Hi readers! Happy Christmas! I hope you all are enjoying a very happy and special holiday season! 🎄
I just wanted to share a little wrap-up post of our FIFTH celebration of Austenesque Jolabokaflod! 📚
*If you haven’t heard of Jolabokaflod, it is an Icelandic Christmas Eve tradition of exchanging books and reading! 🎁
This was our fifth time celebrating this holiday and it was the biggest celebration to date!!
5️⃣1️⃣ readers took part from a record-breaking
1️⃣4️⃣ countries!
I’m so happy with the book my sender, Melissa, chose!
I’ve never read anything by this author but was very intrigued with the idea of an Emma/Pride & Prejudice mash-up trilogy!
After I finished my last-minute Christmas Eve shopping & wrapping, I enjoyed a cozy evening reading the first five chapters of From Highbury with Love with a snuggly reindeer by my side!
I love this moment so much! I look forward to it all month long! 📖🍫🐾🎄
But as perfect as this moment is, it is greatly enhanced knowing that I am sharing this tradition with others!
Seeing the books chosen, the holiday scenes, the reading time and the beautiful smiles….I love it all! 🫶🏼📖🎁🎄
Thank you so much, dear friends, for taking part in Austenesque Jolabokaflod! 🥰 Sharing the experience together makes it even more dear to me. ❣️
It looks so cozy at your place! I love the pyramid. (I have a very similar one) It was a happy Jolabokaflod indeed!
Thank you! It was wonderfully cozy! Thank you for taking part in our Austenesque Jolabokaflod this year!
This was my 4th time participating, and I love it! I enjoy seeing what other people receive, and even added some more books to my totteringly high TBR list. Thank you for adding the Facebook page, as the interactions on there added to my enjoyment.
Amazing! Happy 4 years! It is so much fun to see all the books selected!
I’m glad you like the FB page! It was a new idea.
Thank you, Meredith!
Thank you for joining us, Christina!
Thank you, Meredith! I love this tradition, and it is so fun to share it with fellow Janeites!
Aw! Thanks so much, Stephanie! I’m so happy to share it with all these wonderful friends!
Fezzik looks so cozy in his little costume. I got a copy of the TPB DVD for Christmas and we watched it that night–oh what a great show. In any case, I finished reading my Jolabokaflod book, Old Boots, and I cried buckets. It was perfect. Plus, getting a book with a great cover in a hard copy when I mostly read Kindle is extra special. Thanks to Gratia for picking this one for me, and especially, thanks to you, Meredith, for coordinating this special event each year.
Hi Suzan,
Thank you so much for gifting me “Mr Darcy’s bookshop”. I read the little prequel with Anne de Bourgh and had fun so I have great expectations with Mr Darcy as bookseller
Happy Christmas and Happy New Year full of wonderful stories
Yes! It is the best. I will forever love it.
Oh, what a great choice, Gratia! That one is amazing. And perfect for dog lovers!
Thanks for being a part of this tradition, Suzan! I love having you join us!
Just emerging from the woodwork to say Happy Jolabokaflod, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to you, Meredith!
Hi Christina!!
Hope you are enjoyed a lovely holiday season and happy start to 2025!
Hi Meredith!
Every year the group of Jolabokaflod Ladies are growing more and more! Jane Austen must be so happy
It’s my fifth time in this celebration and I’m very happy for being part from the first moment
Thank you Meredith for being our special hostess: Mrs Bennet was proud of setting the best table in Hertfordshire but she couldn’t organise Jolabokaflod as well as you do…and, in case she did it, she would waste the total amount of salt in the world to calm her poor nerves
I’m very happy with my book and I wish you all a beautiful time with your readings!
Hi Teresa! You are an OG (original) member of the Austenesque Jolabokaflod club! That is very special!
I’m honored by such compliments (and comparison)
What fun. I look forward to your review, Meredith. This really is a very lovely tradition. A merry relaxing holiday now that Christmas is over and you can spoil yourself.
Best wishes to all the readers here for 2025.
Thank you, Michelle! I’m excited about this series and can’t wait to continue it!
So fun to see you all enjoying your gift books. 🙂
I think we are all in agreement that books are the best gifts!
Dear Meredith, I sincerely wish all the wishes you generously send to us return to you tenfold.
Thank you for all your hard work reading and reviewing the many books in 2024. As they say it’s a dirty job but someone ( you) has to do it.
All the best for a happy ,healthy 2025.
Thank you so much, sweet friend! You are so lovely to say such kind words!
Hope you have a wonderful 2025! Especially with your amazing New Zealand trip coming up – I cannot wait to hear all about it!
This year was my 2nd Jolabokaflod and the first in which I was able to pronounce the word without having to look it up With that little accomplishment, I hope to continue participating in this festive and congenital event. Thank you, Meredith, for providing an outlet for the season’s spirit of giving.
Lol at all the autocorrect typos!
Hahaha!
Haha! That is an amazing accomplishment! Well done! I am so touched by your kind words. Thank you so much for taking part and joining this special celebration!
Thank you again for hosting this tradition! This is my fifth as well and I look forward to it each year! Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Happy New Year to all!
Another OG member! Very special!
I’m so glad you liked it enough to want to celebrate it with us every year!
Hope you are enjoying a wonderful start to 2025!
Thank you again for arranging this Meredith! Can’t wait to participate again next year!
My sincere pleasure! I’m already looking forward to next years!