Jolabokaflod

Christmas Book Flood • Reading for Pleasure

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DAY 24 — Tonight, We Read

Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

At last, we arrive.

The days of anticipation are behind us. The lists have been written, rewritten, and finally set aside. The world feels quieter now — not because there is nothing left to do, but because something has been decided.

Tonight is for reading.

Jolabokaflod was never meant to be loud. It does not demand attention or insist on spectacle. It asks only for a book, a little time, and the willingness to be still. In a season so often filled with movement and noise that simplicity feels almost radical.

I like to think of Christmas Eve reading not as a tradition to perform, but as a threshold to cross. A moment when the year loosens its grip just enough for us to step into story — not to escape the world, but to return to it more gently.

Tonight, the book you open does not need to be impressive.
It does not need to be new.
It does not need to change your life.

It only needs to keep you company.

Whether you read for five minutes or fifty pages, whether you read aloud or silently, whether the house is full or completely still — the act itself matters. It marks the evening. It gives the season a resting place.

Across Iceland, across homes around the world, people are doing something quietly similar tonight. Sitting down. Opening a book. Letting words arrive one by one. Not rushing. Not measuring. Simply reading.

That shared stillness is the heart of Jolabokaflod.

Over the past twenty-four days, we’ve wandered through cosy corners, old favourites, short stories, slow reading, childhood memories, and last-minute gifts. But all of it has been leading here — to this moment, when the only thing left to do is begin.

📚 Tonight’s Reading Choice

There is no list today.
No recommendation to follow.
No shelf to browse.

Tonight, the right book is the one already in your hands.

So wherever you are, however you celebrate, I invite you to do one small thing before the evening slips away:

Sit down.
Open your book.
Read.

Let Christmas arrive quietly.
Let the story do its work.
And let this simple act carry you — gently — into the days ahead.

From Jolabokaflod to you:

Merry Christmas… And happy reading. 🎄📖


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DAY 16 — Snow Day Books

Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

Every so often, winter gives us an unexpected gift.

A day when the world pauses. Roads quieten. Plans dissolve. Messages change from “on my way” to “let’s see how it goes.” Whether caused by real snowfall or simply the sense that nothing much is expected of us, these are what I think of as snow days — even when the snow exists only in spirit.

Snow days create rare pockets of unclaimed time.

They don’t ask us to be efficient. They don’t reward multitasking. They invite us to settle. To stretch an afternoon. To let hours blur together without apology.

And few things suit this kind of time better than a book that knows how to hold you.

Snow day books are immersive without being exhausting. They are absorbing rather than demanding. Once you enter them, they create their own weather system — one you’re happy to stay inside for a while.

I remember a winter afternoon when everything I had planned quietly fell away. Outside, the light was flat and pale. Inside, a novel opened a door into another life entirely. When I finally looked up, the room had darkened and the day was gone. It felt like a gift I hadn’t known I needed.

That is the particular magic of snow day reading:

It allows us to disappear safely.

Today, on Day 16 of our Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar, I invite you to prepare for your next pause. Choose a book that can stretch across a long afternoon. One that doesn’t mind being read in great, generous chunks.

❄️ Today’s Reading Picks — “Snow Day Books”

Immersive reads perfect for unplanned time:

These are books that make it easy to lose track of the clock — and feel grateful when you do.

You can explore the full Advent Calendar titles here:
👉 Visit the “Advent Calendar” collection on Bookshop.org

And if you’d like to stay wrapped in winter a little longer:
👉 Visit the Cosy Winter Fiction Shelf

When the world slows unexpectedly, don’t rush to fill the space.
Let a book take over.
And let the day unfold as slowly as it wishes.


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DAY 13 — Cosy Classics Everyone Should Try

Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

For many adults, the word classic carries a quiet sense of obligation.

We imagine heavy spines. Dense language. The feeling that we should admire these books more than we enjoy them. Somewhere along the way, classics became associated with effort rather than comfort — something to conquer rather than curl up with.

But winter tells a different story.

I’ve noticed that when the days shorten and the evenings stretch, classics begin to feel less intimidating and more inviting. Read slowly, in the right season, they soften. Their rhythms settle. Their worlds unfold with a patience that feels perfectly matched to December.

The truth is this:

Many classics were never meant to be rushed.

They were written for long evenings, repeated visits, and readers who were allowed to linger. They reward attention, yes — but not strain. They offer companionship rather than challenge. Familiar human emotions. Small domestic dramas. Quiet humour. Moral questions that feel strangely comforting when revisited across generations.

One winter, I picked up a novel I’d once been assigned at school — a book I remembered as worthy but distant. Reading it again by lamplight, without deadlines or exams, it felt like an entirely different work. Warmer. Funnier. More alive. The problem had never been the book. It had been the context.

Today, on Day 13 of our Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar, I invite you to rethink what a classic can be. Not a test of endurance, but a source of deep seasonal pleasure. A book that has lasted not because it is difficult, but because it understands people.

📜 Today’s Reading Picks — “Cosy Classics”

Timeless stories that feel especially at home in winter:

These are books that meet you halfway. They don’t demand expertise — only presence.

You can explore the full Advent Calendar titles here:
👉 Visit the “Advent Calendar” collection on Bookshop.org

And if you’d like to keep wandering among the shelves:
👉 Visit the Jolabokafloð Classics Shelf

This winter, you don’t need to tackle a classic.
You can simply invite one in.

Read it slowly.
Read it warmly.
And let it show you why it has stayed so long.


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DAY 11 — The Winter Non-fiction List

Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

Winter has a way of sharpening our curiosity.

