How to celebrate ‘Jolabokaflod’ - the Icelandic ‘book flood’ tradition!
There’s nothing wrong with spending Thanksgiving night with a bowl of Turkey leftovers in one hand and a long list of gifts to buy in the other, waiting for the clock to strike the magic hour of twelve midnight. Yes indeed- ‘Black Friday’! For some, that tradition kicks off the beginning of the Holidays. No judgement, whatsoever.
But, fellow readers, I think Iceland has a tradition that pretty much beats every other Holiday Season’s opening...In Iceland, the Christmas season begins in mid-November when a catalog (Bokatidini) of every new book published that year is delivered to every single Icelander. It’s the most exciting day of the year.
Picture this - A “Christmas Book Flood”. AKA, “Jolabokaflod”!
Pronounced Yo-lah-bow-kah-Flowed, this tradition started in Iceland during World War II when foreign merchandise was restricted, and paper was about the only thing that wasn’t rationed. Paper was cheap, so the publishing houses flooded the market with new book titles during the last few weeks in the year. The Icelanders have for a long time considered Christmas Eve to be their main gift giving time, and so during the war they exchanged books on Christmas Eve, took a cup of hot chocolate or chocolate candy to bed with them and started reading the book they had been given straight away. I mean...whaaat...HEAVEN!
That tradition lives on in Iceland and the word has gotten out! People all over the world are now encouraged to celebrate Jolabokaflod by gifting books on Christmas Eve and setting aside all day Christmas to drink hot cocoa and read. This year we’ve seen Jolabokafold celebrations being posted all over social media (especially in our Bookstagram community!), introduced at book expos and book fairs, and word of mouth keeps getting wider.
Here’s how my first ‘Jolabokaflod’ went down…
First up - books I read. My daughter Kelsey and I extended our Jolabokaflod celebrations through New Year’s Eve weekend. I mean what else would you do in Quarantine? Next - a lot of chocolate was involved - boxes of chocolates, bags of chocolates, chocolate bars, hot cocoa, and the piece de resistance- a vegan (yes, you read that correctly) chocolate mousse.
See the recipe at end of this blog post… You’re welcome :)
‘Mr. Dickens and His Carol’ by Samantha Silva
This was a cozy holiday read about the writer Charles Dickens whose A Christmas Carol pretty much embodies the spirit of Christmas. Most of us can remember first reading it, or even more likely having it read aloud to us. And who wasn’t booing Mr. Scrooge, cheering on Bob Cratchit, terrified of Jacob Marley and rooting for Tiny Tim?! Ms. Silva has a charming, poignant way of as she tells us, “reimagining how the second most beloved Christmas story in the world ( after the original of course) came to be.” This book can be paired with the movie “The Man
Who Invented Christmas” listed in a previous blog post of Kelsey’s top five Christmas movies you’ve never seen. You can also watch the musical version of A Christmas Carol, “Scrooge” which is also on Kelsey’s list. - I give this book 4 cups of tea
‘The Thursday Murder Club’ by Richard Osman
What a perfectly delightful read to end this year. It’s fun, clever, hysterical, and a darn good whodunnit!
First of all, I want to be IN the Thursday Murder Club, but I have to wait a while before I become eligible. There’s a group of septuagenarians who all live together in the same upscale retirement village, but that’s the only thing they have in common. They are described as an infamous former socialist firebrand, a former therapist, a sweet widow who isn’t as innocent as she seems, and a woman who no one is quite sure who she really is, but is not to be underestimated.
The book is full of crooks, cops, capers, clues and the club members who outwit everyone. It’s just a fun ride that will keep you guessing, but most importantly, laughing.
I rate it 5 cups of tea because we need an escape book like this in our lives right now.
‘The Queen’s Gambit’ by Walter Tevis
I read The Queen’s Gambit because I had recently watched the miniseries adapted from this book that premiered on Netflix in November. I was blown away. Who would have thought a chess game could be so exciting, riveting, and ridiculously suspenseful?!
But The Queen’s Gambit is about a lot more than chess. The book opens when the main character, Beth Harmon, is an eight year old living in a children’s home after being orphaned by her mother’s death in an automobile accident. The book is a coming of age story. It’s about addiction, feminism, isolation, loneliness, triumph and chess. It’s a thriller. It’s heartbreaking, then heartwarming.
It’s a winner in every sense.- 4 ½ cups of tea (only because - shock coming - I liked the Miniseries even better - 5 cups of tea
‘Cher Ami and Major Whittlesley’ by Katherine Rooney
I just happened to see a reader’s recommendation for this book on some obscure instagram account I was on by accident. I looked it up and read more about it, bought it, and it has now become one of my favorite reads this year! It’s thoroughly researched, gorgeously written, and inspired by true events from the famous battle of the Lost Battalion in the forests of France during World War I.
Don’t be put off because one of the narrators is a pigeon. (Remember Charlotte, Wilbur, and Enzo?) Cher Ami is a remarkable hero, who to this day resides as a feathered statue inside a glass case in the Smithsonian Institute. You will be amazed at the homing pigeons’ vital roles as messengers and lifesavers during the Great War, as well as their ability to have longings, to love, and to bond and form deep connections with each other and with humans.
Major Whittlesley is the other hero narrator in this book who tells how this gut wrenching tale unfolded with his group of 550 men trapped by enemies and then by friendly fire with little hope of rescue. This book is astonishing. It warms your heart with the great examples of sacrifice, loyalty, love and heroism, and breaks your heart with the harrowing tales of brutality, death and war’s agonizing lasting effects such as Major Whittlesey’s unrelenting depression. An emotional read you won’t soon forget- 5 cups of tea
Bonus Recipe - Vegan Chocolate Mousse from The Forest Feast Mediterranean, by Erin Gleeson
Ingredients:
Flesh from 3 very ripe large AVOCADOES
½ cup (50 g.) unsweetened COCOA POWDER
¾ cup (180 ml) MAPLE SYRUP
Sprinkling of sea salt (don’t overdo it!)
Optional: whipped cream & fresh raspberries to serve
Directions:
Blend in a food processor (we used a blender) until very creamy. (Yes, that’s IT).
Chill one hour before serving (we doled the mixture out into small ramekins and chilled in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, then refrigerated it for 30-40 minutes.
Serve with cool whip if you want to keep it vegan or be like me and add fresh whipped cream. Kelsey likes adding a few fresh raspberries on top for a bit of tart taste.
