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The Jólabókaflóð
You might not have heard of it, but Iceland has a yearly flood. It’s not like the monsoon where the streets are overrun with water and mud. No, this is a different kind of flood, namely the so-called Christmas-Book Flood. Well. It…
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Troll’s Cathedral
Trolls´Cathedral (original Icelandic title Tröllakirkja) is the first part of an acclaimed trilogy by author Ólafur Gunnarsson (the two other being Potter´s Field and Winter Journey, respectively). The novel was published in 1992 and nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize the same…
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100 Crazy Things (Apparently)
A far cry from Icelandair’s notorious ‘Dirty Weekend in Reykjavík’ ad campaign a few years back and the Bangkok of the North label Iceland has received in the past, this book is sweet and romantic rather than sex-oriented. It is aimed at…
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100 Crazy Things (Apparently)
50 Crazy Things to Taste in Iceland lists, well, fifty crazy things to taste in Iceland. It is obviously aimed at tourists, and with me being an Icelandic native myself, I didn’t expect to find the foods listed here so crazy. And,…
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A Gap In Iceland’s Literary Landscape
Sources claim that Forlagið, Iceland’s largest publishing house, is looking for a chick lit author. Apparently there is a gap in the Icelandic literary landscape that they are looking to fill. Surveys conducted in Britain, United States and Canada show that around…
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Stumble, an Icelandic Troll Story
Brian Pilkington, a Liverpool native living in Iceland since 1977, is one of the country’s most beloved children books’ illustrators. His award-winning illustrations have played a big role in the Icelandic trolls’ image makeover that has taken place over the last twenty…
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A (Slightly Outdated) History of Iceland
As the title clearly states, this book is a very brief account of the history of our small nation and country. And the first thing I noticed is that it is in fact very small, making it quite handy for travellers.The second…
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On why there are so many cats in downtown Reykjavík
Haruki Murakami attended The Reykjavík International Literary Festival. The following year, he published an article about his visit in the local newspaper Morgunblaðið. He writes about puffins, how few people make up the Icelandic population, the northern lights, the vastness of the…
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Too Cute To Eat?
Working at a seafood restaurant in Reykjavík has taught me one thing: a lot of tourists (and, for some reason, especially American ones) shudder at the thought of eating puffin. The reason? Puffins are cute, and should therefore not be eaten. Upon…