As the world outside grows quieter, many of us feel an unexpected pull inward — toward ideas, questions, and reflections that don’t compete for attention, but reward it patiently. This is often when non-fiction finds us.

I used to think of non-fiction as something best suited to brighter months: train journeys, summer mornings, purposeful reading time. But over the years, I’ve noticed something different. In winter, non-fiction feels less like work and more like companionship.

Perhaps it’s the slower pace. Perhaps it’s the long evenings. Or perhaps it’s simply that winter gives us permission to think more deeply without having to hurry toward conclusions.

Winter nonfiction does not shout.
It speaks quietly and stays awhile.

These are the books that sit comfortably beside a lamp and a warm drink. They don’t demand that you read quickly or remember everything. They allow for pauses. They welcome re-reading. They are perfectly content to be dipped into and returned to over days or weeks.

Today, on Day 11 of our Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar, I invite you to choose a non-fiction book not because you should read it — but because you want to keep it close this season. Something thoughtful. Something nourishing. Something that feels like a winter conversation rather than a lecture.

📚 Today’s Reading Picks — “The Winter Non-fiction List”

Reflective, accessible non-fiction for quiet days:

These books don’t rush you. They meet you where you are.

You can explore the full Advent Calendar titles here:
👉 Explore the Advent Calendar collection on Bookshop.org

And if you’d like to continue gently into the season:
👉 Visit the Reading-for-Pleasure Starter Shelf

This winter, let your curiosity wander slowly.
Let ideas unfold at their own pace.
And let nonfiction become a place of warmth, not effort.


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DAY 2 — The Hygge Reading Nook Challenge

Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

There’s a particular kind of happiness that arrives not in grand gestures, but in the quiet rearranging of a corner of your home. A lamp moved a little closer. A blanket folded just so. A mug placed within easy reach. And suddenly, what was once simply a chair becomes something far more powerful: an invitation to read.

For me, the discovery of hygge years ago didn’t come from a book or an article—it came from a moment. A dreary December afternoon, the kind where the sky hangs low and everything feels slightly unfinished. I lit a small lamp, wrapped a blanket around my shoulders, and sat down “just for a minute”. That minute became an hour. That hour became the start of a ritual that has stayed with me every winter since.

Because here’s the truth we often forget:
Adults don’t just need more time to read. They need more reasons to begin.
And nothing encourages beginning quite like a cosy, welcoming nook.

The beauty of a reading nook is that it doesn’t need to be elaborate. You don’t need a fireplace or a bay window or a perfectly curated stack of Pinterest-worthy décor. All you need are three things:

  1. A comfortable seat
  2. A forgiving light source
  3. A sense of shelter

The shelter is the secret ingredient. It might be the way a blanket drapes over your knees. Or how the chair angles away from the busyness of the room. Or even the presence of a cat who is absolutely convinced this nook was created for them.

Today, for Day Two of our Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar, I invite you to join the Hygge Reading Nook Challenge:

Create—or reclaim—one small corner of your home that whispers, “Stay a while.”

And once you’ve done that, you’ll need the right book: something warm, atmospheric, and comforting enough to justify staying put for just one chapter more.

☕ Today’s Reading Picks: “Hygge Nook Essentials”

Books that pair beautifully with soft light, blankets, and unhurried evenings:

You can explore the full Advent Calendar titles here:
👉 Explore the Advent Calendar collection on Bookshop.org

And if you want even more comforting choices:
👉 Visit the Cosy Winter Fiction Shelf

Whether your nook is humble or heavenly, minimal or magical, let it become your daily December refuge.

May it bring you warmth, rest, and many beautiful pages.


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DAY 1 — The First Snowfall of Reading Season

Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

There’s a moment every winter when the world changes all at once.

It happens quietly—almost shyly—when the first snowflakes drift past the window. Streets soften. Sounds become muffled. The light turns a gentler shade of silver. And for a few precious hours, the world gives us permission to slow down.

For many people, that first snowfall is the moment they finally exhale. For readers, it’s something more: an invitation. A reminder. A tug at an old, familiar thread of comfort. The first snowfall carries a secret message whispered only to those willing to hear it:

“It’s reading season.”

I remember one first snowfall in particular—a December morning years ago, long before Jolabokaflod became a part of my life’s work. I had been rushing, overstretched, juggling the many unnecessary urgencies we invent for ourselves in the run-up to Christmas. Then suddenly, there it was: a soft flurry outside the window. I stopped, mid-task. Without thinking, I made a cup of coffee, pulled a blanket over my lap, and picked up the book waiting quietly beside the sofa.

Thirty pages later, I realised I hadn’t looked at my phone once.

That morning taught me something I’ve since seen echoed in research, book clubs, libraries, and conversations with readers around the world: winter itself can be a catalyst for reading. The colder, quieter, darker days nudge us toward stories in a way summer rarely does. We’re less inclined to rush. We crave atmosphere. We want warmth—not just in temperature but in feeling.

So today, on the first day of our Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar, I invite you to embrace that small but powerful shift. Whether snow is falling where you are or only in your imagination, let this be your moment to pause—to choose a book that mirrors the pace of the season, and to let it carry you gently into December.

❄️ Today’s Reading Picks: “First Snowfall Reads”

Books with crisp air, quiet moods and the soft glow of winter light:

These books pair beautifully with early mornings, warm blankets and the sound of nothing much at all.

You can explore the full Advent Calendar titles here:
👉 Explore the Advent Calendar collection on Bookshop.org

And if you want a second cosy corner to wander into, today’s recommended evergreen shelf is:
👉 The Cosy Winter Fiction Shelf

Let’s begin this season as gently as possible.
Let’s begin with a book.
Let’s begin with the first snowfall.


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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.