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Jólabókaflóðið

Updated: Dec 15, 2025

jolabokaflod cover; christmas tree of books with a gold star on top

Unless you can read Icelandic, that title might be a bit confusing. While we don't put much stock in holidays here at WW, a few special days are definitely worth celebrating. Jolabokaflod is my personal favorite.


Loosely translated, it means "the Christmas book flood" and it can transcend December holiday rituals.


Each year on December 24, those who celebrate Jolabokaflod gift books to friends and family, then spend the evening reading. How perfect is that?!


Check our #self-promo channel on Discord (or comment below) to find great, giftable options and share some of your own. We recommend these books we released this year:


WayWords issue 17, "kindness"


WayWords issue 18, "kids write"


WayWords issue 19, "mountain"


WayWords issue 20, "messy"


Tales from the Unknown


72 Hours vol. 13




Find more of our reads on our publications page!


Learn more about the history of Jolabokaflod here.


About the author: Theresa is a co-founder of The Writer’s Workout and an editor and book coach at Premier Literary Services. She mostly writes crime and historical fiction, but loves a good horror piece every now and then. Her work is published in various anthologies and literary magazines under a pseudonym. 


2 Comments

Adam Gaffen
Adam Gaffen
Dec 03, 2025

If you’re looking to build your own “book flood” this year, I’ve got a few recommendations from my 2024/2025 reads:

📘 THIS GILDED ABYSS by Rebecca Thorne — gorgeously written, unsettling in all the best ways, and absolutely not cozy. It sticks with you.

📕 THE FIXER by Lee Winter — razor-sharp, addictive, and impeccably crafted. A masterclass in tension and character work.

📗 CLAUSE & EFFECT by Aria Quinn — not a holiday book despite the title! Think snarky, genre-bending urban fantasy with legal chaos, magical loopholes, and characters who refuse to behave. A ridiculously fun ride.

Since I'm an author, I've also got a few of mine to throw at you.

📙 THE GIRL IN THE SCOPE by yours truly, Adam Gaffen…

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brucebuc
Dec 03, 2025

So many great books out there!


Check out THE FIRST WIVES by S.E. Reed if you like twisty adult thrillers.


In the YA space, I loved MAD GIRL'S LOVE SONG by Romany Heartford and THE FULLINGTON ROAD MONSTER by Emily Rozmus. Abigail F. Taylor has a great folk horror book set in rural Texas called MARYNEAL 1962. I personally love superheroes, and Diane Billas' SUPERFICIAL is a fun superheroic YA novel set at a comic convention.


If a straight-up rom-com is your jam, you can't go wrong with Dana Hawkins. Loved her 2025 book THE EX EFFECT. Rebecca Minelga's THIRD AND LONG also is a great new romance novel, too (and it has dogs and football!)


And, hey, if YA/NA…

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