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Sunday, December 17, 2017

Jolabokaflod



Jolabokaflod, a Christmas tradition I can really get behind.

In Iceland they have a tradition of giving books for Christmas. On Christmas Eve they give each other books. Then they spend the evening reading and eating chocolate. What a wonderful way to spend the holiday. It sounds so mellow and civilized.

It sounds so low stress and pleasurable. Books are fairly inexpensive, so it doesn't break the bank either. Of course, Iceland has a literary tradition going back all the way to the Middle Ages.

Recently I read a statistic that only 30% of US adults read books. That seemed pretty low to me. Then someone pointed out that we tend to surround ourselves with people who love books. Fair enough. People who never read just aren't as interesting as those who do.

-Sixbears

10 comments:

  1. Interesting. I used to read a lot. Now I'm just old and boring. - lol

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  2. I'm guilty of cultural appropriation and didn't even know it. ;>) I have always given books as Christmas presents. Daughter is carrying on the tradition with her friends' children.

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    1. If you start children reading books when they are little, it will stick with them. To me that's a great gift.

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  3. I am an avid reader, but I confess that I now download most of my reading.

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    1. I like e-books because I can crank up the size of the font and pretend I don't need reading glasses.

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  4. i saw a couple of years ago that the traffic at the neighborhood library had really picked up. figured so many were out of work that they were reading in their spare time.
    mentioned this to the librarian who set me straight by telling me that traffic had increased, but that the people were taking out films on disc since they could no longer afford to go to the theater or buy the discs.
    i was disappointed, to say the least.
    i figure that is why kids cannot read--they never see anybody do it.

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    Replies
    1. Well, at least the libraries can keep their doors open for those of us who love to read.

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  5. The ocean air is perfect for your lungs. My husband was in the Navy and stayed on the ocean for months. He said you could smell land before you saw it and it took days to adapt.

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  6. I too am an avid book reader. I go every Saturday to the library and have at least two books going at a time. My son jokes that the library is the only one that calls almost every day to let me know the material I ordered is ready to be picked up. I get audiobooks from the library and listen while I'm at work. I even gave my daughter a library themed baby shower last year. In lieu of a baby shower card they were asked to bring their favorite book. Now my grandson who is only 9 months old has his own library which I hope will continue to grow.

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