Jólabókaflóðið

At least ten years ago, during the Christmas season, I stumbled upon an article about an Icelandic Christmas tradition called Jólabókaflóðið, also often spelled Jolabokaflod and pronounced Yala-book-a-flewd. It translates to the "flood of books." The article explained this tradition started during World War 2 when rationing made it difficult to find gifts. However, paper was apparently easy to acquire. People in Iceland would give each other a book and some chocolates on Christmas Eve, and then everyone would spend the night sitting in front of a fire, reading their books and eating chocolate or drinking hot chocolate. What a cozy and romantic idea.

As a book nerd, I loved the idea and purchased books and chocolate for my family, planning to add this tradition to our holiday celebrations. My family doesn't enjoy the tradition as much as I do, but they don't have a choice now. I've been the sole practitioner of Jolabokaflod every year since.  

You may be asking what books have to do with art. Clearly, writing is also an art form, and there is no better place to acquire knowledge and inspiration than books. We can't all travel the world to attend classes and visit the great galleries and venues. For us, there are books. I am sharing a few book ideas with some of you who may be looking for gifts. I hope you add Jolabokaflod to your holiday season.

Music

I suggest you go to SSE Music in La Crosse for anything music-related. They have a whole room filled with instructional books and sheet music. If you are looking for something in a specific genre or instrument, ask for help; it will save you a lot of time looking through the shelves. I suggest any book about music theory, but there are some tremendous instructional series for anyone interested in learning an instrument. There are too many options here for me to pick any single book to suggest. It is up to a person's interest, but you will find it at SSE Music.

Visual Arts

The Louvre: all the paintings.

Art: The Definitive Visual Guide.

The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing.

The Art Book. By Phaidon Press.

Creative 52: Weekly Projects to Invigorate Your Photography Portfolio.

Complete Pottery Techniques.

A publishing company called Taschen has many books related to art and artists that I enjoy—older artists like Caravaggio and Klimt and newer artists like Giger and Frazetta.

Literature

Buy anything written by Charles Bukowski.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. I'm not a King fan, but this is a great book.

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.

On Writing Well by William Zinsser is a classic.

The Elements of Journalism by Kovach and Rosenstiel.

Cooking

Any of the books written by Anthony Bourdain.

The Nordic Cookbook, The Nordic Baking Book, and Fäviken by Magnus Nilsson.

Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto by Aaron Franklin. You can buy two of Aarons's books in The Franklin Barbeque Collection.

There are certainly more books, but I am limited to space, and I know I am forgetting a couple that should be here. If you have some ideas to share, please email me. I am always looking to add some books to my collection. I wish you all a wonderful holiday. I hope you get lots of great books.

If you don't wish to have the tradition spoiled for you, don't read any further. I only add this because some will refute the story of Jolabokaflod. Unfortunately, a year after I read the article introducing me to Jallabokaflod, I researched it and discovered a nasty truth. I found, as any Icelander would tell you, that a publishing company had fabricated much of the history of Jolabokaflod. Perhaps the story is not wholly false, but it was not genuinely practiced across Iceland. Maybe several book nerds, like myself, began the tradition during WW2, which was practiced in a few communities. These days, the flood of books refers to Icelandic publishing companies releasing many newly printed books just before the holiday season. It was disappointing that I fell for what was essentially a marketing scheme, but the idea did exist in Iceland in some fashion, and it is one that I enjoy. Granted, the books I purchase for people often go into a pile under whatever clothing they also receive. I enjoy looking for books others will enjoy; it's up to them to open the cover.