My LINKcat AccountThe books listed below pretty much emptied the backroom of new books, so the odds of having any new books to talk about next week are somewhat diminished. But this works out, because I won't be here next week to talk about them anyway. I am going on vacation. I am going to Iceland for a week. "Why Iceland in winter?" I hear you asking. "It seemed like a good idea at that time", I hear myself responding. Iceland is actually a perfect vacation spot for a librarian. The jólabókaflóð -- Icelandic for "Christmas book flood" is the annual flood of new books in Iceland occurring in the months before Christmas every year. Icelanders love books. Everyone seems to be an author, or if not, they aspire to be one. Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world. There is a deeply-rooted culture of giving books as presents so releasing all the new titles at Christmas time makes a lot of sense. Because giving books as presents is so important physical books are also very important. Handing a book you've chosen for someone is a whole different experience from giving someone a link to a download. It's a bit more personal somehow. One Icelandic proverb says "Blind is the man without books" another says "Better to be without boots than without books". All of which means that Iceland will undoubtedly be a good match for this book-loving librarian. Iceland also has volcanoes and geysers and the highest waterfall in Europe and lagoons with steaming hot water even at this time of year. So geologically, it's a really cool place to go too. Oh, yeah, and there are Icelandic horses and glaciers and probably some elves and dwarfs too. If I get a chance while I'm there and if I have an internet connection, I'll let you know about my travels. "If" is the operative word. In the meantime, enjoy the books listed below!
