017) and conclude on International Book Giving Day (14 February 2019).

So many titles from which to choose; the time draws near for deciding which ones to buy to give to loved ones for them to read this Christmas – and which ones you fancy treating yourself to get hold of and read.

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What our fans read over Christmas

We put out the word on social media around the festive season that we were keen to find out which books our friends and followers were reading on Christmas Eve – and beyond – in the spirit of Jolabokaflod. Here is a review of the responses we received. As always, all the books we mention can be purchased in the UK via the Booksellers’ Association’s My Local Bookshop search engine.

161225-books-asThe avid-reader Mum

Alyson Shipley in East Yorkshire was feeling optimist. Christmas for her was a read-fest of the titles in the picture opposite, which she sent us via Facebook. Hopefully her whole family joined in. Alyson says she is already into the seventh book in her haul of books. Here is a list, from top to bottom, for everyone unable to enlarge the photo.

  • Akram’s War, Nadim Safdar (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Then She Was Gone, Luca Veste (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Sweet Home, Cathy Bray (Amazon: UK | USA kindle)
  • Far From True (Promise Falls: book 2), Linwood Barclay (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • The Travelers, Chris Pavone (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Slow Horses (Jackson Lamb: book 1), Mick Herron (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Dead Lions (Jackson Lamb: book 2), Mick Herron (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • My Name is Leon, Kit de Waal (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Long Way Home (DI Zigic and DS Ferreira: book 1), Eva Dolan (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • The Museum of You, Carys Bray (Amazon: UK | USA kindle)
  • Cold Earth (Shetland: book 7), Anne Cleeves (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • The Blood Card (Stephens and Mephisto: book 3), Elly Griffiths (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • The Twenty-Three (Promise Falls: book 3), Linwood Barclay (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • A Divided Spy (Thomas Kill: book 3), Charles Cumming (Amazon: UK | USA)

ln-linkedin The booktuber

Meanwhile, Leena Normington at Just Kiss My Frog posted her thoughts via YouTube. These are the books she was thinking about buying family and friends for Christmas. Maybe Leena will share which titles she actually gave as presents this year and how her loved ones are getting on with reading them. Here’s a list of the books she mentions in the order in which she talks about them

  • How to be Parisian, Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret and Sophie Mas (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Feral, George Monbiot (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • How to Survive the End of the World as we Know It, James Wesley Rawlesa (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Introducing George The Poet: Search Party, A Collection of Poems, George the Poet (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Wildflower, Drew Barrymore (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Zayn: The Official Autobiography, ZAYN [Zayn Malik] (Amazon: UK)
  • The Descent of Man, Grayson Perry (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Bitten by Witch Fever: Wallpaper and Arsenic in the Nineteenth-Century Home, Lucinda Hawksley (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Feminist Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual (For a Sexist Workplace), Jessica Bennett (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Bridget Jones’s Baby: The Diaries, Helen Fielding (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Sofia Khan is Not Obliged, Alisha Malik (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Eat Sweat Play: How Sport Can Change Our Lives, Anna Kessel (Amazon: UK | USA kindle)
  • Let Them Eat Chaos, Kate Tempest (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • The Elements of Eloquence, Mark Forsyth (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • The Myth of Meritocracy, James Bloodworth (Amazon: UK | USA)

161225-books-abThe book blogger

Adele Blair writes the Kraftireader blog, which shares her ‘love of reading, crafting, recipes, music and shopping bargains. Adele tweeted that she had bought ten books this year as present and was, in return, enjoying reading books she had received as gifts:

  • The Phantom Tree, Nicola Cornick (Amazon: UK)
  • The Liberation, Kate Furnivall (Amazon: UK | USA kindle)
  • a treasured child’s picture-book
  • a prized cookbook

The main photo on her blog’s home page shows a haul of favourite books. Adele must get through many cups of tea and have a generally sunny disposition. Here are the books she has highlighted:

  • Me Before You, JoJo Moyes (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Fudge Berries and Frog’s Knickers, Lynda Renham (Amazon: UK | USA kindle)
  • The Teashop on the Corner, Milly Johnson (Amazon: UK | USA kindle))
  • Just for Christmas, Scarlett Bailey (Amazon: UK | USA kindle)

lc-twitterThe tweeter

Luke Conboye announced on Christmas Day via Twitter – his handle is @Someronrebel – that he was reading Nightblind by Ragnar Jónasson. Excellent choice, sir.

