Join us for the ICCT Book Club 2026/27 Season (see dates below)
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Að ganga með bók í maganum: Walking with a book in your stomach
We all have a book inside us.
“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 2026-2027 ICCT BOOK CLUB!
As I often say, there’s nothing more Icelandic than a book club! We wrapped up my first year in June and we had such an awesome year. I look forward to continuing in 2026-2027.
Our first meeting is Tuesday, September 15 at 7:30pm on Zoom, and our first book is The Far Traveller: Voyages of a Viking Woman, by Nancy Marie Brown. I will email the Zoom link OUT in early September. Please email me at deeann.sagar@gmail.com if you would like to be on the list or if you have any questions, suggestions, etc.
The information for our 2026-2027 Book List and Spotify Playlist is below. I look forward to seeing you on a future session.
Takk fyrir!
DeeAnn Sagar
Here are the dates and selections for the year along with a short synopsis:
| Book & Author | Genre | Synopsis |
| Session One: SEPT 15, 2026 The Far Traveller: Voyages of a Viking Woman, Nancy Marie Brown, 2007 | History/Biography Tie in with the Vinland Sagas | A historical investigation into the life of Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, an Icelandic woman who traveled farther than any of her contemporaries. Drawing on Viking sagas, archaeology, and history, Brown reconstructs Gudrid’s remarkable journeys from Iceland to Greenland, Vinland (North America), and Rome. |
| Session Two:OCT 20, 2026 Under the Glacier, Halldór Laxness, 1990 | Fiction | A mysterious government emissary arrives beneath an Icelandic glacier to investigate strange occurrences surrounding a charismatic pastor. Blending satire, philosophy, folklore, and absurdity, Laxness explores faith, modernity, and the search for meaning. |
| Session Three: NOV 17, 2026In Valhalla’s Shadows, W.D. Valgardson, 2019 | Mystery/Noir | Set in Manitoba’s Icelandic community, this atmospheric mystery follows a retired police officer investigating a decades-old disappearance. Valgardson combines Nordic noir elements with prairie history, memory, family secrets, and questions of identity. |
| Session Four: DEC 15, 2026 Animal Life, Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, 2022 | Fiction | During a snowy Christmas season in Reykjavík, a lonely middle-aged woman unexpectedly becomes connected to a young pregnant immigrant and her child. A tender and often humorous novel about family, belonging, aging, and human connection. |
| Session Five: JAN 19, 2027 Bloodhoof, Gerdur Kristny, transl. by Rory McTurk, 2012 | Poetry Tie in with the Volsunga Saga | An award-winning verse novel inspired by the medieval Volsunga Saga. Through vivid poetry, Kristný retells the tragic story of Sigmundur and Sinfjötli, exploring fate, violence, revenge, and the darker aspects of heroic legend. |
| Session Six:FEB 16, 2027 Happy Iceland, Anne Marie Wells, 2026 | Non-fiction/Memoir | Part memoir, part travel narrative, Anne Marie Wells reflects on her experiences living in and exploring Iceland. Through personal stories, cultural observations, and encounters with Icelanders, she offers an affectionate portrait of contemporary Icelandic life. |
| Session Seven:MAR 16, 2027 Last Rituals, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, 2005 | Mystery/Noir | Lawyer Thóra Guðmundsdóttir is drawn into a chilling investigation when a German student is found murdered at an Icelandic university. The first novel in Yrsa Sigurðardóttir’s acclaimed series blends crime, occult themes, and legal intrigue. |
| Session Eight: APR 20, 2027 Vikings on a Prairie Ocean, Glenn Sigurdson, 2014 | History/Memoir | A blend of history, genealogy, and memoir tracing the Icelandic immigrant experience on the Canadian Prairies. Sigurdson explores settlement, identity, cultural memory, and the enduring connections between Iceland and North America. |
| Session Nine: MAY 18, 2027 Out of the Blue, ed. Helen Mitsios, 2017 | Short Stories | A groundbreaking collection of short fiction from Iceland’s best contemporary authors. This extraordinary collection, the first anthology of Icelandic short fiction published in English translation, features work by twenty of Iceland’s most popular and celebrated living authors—including Andri Snær Magnason, Jón Kalman Stefánsson, Kristín Ómarsdóttir, and Auður Jónsdóttir. These writers traverse realms of darkness and light that will be familiar to readers who have fallen under the spell of Icelandic fiction. The stories traffic in the enduring and universal complexities of human nature, a fictional universe where the ghosts of Vikings and spirits tread, volcanoes grumble underfoot, and writers trip the Northern Lights fantastic across the landscape of the Icelandic imagination. |
| Session Ten:JUNE 15, 2027 The Blue Fox, Sjón, 2003, paired with Björk’s Homogenic 1997 | Fiction/Music | In nineteenth-century Iceland, a hunter pursuing a mysterious blue fox becomes entangled with a naturalist and a young woman with Down syndrome. Sjón’s poetic novella explores humanity, nature, folklore, and compassion. Björk and Sjón (Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson) are lifelong friends, punk-era contemporaries, and frequent creative partners who have shaped the landscape of Icelandic contemporary art. They met as teenagers in Reykjavík’s underground art scene, briefly forming a two-person band called Rocka Rocka Drum before going on to rewrite the rules of avant-garde pop music and cinematic storytelling. Whenever Björk needs grand, epic, or mythic lyrics that she cannot put into words herself, she turns to Sjón. https://medium.com/work-in-progress/bjork-introduces-sjon-her-childhood-friend-and-frequent-collaborator-8b6114781b7d |
Download book list HERE
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.
