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The joy of a giving and receiving books at Christmas

— by Alyson Walsh

 

In Iceland there’s a word for the mass purchase of books in the run up to Christmas: jólabókaflóð (pronounced yo-la-bok-a-flot) which roughly translates as ‘Christmas book flood.’  It’s a tradition in the country to exchange books on Christmas Eve and then spend the evening reading. What a lovely idea! I’m happy to stay at home and get hygge with a glass of mulled wine and a plate of cinnamon stars on Christmas Eve. What could be better than leafing through the pages of Patchett, browsing a beautiful style guide or planning how to make, thrift and mend your way through the next year. Even though we live in the era of the e-book, I still love both giving and receiving actual, physical books…

To help you find the perfect gift, or start a book flood of your own, the That’s Not My Age team has put together a list of 30 brilliant buys. Everything from poetry, fiction and memoirs, to cookbooks and style guides – many of which are new releases. You can find the list over on my Bookshop page here. If you’re not familiar with Bookshop, it’s a platform which helps to financially support local, independent bookshops, by donating a portion of every book sold. You can choose your favourite independent bookshop to support, or contribute to an earnings pool that will be evenly distributed among participating independent bookshops each month.

Happy reading!

 

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  In Iceland there’s a word for the mass purchase of books in the run up to Christmas: jólabókaflóð (pronounced yo-la-bok-a-flot) which roughly translates as ‘Christmas book flood…