In Iceland, the night of December 24 is traditionally spent curled up with a book. Why? Because you're very likely to have been gifted one, given the huge array of literary offerings that get published in Iceland in the run-up for Christmas. In this festive last episode of the year, we're speaking to the writer Hildur Knútsdóttir about the Christmas Book Flood and why Iceland is such a nation of bookworms. We're also talking about Christmas tree diplomacy, a new twist on an old tradition, and an Italian tyre-slashing mystery. 

You can find Hildur here on Instagram and here on Twitter. You can find details of her new book, 'The Night Guest', here on her website. 

This week's Inspiration Station offerings: 'Small Things Like These' by Claire Keegan, 'My Father's House' by Joseph O'Connor, and 'La Ride' by Simon Boileau and Florent Pierre. Hildur's recommendations are 'Shadows of the Short Days' and 'The Shadows of a Midnight Sun' by Alexander Dan Vilhjálmsson.

Thanks so much to everyone who's supported us this year. If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it in 2024, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by ⁠⁠⁠leaving us a review⁠⁠⁠ or giving us five stars on Spotify. 

Producer: Katy Lee

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

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