Saturday, October 20, 2018

Icelanders bought 47% fewer books in 2017 than they did in 2010, a very sharp decrease in a matter of only six years

Can the language of the Vikings fight off the invasion of English? Ragnar Jonasson. The Guardian, Oct 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/17/viking-language-invasion-english-iceland-icelandic
Icelandic has retained its literary vigour since the Sagas, but TV and tourism are a growing threat

There are other warning signs. Icelanders have always been very proud of their literary heritage, boasting that we write and read a lot of books. However, Icelanders bought 47% fewer books in 2017 than they did in 2010, a very sharp decrease in a matter of only six years. In a recent poll in Iceland, 13.5% of those who responded had not read a single book in 2017, compared to 7% in 2010.

Iceland has a wonderful tradition of giving books as Christmas presents, with people reading into the night on Christmas Eve. However, even this may be under threat: in 2005, an Icelander received an average of 1.4 books as gifts at Christmas; this number is now 1.1, with 42% of Icelanders not receiving a single book for Christmas according to the most recent poll.

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