Jolabokaflod

Christmas Book Flood • Reading for Pleasure

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DAY 19 — Books That Bring Back Childhood Christmas

Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

There are certain books that seem to carry Christmas inside them.

You open the cover, and suddenly you’re smaller. The room feels bigger. The lights are softer. Time stretches in that peculiar way it only ever did when you were young and December felt endless.

For many of us, our earliest reading memories are inseparable from Christmas. A book opened on the carpet while the adults talked. A story read aloud before bed. A familiar cover brought out once a year, like a decoration made of paper and ink.

These books did more than entertain us.
They taught us what comfort felt like.

I can still remember the particular hush of Christmas reading as a child — the sense that nothing else was expected of me in that moment. No achievement. No performance. Just attention and imagination. Looking back, it’s no surprise that so many lifelong readers trace their love of books back to these early, gentle encounters.

What’s remarkable is how powerfully these stories work when we return to them as adults.

We notice different things. We read with more patience, more tenderness. But the emotional core remains unchanged. The same sense of safety. The same quiet joy. The same feeling of being held by a story.

Today, on Day 19 of our Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar, I invite you to revisit — or pass on — the books that shaped Christmas reading for so many of us. Whether you’re giving them to a child, sharing them aloud, or reclaiming them for yourself, these stories still know exactly what to do.

🎄 Today’s Reading Picks — “Childhood Christmas Books”

Beloved stories that feel like coming home:

These are not just books. They are seasonal companions.

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

And if you’d like to continue the tradition:
👉 Visit the Giftable Hardbacks Shelf

  1. Journey — Dorling Kindersley: An illustrated history of the world’s greatest travels
  2. Jurassic World: The Ultimate Visual History — James Mottram: Definitive collector’s book, a must-have for fans of the action-packed dinosaur saga
  3. National Geographic Ultimate Visual History of the World — Jean-Pierre Isbouts: Here, in vivid colour and crisp narrative, is the sweeping story of the history of civilisation
  4. The Wonder of Life on Earth — Henry Gee: Astonishing and readable natural history giving an accessible introduction to the topic of life.
  5. The Illustrated World of Tolkien — David Day: Exquisite reference guide to Tolkien’s world and the artists his vision inspired.
  6. The Work of Art — Adam Moss: Guided tour of what goes on inside an artist’s head.
  7. The Natural History Book — Dorling Kindersley: Beautiful guide to Earth’s wildlife and natural history, including its rocks, minerals, animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms.
  8. Information is Beautiful — David McCandless: Visual guide to how the world really works, through stunning infographics and data visualisations
  9. Animalium — Jenny Broom: Rich, informative and truly wonderful cabinet of curiosities beautifully displayed in this imaginative book
  10. The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Images — Taschen: Sets new standards for thoughtful exploration of symbols and their meanings
  11. The Illustrated Brief History Of Time — Stephen Hawking: Bring theories to life in a clear, captivating and visually engaging way
  12. The Secret Lives of Colour — Kassia St Clair: Excellent, innovative and idiosyncratic cultural history that will colour your thinking
  13. Atlas of the Invisible — James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti: Discover the hidden patterns in human society as you have never seen them before — through the world of data
  14. The Book of Trees: Visualising Branches of Knowledge — Manuel Lima: Stunning visual maps showing how humans organise knowledge.
  15. The Planets — Andrew Cohen and Brian Cox: Visually striking and intellectually generous.

This Christmas, remember the books that once made the world feel safe and magical.
They are still doing that work — quietly, patiently — for anyone willing to open them again.


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DAY 18 — Before You Wrap It: Your Own Reading Ritual

Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

Before the paper.
Before the ribbon.
Before the gift disappears beneath the tree.

There is a small, almost secret ritual I’ve come to treasure at this time of year: opening a book before it is wrapped.

Not to read it properly. Not to spoil anything. Just a page or two. Enough to meet the voice. Enough to sense the weight of the story. Enough to understand what kind of companion this book might become for the person who will receive it.

I started doing this accidentally one December evening while preparing gifts late at night. A book lay open on the table, waiting. I read the first paragraph. Then the second. Then I stopped — not because I wasn’t enjoying it, but because I’d seen enough. The book had introduced itself. And suddenly, wrapping it felt different.

Because once you’ve read even a fragment, you’re no longer giving an object.
You’re giving a relationship.

Books are unusual gifts in that they carry more than we can see. They contain moods, voices, pacing, silences. Reading the opening pages allows us to sense whether a book is gentle or bracing, playful or reflective, expansive or intimate. It helps us give with intention rather than guesswork.

