It is here where two of my favourite passions collide, reading and travelling
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There are many-many places in the world for book lovers, combining our literary loving soul with natural landscape beauty and interesting history; however, nothing quite compares to Iceland. It is there where two of my favourite passions collide, reading and travelling.
I am not referring to travel books but rather a destination that supports readers and writers, amongst the incredible splendour of fjords, mountains, glaciers, sea cliffs, lava fields, and tiny coastal communities. This island nation of more than 380,000 people has more writers, more books published, and more books read and purchased, per head, than anywhere else in the world.
I have a history of building some of my travel itineraries around gorgeous bookshops (Penninn Eymundsson; Mal og Menning; Bokin), and the settings of books I have enjoyed (Burial Rites, by Hannah Kent; Miss Iceland, by Audur Ava Olafsdottir; The Glass Woman, by Caroline Lea), so basing myself in a small boutique hotel (Center Hotels Skjaldbreid, with breakfast included) in central Reykjavik for 14 days seemed like the obvious choice.
I could plan to relax in places offering an elegant, calming atmosphere in which to read and participate in a myriad of free book-related events in the capital city as well as enjoy a sense of adventure discovering new attractions in different areas throughout the country.
While researching I discovered that the Mystery Book Club would be meeting at Reykjavik City Library during my visit. I emailed and was invited to join their discussion of Reykjavik: A Crime Story, by local authors, Ragnar Jonasson and Katrin Jakobsdottir. Additionally, I was fortunate to access an English translation of this chilling thriller through Vancouver Public Libraries interlibrary loan.
Reykjavik is the capital and essentially the only city in the country. Most of the nation’s authors live and work in this area. There is a strong custom of story-telling known as kvoldvaka throughout the country; a tradition of congregating at the end of the day to share stories, recite verses, or do mind puzzles. It was astonishing to learn that one in ten Icelanders will publish a book.
There is a phrase in Icelandic, “ad ganga med bok I maganum”, translated to mean that everyone gives birth to a book.
Additionally, Christmas Book Flood (Icelandic: Jolabokaflodid) is a term used for the annual release of new books occurring in the months before the holiday season. Every household gets a book catalogue through the door; as exciting to residents of Iceland as receiving the Sears Wish Book on our doorsteps used to be. There is a tradition that every December 24, Icelanders give each other books and spend the night reading while drinking hot chocolate.
One Nordic proverb says, “It’s better to be without shoes than be without a book.”
There are numerous coordinated nationwide book clubs, supported by The Reads Program, and some splendid libraries. Within a 10-minute walk from the town centre is The Nordic House, a cultural institution, situated in a bird sanctuary. There is no admission charge to view the exhibits and there is a vegetarian restaurant SONO on site with a very nice view of the city skyline.
The government honours its authors with street signs and park benches throughout town. The city has also curated a self-guided walking tour in support of local writers and public benches have barcodes so you can listen to a story on your smartphone as you sit and relax in the harbour.
For a traveller, who has sent postcards to herself since 1979, I was eager to visit The Old Bookstore in Flatyri. Established in 1914, this unique place has been run by the same family for over a century. Here you can buy books by weight and the furnishings and décor are practically unchanged since 1898.
Visitors are encouraged to wander through the old apartment on the upper floor. Each postcard purchased in the adjoining gift store, showing this establishment, is stamped with their family seal and mailed to your home destination with a current international Iceland stamp. A wonderful memento for a book-loving wanderlust.