In my last post before Christmas, I’d like to pay tribute to Iceland’s heartwarming Christmas tradition of Jólabókaflóð – when everyone gives each other books on Christmas Eve, before curling up by the fire to read them.
When I first heard of Jólabókaflóð, I assumed it was the spontaneous habit of a nation of eager readers and writers. Iceland has long had an exceptionally high literacy rate, and it’s in the Guinness Book of Records as the country with most authors per capita. 10% of its 330,000 population will write and publish a book in their lifetime.
Closer investigation revealed that Jólabókaflóð is actually a commercially-manufactured campaign to boost Iceland’s publishing industry. During the Second World War, when many Christmas gift products were scarce, paper was not rationed. (Not so in the UK, where publishers were required by the Ministry of Supply to reduce paper usage under the Book Production War Economy Standard.) In 1944, recognising a golden opportunity to highlight books as the perfect Christmas present, the Icelandic publishing industry launched the Jolabokaflod campaign. (For more about books produced in the UK during World War II, click here.)
Postwar, the campaign continued, and, even now, each November, Icelandic publishers send every home in the country a catalogue of all the newly-published books to encourage Christmas gift buying.
It’s different in the UK, where publishers start promoting Christmas reads much earlier. For example, my publisher Boldwood Books launched my latest festive mystery novel, Death at the Village Christmas Fair, back in August. But their intention is the same: to promote reading at Christmas.
The founders of Jólabókaflóð could not have foreseen the 24/7 digital noise that surrounds the typical twenty-first century reader. The stress of living so much of our lives online makes the escape offered by a good book especially appealing at Christmas – one of the few times of the year when most of us give ourselves permission to switch off and relax.
Echoing the famous festive slogan of the Dogs’ Trust, the gift of reading for pleasure is not just for Christmas, but for life.
As my time at children’s charity Read for Good taught me, people who read for pleasure reap numerous lifelong benefits, from greater knowledge of the world and better understanding of human behaviour, to better educational and career prospects, to deeper personal happiness and satisfaction with their lives.
As George RR Martin famously said, ‘A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.’
If you’re looking for a New Year’s Resolution for 2026, vow now to read for pleasure every day. Even if you can find time for only a few pages a day, that’ll get you through at least six books next year. By Christmas 2026, you’ll be very glad you did.
So, this Christmas, I wish you Happy Reading – and throughout the New Year too.
PS In case you’re wondering, the photo at the top of this post is of my daughter getting to grips with a good book when she was very young. She’s now studying for her MA in Literature. You’re never too young to learn to love books and reading.
PPS In case you’d like to donate to a children’s reading charity this Christmas, here are links to two fabulous ones that I support:
Read for Good: www.readforgood.org & Read With Me: www.readwithme.org.uk
This article first appeared in the Hawkesbury Upton Parish News December 2025 issue.
In Other News
First of all, huge apologies for the scarcity of new posts on my blog in the last few weeks. I’ve had to give priority to the final manuscript of my next mystery novel, The Importance of Being Murdered. Just my lovely proofreader’s changes to check now, and then it will be hich will be published by Boldwood Books on 26th March 2026. The official cover reveal will be on 27th December – watch this space!
In addition, I was literally overtaken by events in the run-up to Christmas, including a flurry of public talks and Christmas fairs – all great fun to do, but sapping my time and energy, and taking me away from my desk.
I love doing public events and meeting readers and fellow writers, but at the start of 2025, I pledged to restrict myself to one author event a month so as not to become distracted from the nuts and bolts of my writing life, which include this blog and my Readers’ Club newsletter. (Sign up here if you haven’t already and you’ll receive a free ebook as a welcome gift).
By November, that promise had gone out of the window – hence my relative radio silence online. No prizes for guessing what one of my intentions for 2026 is…
Suffice to say, if you want to book me up to talk to your book club or library or festival in 2026, please let me know asap before my calendar fills up.
You can see in the Diary Dates section in the right column of my blog that 2026 bookings are already coming in thick and fast.
In the meantime, with only carol services and family commitments in my diary between now and New Year, I’m looking forward to having time over the next couple of weeks to catch up with my blog and newsletter, and to writing my next murder mystery event for the Hawkesbury Drama Group, which, like The Importance of Being Murdered, I plan to turn into a novel in due course.
What I’ve Been Reading
Although though my diary has been overflowing, on most days I’ve managed to squeeze in reading time, and I have plenty of new book reviews and recommendations to share. Even on my busiest days, I set aside time to read, first thing in the morning, when the rest of the household is still asleep. Apart from the cats, that is: of course, I feed them before I settle down with my book (often with a by then full cat on my lap). Here are a few of my favourite recent reads.
A Brush with Death by Jean Burnett
Highly entertaining, quirky cosy mystery set in a university where there are some decidedly dodgy goings on. Lots of great one-liners that made me laugh aloud, and I also enjoyed the 80s setting, not least because I was in my prime then! A very funny first cosy mystery from this author, whose books in other genres I’ve also enjoyed. I hope she’ll write more like this.
Whipster by Susan Grossey
I shouldn’t have been so sad when Susan Grossey finished her 7-book Sam Plank series, because her second series, about Cambridge College Constable Gregory Hardiman, is equally compelling.
This third in series is the best yet, with Gregory and friends well established now, and their character arcs evolving in the background as another murder mystery arises. As ever, there is conflict and contrast between town and gown, and Constable Hardiman must manoeuvre with care to solve the murder while maintaining the fine balance between the university’s system and the city’s.
I especially like the worldly-wise former soldier Hardiman’s humanity and kindness to others, pursuing his own sense of justice for those from all walks of life, and not just for the privileged classes.
As ever, Grossey brings history to life in vivid and relatable detail, sharing her protagonist’s fascination with words, and sprinkling the narrative effectively with now archaic terminology current in Hardiman’s day, adding to the authenticity of the story.
Bring on number four…
The Minstrel’s Daughter by R Marsden
One of the many things I enjoy about this series is the way it transports the reader to many different settings in medieval society, and this one takes us to Bremen, a city I visited for the first time a few years ago and really loved, so it was fascinating to see it brought to life as a centre of medieval trade. I also particularly enjoyed the seafaring scenes and the exciting pursuits across the North Sea. The author clearly knows a great deal about medieval sailing and the timeless power of that sea, but while using technical terms, he keeps the story accessible and compelling for landlubbers too.
Although as in previous episodes, there is a huge cast of characters, it’s pleasing to see Lord Rory’s nuanced character continue to develop and grow as the result of the challenges he faces.
My only regret is that as I’m reading these books on my Kindle, I don’t get to see the beautiful and evocative covers each time I pick one up!
Now onto book 8…