This ritual does something else too. It slows the moment down.

In a season full of haste — last orders, final lists, hurried errands — opening a book quietly before wrapping it feels almost radical. It turns gift-giving into a pause rather than a task.

Today, on Day 18 of our Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar, I invite you to try it. Before you wrap a book this year, read just enough to understand why you chose it. Let that understanding travel invisibly with the gift.

🎁 Today’s Reading Picks — “Before You Wrap It” Books

Beautiful, gift-worthy books that reward even a few pages:

These are books where the opening pages already feel like an offering.

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

And if you’re gathering ideas for thoughtful presents:
👉 Visit the Giftable Hardbacks Shelf

  1. Journey — Dorling Kindersley: An illustrated history of the world’s greatest travels
  2. Jurassic World: The Ultimate Visual History — James Mottram: Definitive collector’s book, a must-have for fans of the action-packed dinosaur saga
  3. National Geographic Ultimate Visual History of the World — Jean-Pierre Isbouts: Here, in vivid colour and crisp narrative, is the sweeping story of the history of civilisation
  4. The Wonder of Life on Earth — Henry Gee: Astonishing and readable natural history giving an accessible introduction to the topic of life.
  5. The Illustrated World of Tolkien — David Day: Exquisite reference guide to Tolkien’s world and the artists his vision inspired.
  6. The Work of Art — Adam Moss: Guided tour of what goes on inside an artist’s head.
  7. The Natural History Book — Dorling Kindersley: Beautiful guide to Earth’s wildlife and natural history, including its rocks, minerals, animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms.
  8. Information is Beautiful — David McCandless: Visual guide to how the world really works, through stunning infographics and data visualisations
  9. Animalium — Jenny Broom: Rich, informative and truly wonderful cabinet of curiosities beautifully displayed in this imaginative book
  10. The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Images — Taschen: Sets new standards for thoughtful exploration of symbols and their meanings
  11. The Illustrated Brief History Of Time — Stephen Hawking: Bring theories to life in a clear, captivating and visually engaging way
  12. The Secret Lives of Colour — Kassia St Clair: Excellent, innovative and idiosyncratic cultural history that will colour your thinking
  13. Atlas of the Invisible — James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti: Discover the hidden patterns in human society as you have never seen them before — through the world of data
  14. The Book of Trees: Visualising Branches of Knowledge — Manuel Lima: Stunning visual maps showing how humans organise knowledge.
  15. The Planets — Andrew Cohen and Brian Cox: Visually striking and intellectually generous.

This Christmas, let yourself read just a little before you give.
Let the book speak — briefly — in your hands.

Then wrap it carefully,
knowing exactly what kind of story you are sending out into the world.


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DAY 3 — The Most Memorable Book I Ever Received

Jolabokaflod Advent Calendar 2025

There are many gifts we forget. Some we remember for a season. But a few linger for a lifetime, quietly shaping who we become. More often than not, those are the gifts that came wrapped not just in paper, but in story.

I can still remember the weight of one particular book in my hands as a child—the satisfying density of it, the faint smell of ink and dust, the way my name had been written carefully on the inside cover. I don’t remember what else I received that year. I don’t remember the toys, the clothes, the noise. But I remember that book. I remember where I sat when I opened it. I remember how it felt to realise that something inside those pages now belonged to me.

That is the quiet power of giving a book.

Unlike most gifts, a book does not announce itself all at once. It unfolds slowly. It waits. It meets the reader in private moments—in bed after the lights go out, on the sofa while the house sleeps, in the quiet spaces between the busyness of life. A book becomes more than an object. It becomes a companion. A refuge. Sometimes even a turning point.

When we speak about Jolabokaflod—the Icelandic tradition of gifting books on Christmas Eve—we often talk about culture, community, and reading habits. But at its heart, the tradition is deeply personal. It’s about saying to someone, quietly and with care:

“I chose this story for you.”

Today, I invite you to pause and think about the most memorable book you ever received. Who gave it to you? Where were you? What did it awaken in you? Often, when we trace our reading lives back far enough, we find that everything began with a single, thoughtful gift.

That’s why, on Day 3 of our Advent journey, today’s focus is on books that make unforgettable presents—the kind that live on long after the wrapping paper is gone.

🎁 Today’s Reading Picks: “Most Memorable Book Gifts”

Timeless, emotionally resonant titles that make extraordinary presents:

These are the books people return to decades later and still remember who gave them.

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

And for even more timeless choices:
👉 Visit the Jolabokaflod Classics Shelf

If you’re giving a book this Christmas, you’re not just giving a story.

You’re giving a future memory.

Choose it with care.