Runic inscriptions from times of the Icelandic settlement show that the settlers could read and had thoughts they believed were important enough to (quite literally) set in stone. Iceland’s love of the written word has deep roots. The Icelandic Sagas - Honour, Glory and Revenge ‘To walk around with a book in your stomach’ is a common phrase meaning ‘to have an idea for a book’. The Icelandic language has some neat proverbs depicting our love of books such as ‘It is better to be without shoes than without a book’ and ‘A man’s best friend is a book’ (not a dog). Iceland has more books published, more writers and more books read than anywhere else in the world-per capita of course. It is said that one in every 10 Icelanders has published a book (including me!). These books are not just the works of a few, very hard working authors either. To say that Icelanders are book lovers is an understatement. Experience the landscapes yourself with this Private Jeep Game of Thrones AdventureĮvery year, over 1300 titles are published in a language spoken by only 330 thousand people.Learn more in the Story of Icelandic Cinema.Read more about Icelandic books in The Icelanders and Their Love of Books.Photo from Wikimedia, Creative Commons, by Finnur Jónsson. What's so unique about Icelandic literature? What are the ancient Icelandic Sagas? What is the Christmas Book Flood or Jólabókaflóðið? Where does Iceland's obsession with crime writing come from? Read more to find out everything you need to know about the literary heritage of this nation of book lovers.

Heimsljós by Halldór Laxness