  • Nightblind (Dark Iceland: book 2), Ragnar Jónasson (Amazon: UK | USA kindle)

The authors

Valerie Galantevg-twitter is a licensed psychologist who tweeted via @ValGalantePhD to tell us that she was reading The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A Singer over Christmas:

  • The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself, Michael A Singer (Amazon: UK | USA)

Valerie is a self-published author. Here are the books she has written:

  • Finding Your Way, Valerie Galante (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • Spirit Manifested: Poetic Reflections on Life, Valerie Galante (Amazon: UK | USA)
  • The Way of Yeshua, Valerie Galante (Amazon: UK | USA)

le-twitterLynne E Blackwood is an as-yet unpublished novelist (RINGS OF CHALK) and a prize-winning writer of short stories and poetry. She began writing in April 2012 after illness terminated her professional activity as a community project development consultant working with women asylum seekers and ethnic minorities.

Lynne told us she was reading Marlon James novel A Brief History of Seven Killings and spending part of the holiday season revising her thriller set in the Caucasus, RINGS OF CHALK

  • A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James (Amazon: UK | USA)


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Hygge and Jolabokaflod

story-tellingAt this time of doom, gloom and austerity, we are all in need of learning about what makes us happy. With nifty commercial nous, publishers have spotted an opportunity to haul us out of our malaise and depression: the Danish concept of hygge.

What is hygge?

The reason books have been written on the subject is because hygge does not have a direct translation equivalent in English. As Winnie-th-Pooh tells Piglet. ‘You don’t spell it [love], you feel it’. Here are some approximations, suggested by Meik Wiking in his recent book, The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well:

  • red-bk-mid-left‘the art of creating intimacy’
  • ‘cosiness of the soul’
  • ‘the absence of annoyance’
  • ‘taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things’
  • ‘cocoa by candlelight’

He gives by example an idyllic scene, to describe the experience. Imagine a group of friends, retired to the lounge of a ski chalet after an excellent meal, sipping hot, percolated coffee and liqueurs in comfy armchairs next to a roaring log fire – oblivious to the snow blizzard doing its worst outside. Hygge suggests a sense of warmth and comfort in the throes of the worst the world can throw at us.

Iceland int; woman readingIs Jolabokaflod hygge?

In the Utopic scene above, imagine that the friends are on holiday in Iceland and it is Christmas Eve. The friends have just eaten an amazing Christmas meal to mark the festive season and are settling into their armchairs to open their presents, some of which are books. The friends spend the rest of the evening – Christmas Eve – exchanging intelligent conversation, drinking mulled wine and reading.

This is Jokabokaflod in action: a prime example of a hygge tradition.


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Let’s celebrate Jolabokaflod

Today is the last shopping Saturday before Christmas and tomorrow is the last day for making purchases at online retailers for delivery before the holiday period begins. In preparation for the inaugural Jolabokaflod book campaign in 2016, let’s get alongside our Icelandic friends and celebrate Jolabokaflod this year, too.

Here is what you can do in the coming week:

✶  Buy  Books are high in emotional value. Buy books for your friends and family to build relationships and create positive memories.

✶  Give  Give books to your loved ones to celebrate the festive season, whatever your faith or belief. Download the Jolabokaflof bookplate to show your friend or family member how much you love and value them.

✶  Read  Encourage your loved ones to find time over the holidays to read the books you have given them

Also, commit to asking your friends and family how the are getting on with reading the books you give them. Are they enjoying the book? How does the book make them feel?

Use Jolabokaflod in 2015 as a way of strengthening bonds and showing how much you care about books and about your loved ones having great reading experiences.

This blog will publish items to keep you informed about Jolabokaflod news and about how you can get actively involved in the grassroots, interactive book campaign next year.

Merry Jolabokaflod.

Bauble; gold; red