2026-2027 ICCT Book Club Spotify Playlist
| Book & Author | Genre | Songs |
| Session One: SEPT 15, 2026 The Far Traveller: Voyages of a Viking Woman, Nancy Marie Brown, 2007 | History/Biography Tie in with the Vinland Sagas | L’Anse aux Meadows, Lindy Vopnfjörd The Far Traveller, Cristoffer Moe Ditlevsen Savage Daughter, Ekaterina Shelehova Still Walking, Ronja Vind Breathe, Ásgeir Heimta Thurs, Wardruna Going Home, Ásgeir Gudrid Goes to Gimli, James Hargrove |
| Session Two:OCT 20, 2026 Under the Glacier, Halldór Laxness, 1990 | Fiction | Glacier, John Grant Under the Glacier, ginkiha Higher, Ásgeir Blood Upon the Snow, Hozier and Bear McCreary |
| Session Three: NOV 17, 2026In Valhalla’s Shadows, W.D. Valgardson, 2019 | Mystery/Noir | Salvation, Red River District Solringen, Wardruna Home to Manitoba, Del Barber Gimli, Björn Þorrodsen How Long is the Winter, Francis Baptiste |
| Session Four: DEC 15, 2026 Animal Life, Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, 2022 | Fiction | Brennisteinn, Sigur Rós Heyr Himna Smiður, Arstiður The only talk about the weather, Arny Margret Breathe In, Milkywhale Ancestress, Björk |
| Session Five: JAN 19, 2027 Bloodhoof, Gerdur Kristny, transl. by Rory McTurk, 2012 | Poetry Tie in with the Volsunga Saga | No. 7, Niu Næðtur, Kristin Thora Haraldsdóttir Odal, Wardruna Kælan Mikla, Kælan Mikla Svartir Sandar, Sólstafir |
| Session Six:FEB 16, 2027 Happy Iceland, Anne Marie Wells, 2026 | Non-fiction/Memoir | Holocene, Bon Iver The Sweetest Thing, Juice Newton Mountain Sound, Of Monsters and Men All the Pretty Girls, Kaleo Hopíppolla, Sigur Rós |
| Session Seven:MAR 16, 2027 Last Rituals, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, 2005 | Mystery/Noir | Varud, Sigur Rós Krigsgaldr, Heilung Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath |
| Session Eight: APR 20, 2027 Vikings on a Prairie Ocean, Glenn Sigurdson, 2014 | History/Memoir | No Place Left to Land, Lindy Vopnfjörd Lake Winnipeg, Len and Karen Vopnfjörd Heimforin, Ásgeir I’m Going Home, Fine Country Folk Force of Nature, Lindy Vopnfjörd Into the Wild, Two Crows for Comfort |
| Session Nine: MAY 18, 2027 Out of the Blue, ed. Helen Mitsios, 2017 | Short Stories | Hyperballad, Björk Flugufrelsarinn, Sigur Rós For Now I am Winter, Arnór Dan and Ólafur Arnalds We Sink, Of Monsters and Men Unbound, Ásgeir Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys |
| Session Ten:JUNE 15, 2027 The Blue Fox, Sjón, 2003, paired with Björk’s Homogenic 1997 | Fiction/Music | Homogenic—entire album, Björk |
Download Spotify list HERE
I look forward to hearing from all of you. Takk fyrir!
DeeAnn Sagar
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