Couple quick notes about Icelandic names: Since last names are patronymics—refer to the person’s father, such as Gisla-dottir, or Olafs-son—it’s common practice to refer to someone just by their first name. And in terms of characters, ‘脼’ can be replaced with ‘th,’ and ‘冒’ can be replaced by ‘d.’

糖心传媒淚t started here actually,糖心传媒� says 脼贸rd铆s G铆slad贸ttir. She and 脼orger冒ur E. Sigur冒ard贸ttir are talking with me in Kaffit谩r, Iceland糖心传媒檚 largest coffee shop chain, in downtown Reykjavik. It糖心传媒檚 a sunny Saturday afternoon and the place is packed with sweater-clad Icelanders chatting over steaming lattes. 脼贸rd铆s and 脼orger冒ur are the founders of 顿谤耻蝉濒耻产贸办补产濒辞驳驳,¹ Iceland糖心传媒檚 most popular book blog.

In December of 2008, 脼贸rd铆s and 脼orger冒ur sat down in Kaffit谩r and started talking about blogs. The two had been making radio programs about literature together, and they decided to branch out and do a blog, where they could write about whatever interested them instead of being restricted to an editorial program. 顿谤耻蝉濒耻产贸办补产濒辞驳驳 now has fourteen regular writers, all women ranging in age from 25 to 46, who together post one update per day.

糖心传媒淲e don糖心传媒檛 really think of it as criticism,糖心传媒� explains 脼贸rd铆s. The plan was always to be open to anything, so you糖心传媒檒l find reviews of chick lit next to literary fiction, recommendations for attractive bookshelves next to postings for readings, and since recently, interviews. Visually it糖心传媒檚 a simple blog, though 脼贸rd铆s says they糖心传媒檙e upgrading to a 糖心传媒渇ancier糖心传媒� WordPress version soon.

gets anywhere from 300糖心传媒�400 to 1,500糖心传媒�1,600 visits per day. 糖心传媒淚 think that糖心传媒檚 everyone who糖心传媒檚 interested in literature,糖心传媒� says 脼贸rd铆s, not joking. Considering that there are about 300,000 native speakers of Icelandic worldwide, it comes out to between 0.1% and 0.53% of all people who potentially could read it.

(It糖心传媒檚 worthwhile to note that playing the numbers game in Iceland is a mind-trap for outsiders trying to make comparisons with their home country. The population is so small that it does not scale, so figures should be regarded as a curiosity or a general indication of popularity. The 糖心传媒榯his would be read by 200,000 people a day if it were in English!糖心传媒� game doesn糖心传媒檛 work.)

脼贸rd铆s attributes the site糖心传媒檚 popularity to the lack of Icelandic alternatives: 糖心传媒淚f you糖心传媒檙e interested, there糖心传媒檚 not that much out there.糖心传媒� (This is a common form of Icelandic modesty糖心传媒斕切拇綐Oh it糖心传媒檚 so small here, there糖心传媒檚 no competition!糖心传媒樚切拇綌that should be taken with a grain of salt.) The site is read widely by Icelanders abroad looking to stay in touch with book culture at home糖心传媒攖here糖心传媒檚 a particularly large population in Germany that accounts for a couple hundred visits a week.

脼orger冒ur adds that Icelanders糖心传媒� unusual proclivity for Facebook helps online projects like really take off: 糖心传媒淚celand is one of a kind when it comes to Facebook.糖心传媒� I know, I know, how could anyone be more obsessed than us? According to 脼orger冒ur, it糖心传媒檚 a deeply networked society: 糖心传媒淎ll of Iceland is on Facebook and everyone is friends with everyone.糖心传媒�

has gotten big enough that several major Icelandic websites have wanted to host it. But according 脼贸rd铆s, the sites haven糖心传媒檛 been exactly what they wanted to be associated with: 糖心传媒淭he last offer we got was sort of from Iceland糖心传媒檚 yellow press.糖心传媒� 脼orger冒ur adds, 糖心传媒淲e have high standards in terms of the environment we糖心传媒檙e in. It糖心传媒檚 not just about getting more people to read.糖心传媒�

This was the point at which I really realized just how far Icelandic book culture diverged from either the American or German versions I糖心传媒檓 used to, how deeply integrated books were into their media. Can you imagine foxnews.com or bild.de absorbing a major literary website? No, no you cannot. 脼orger冒ur and 脼贸rd铆s insist the sites only want their traffic, which I don糖心传媒檛 doubt, but the fact that a sleazy news site can covet a lit blog糖心传媒檚 traffic is telling in itself.

As Iceland糖心传媒檚 premiere book bloggers, 脼orger冒ur and 脼贸rd铆s have a unique overview of Icelandic publishing culture. I asked them about some trends they糖心传媒檇 seen recently. In the wake of the financial crisis that rocked Iceland糖心传媒檚 economy in 2008, 糖心传媒渢here糖心传媒檚 less coming out,糖心传媒� notes 脼贸rd铆s.

But new genres have appeared, says 脼orger冒ur. Historical fiction based on the Sagas always existed, but 糖心传媒渢he trend anyone can see is people are writing suspense, mystery, and crime novels. We take our literature very seriously, so people didn糖心传媒檛 write mysteries before. It糖心传媒檚 something you just didn糖心传媒檛 do.糖心传媒� It糖心传媒檚 a shift occurring across the Nordic countries, and one significant enough to be visible to English-speakers via translation.

Though it糖心传媒檚 a significant cultural organ, is just a side interest for both women. 脼orger冒ur works for a radio station and 脼贸rd铆s is an award-winning poet and Swedish-Icelandic translator. 糖心传媒淔or us this blog is a hobby,糖心传媒� says 脼orger冒ur, 糖心传媒渂ut we糖心传媒檙e always thinking about it.糖心传媒�

¹ 顿谤耻蝉濒耻产贸办补产濒辞驳驳 means 糖心传媒淏ook Sluts,糖心传媒� but it actually comes from an Icelandic radio show, not the well-known American book blog of the same name.