Join us for the exciting relaunch of the ICCT Book Club for 2025/26 (see dates below)

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Að ganga með bók í maganum: To walk with a book in your stomach. Everyone gives birth to a book.

“We are a nation of storytellers. When it was dark and cold we had nothing else to do. Thanks to the poetic eddas and medieval sagas, we have always been surrounded by stories. After independence from Denmark in 1944, literature helped define our identity.” — Solvi Bjorn Siggurdsson

Welcome to the ICCT’s Book Club page!

There’s nothing more Icelandic than a book club. After all, Iceland has more writers, more books published and more books read, per head, than anywhere else in the world. It is said that one in ten people will publish a book.

Here are the dates and selections for the year along with a short synopsis:

DATE	Book and Author	SYNOPSIS
September 23, 2025	The History of Iceland, Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, 2012	Written by Iceland’s future president, this thought-provoking history traces the nation’s path from isolation to prosperity. Covering settlement to today, it explores independence, interdependence, and identity. Drawing on recent research, it details the 2008 economic collapse and reveals how each era is remembered, offering unique insight into the challenges and resilience of a small nation in a globalized world.
October 21, 2025	Song of the Vikings: Snorri & the Making of Norse Myths, Nancy Marie Brown, 2012	Song of the Vikings tells the story of Snorri Sturluson—chieftain, politician, and master storyteller whose works preserved Norse mythology. Nancy Marie Brown vividly recreates the medieval Icelandic world that shaped Snorri’s imagination, from glaciers and volcanoes to steaming springs and stark lava fields. She reveals how Snorri’s tales of Odin, Thor, and Loki shaped Western literature and continue to inspire creators from Wagner to Tolkien to the Marvel Universe.
November 18, 2025	The Fish Can Sing , Halldór Laxness, 1957	In Halldór Laxness’s beloved novel, orphan Alfgrimur grows up in a humble turf cottage and dreams of becoming a fisherman until he meets Gardar Holm, Iceland’s famed yet elusive opera singer. renowned abroad but unheard at home. Encouraged to explore the wider world, Alfgrimur discovers Gardar’s mystique hides truths that force him to choose between ambition and loyalty to his humble, cherished roots.
December 16, 2025	Miss Iceland, Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, 2019	In 1960s Iceland, aspiring writer Hekla faces one obstacle—she is a woman in a nation of poets where opportunities are limited to marriage, motherhood, or low-paying work. Armed with Ulysses and a typewriter, she moves to Reykjavik, and she shares struggles with Jon, a gay friend dreaming of theatre. Amid social change and artistic challenges, Hekla meets a poet who challenges her vision, and she realizes freedom and her art may only be possible abroad.
January 20, 2026	Quake, Auður Jónsdóttir, 2022	An acclaimed novel from the granddaughter of Nobel Prize–winning author Halldór Laxness. In Quake, Saga awakens from an epileptic seizure to find her young son missing and her memory fractured. Haunted by elusive images and doubts, she struggles to piece together truth from illusion. Auður’s novel explores memory, trust, and identity, blurring the lines between reality and imagination.
February 17, 2026	Death on the Island, Eliza Reid, 2025	On a remote Icelandic island, Canadian diplomat Kavita Banerjee dies at a dinner party, and suspicion falls on her ambassador. His wife, Jane, must investigate the lives of Icelandic power players, to save his career and their marriage. She uncovers corruption, deception, and danger at every turn among Iceland’s elite—where desperate people will do anything to protect their secrets.
March 17, 2026	Reykjavík, Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir, 2024	This acclaimed collaboration between a celebrated Nordic Noir author and Iceland’s former Prime Minister unravels a haunting mystery. In 1956, fourteen-year-old Lára vanishes from the remote island of Videy, sparking Iceland’s most notorious unsolved case. Thirty years later, journalist Valur Robertsson investigates during Reykjavík’s bicentennial, uncovering dangerous secrets. The closer he gets to the truth, the more it’s clear someone will kill to keep it hidden.
April 21, 2026	Summer Light, and Then Comes the Night, Jón Kalman Stefánsson, 2022	Summer Light and Then Comes the Night captures life in a small Icelandic village of 400 residents, where change arrives with a new road. Through interlinked stories of love, betrayal, and transformation, Stefánsson reveals the beauty, humor, and quiet magic hidden in this small but unforgettable community. Winner of the Icelandic Literature Prize.
May 19, 2026	Unexpected Fictions: New Icelandic Canadian Writing, Kristjana Gunnars, 1989	These nine short stories are written by well-known New Icelandic authors such as Betty Jane Wylie, Martha Brooks, and David Arnason. Gunnars showcases the work of the prairie Icelandic community and is wide-ranging, contemporary, and highly entertaining. The stories are sometimes comic and sometimes melancholy, in the best tradition of a “round of storytelling.”
June 16, 2026	Secrets of the Sprakkar, Eliza Reid, 2022	Secrets of the Sprakkar takes readers across Iceland’s striking landscapes to reveal the achievements and untold stories of its extraordinary women–environmentalists, entrepreneurs, scientists, and artists—who challenge norms and inspire change. Through research and interviews, Reid reveals their personal triumphs, struggles, and resilience, offering a powerful portrait of women’s impact in Iceland and the challenges they face worldwide.

The sessions will be from 7:30-8:30pm EST/EDT and will be virtual, on Zoom, so feel free to join us from anywhere. You don’t have to have read the book—please join us if you are interested though there will be spoilers. Not that spoilers would take away from the enjoyment of reading any of these books, many of which I have read multiple times. You also do not have to come to every session, so please join us when you are available.

I am creating an online members portal, where you will find purchasing/downloading options, optional resources, a few thought-provoking starter questions for each book, and a Spotify playlist inspired by our selections. As for questions, please feel free to suggest your own in advance or to bring them to our meetings.

Please email me at deeann.sagar@gmail.com if you would like to join or if you have any questions, suggestions, etc. I will get you signed up for the members portal and for the Zoom link. The Spotify playlist is here–enjoy:

I look forward to hearing from all of you. Takk fyrir!

DeeAnn Sagar

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