Jolabokaflod also known as Christmas Book Day began in Iceland during WWII when paper was not rationed.
Many Icelanders give books as gifts and spend Christmas Eve reading and eating chocolate or drinking hot chocolate.
Why not enjoy this wonderful holiday tradition in your own way? It’s perfect whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or none of the above. Reading is pure joy and a wonderful gift to share for any occasion. It doesn’t have to be chocolate (I’m definitely having chocolate and hot chocolate). You can enjoy champagne and caviar, spiced cider and apple pie or popcorn. What matters is that you have the best of evenings.
We have a few reading suggestions to help you enjoy whatever version of Jolabokaflod you create.
Just for fun they all have the word, “winter” in their titles.
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah – Meredith and Nina Whitson chose different paths in life, but reunite at their father’s deathbed. His last wish is for his daughters to hear their mother tell the fairytale she shared with the girls to it’s end. The story they hear about their cold and distant mother’s life in Russia explains so much, but it leaves them questioning who they are and everything they thought was true.
Winter Street By Elin Hilderbrand – Kelley Quinn owns Nantucket’s Winter Street Inn. All he wants for Christmas is to have his four grown children under one roof for the holidays. What happens when he catches his second wife Mitzi kissing Santa under the mistletoe? When chaos breaks loose will Kelley’s first wife save the day?
One Day in Winter by Shari Low – Cammy searches for the perfect ring to propose with. Lila decides to tell her lover’s wife about their affair. Caro goes searching for answers about her relationship with her father, and Bernadette finally decides to leave her abusive husband. Over the course of twenty-four hours four lives will change forever.
The Winter Cottage by Rachael Lucas – Escape to the Scottish highlands and fall in love. When Rilla returns to the little cottage she grew up in near the Applemore castle she runs into her childhood crush, Lachlan, the new laird of Applemore. Applemore has seen better days and is now a hotel with a leaky roof and other expensive problems. Should Lacklan keep Applemore and try to fix it up or sell it so his three sisters will receive their share of the inheritance? The answer seems simple until he sees Rilla again.
The Stroke of Winter by Wendy Webb – Tess is renovating her family’s home on Lake Superior and converting it into a Bed and Breakfast. When she uncovers her grandfather’s secret art studio the images she finds are macabre and disturbing - nothing like the works of the famous artist. When she begins seeing random brushstrokes, hearing scratching at the door, and shadows dancing on the walls Tess becomes convinced a horrible evil has been set free.
Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates – When a blizzard makes the roads impassable, a tour group of eight people must take shelter in an abandoned cabin deep in the woods. When their tour guide goes missing only to be found murdered and mutilated, it becomes clear that someone is hunting them for sport. Who will survive the dead of winter?
Winter Fire: Christmas with G. K. Chesterton by Ryan Whitaker Smith – Share the wit and wisdom of the author of the Father Brown series that has been adapted for television. Sample his other writings and devotions and some traditional English holiday recipes in this perfect companion to winter.
Winter World by A.G. Riddle - This is Book one of the Long Winter Trilogy – When earth is hit with a new Ice Age, scientists rush to find answers. They discover a mysterious object heading toward the sun. Is this the cause of the Ice Age or our only salvation? NASA launches a probe to make contact, but what they find might mean the end of life as we know it.
Winter’s Curse by Mary Stone – FBI Special Agent Winter is assigned to what looks like a standalone bank robbery. It quickly morphs into a psychotic killer’s quest for fame and notoriety Can Winter apprehend the duo and stop their murderous spree, so she can get back to hunting The Preacher before he finds her first?
The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon – In 1908, sara was found dead on her farm in West Hall, Vermont just months after the death of her daughter. Her murder was never solved. Over 100 year later, Ruthie lives in the farmhouse with her younger sister and their mom Alice. When Alice disappears , Ruthie finds an od diary hidden beneath her mom’s floorboards. As she reads it becomes clear she has only one chance to solve this mystery and prevent history from repeating itself.