The Daily Escape:
Fall in Sugar Hollow 2017, near Charlottesville, VA
Wrongo doesn’t have much Christmas spirit this year. Maybe the fractured state of US politics has something to do with his grumpiness. But, it’s Saturday, and we need something positive as we face the start of the gift-buying and gift-giving season, so let’s focus on Iceland: (editing and brackets by the Wrongologist)
Icelanders have a beautiful tradition of giving books to each other on Christmas Eve and then spending the night reading. This custom is so deeply ingrained in the culture that it is… [called] the Jolabokaflod, or “Christmas Book Flood,” when the majority of books in Iceland are sold between September and December in preparation for Christmas giving.
Imagine sitting around with the family on Christmas Eve and everyone reading by the fire. That sounds positively subversive in our consumer-driven culture. OTOH, in Iceland, all the restaurants are closed on the 24th and only a few open on the 25th, so the incentive to stay at home is greater than in the US. This might be something that appeals to some of you, in which case Wrongo highly suggests you take a trip to Iceland at Christmas (you might want to consider an iceland car rental if you do decide to go though), but for many of us this whole idea will be alien.
Treehugger points out that Iceland, with a population of only 329,000 people, is an extraordinarily literary country where people love to read and write. And according to the BBC:
The country has more writers, more books published and more books read, per head, than anywhere else in the world…One in 10 Icelanders will publish [a book].
Icelanders receive a free catalog of new books called the Bokatidindi in the fall. They then pore over the new releases and choose which ones they want to buy. Baldur Bjarnason, Icelandic book industry researcher says:
It’s like the firing of the guns at the opening of the race…It’s not like. this is a catalog that gets put in everybody’s mailbox and everybody ignores it. Books get attention here.
And people prefer physical, paper books. Nowadays we’re seeing an increase of these readers and writers coming and wanting to learn how to publish a book, and then they themselves can have a physical book in which they’ve actually written. A bookstore manager told NPR:
The book in Iceland is such an enormous gift, you give a physical book. You don’t give e-books here.
Now, at The Mansion of Wrong, physical books are always on the Christmas gift menu. This year, Wrongo intends to give multiple copies of two books to family:
- “American Wolf” by Nate Blakeslee is the biography of a single female wolf in Yellowstone. But the story is told from many sides, including those ranchers who opposed the re-introduction of wolves into the park, the wildlife biologists that worked to help wolves flourish in Yellowstone, and the hunters looking for their next trophy. It shows the best, and the pettiest of our society in a microcosm.
- “Spy of the First Person” by Sam Shepard tells Shepard’s story of facing death from ALS. This isn’t for everyone, but Wrongo’s brother died of ALS in 2016, and this first-person account of what an ALS victim goes through has meaning for Wrongo, his sisters, and all who loved Kevin.
Reading on a winter evening is something everyone ought to incorporate into their family’s celebration of Christmas. At the Mansion of Wrong, we celebrate physical books. They are among the few things we collect, that we read, and occasionally re-read, that we pass on to family and friends. Remember: 30 minutes of reading per day equals about 2.2 million words a year. And you could learn a few things!
So, for at least a few minutes we have forgotten politics and toxic personalities. Keep it going by brewing a fresh cup of Redbeard Blue Collar Coffee: ($16.95/lb.). With its “notes of milk chocolate and salted caramel and a smooth body at a medium roast level“, it’s kind of a Christmas blend. Sit by the window and watch the last few leaves fight to remain on the trees, and listen to The Chamber Music Center of NY perform a flash mob of chamber music at the Bank of America Tower:
Those who read the Wrongologist in email can view the video here.
