The Best Books About Iceland

A good book does something a guidebook can’t: it gets you thinking like the place before you’ve even landed. Iceland has produced, and inspired, a genuinely wide range of them, from Nobel Prize-winning literary fiction to a small industry’s worth of Nordic noir, cookbooks from the country’s best restaurants, and sagas nearly a thousand years old. Reading even one or two of these before you go changes how you see the landscape once you’re standing in it. Here’s my guide to the best books about Iceland…

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For me, a lifelong reader, there is nothing better than exploring a country while reading about it.  And I’m a fiction fan too, so stocking up on the fictional tales of Detective Erlendur and other figments of Icelandic authors’ imagination is a fabulous way to experience the country.  As ever, this guide to the best books to read in Iceland hasn’t been a chore.  It’s actually been quite hard to pull myself away from them, to write this!  So I’ve grouped these Icelandic books by type, fiction first, then the country’s genuinely enormous crime fiction scene, memoirs, history, culture, the sagas, food, and finally audiobook picks for the drive. Some of these authors have written a single standout title; others have entire series worth knowing about. I’ve flagged which is which as I go, along with where to start if a series feels daunting.

The Best Fiction Books Set in Iceland

I’ve narrowed this down to four novels that use Iceland as more than scenery; the landscape and the isolation are part of the story itself.  I have an entire separate section for crime and Nordic noir, because it so deserves it.

1. Independent People — Halldór Laxness

Laxness won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955, and this is the novel most people point to first. It follows a stubbornly independent sheep farmer determined to owe nothing to anyone, set against the harsh realities of early 20th-century rural Iceland. It’s a slow read, but it’s the one serious readers of Icelandic fiction tend to start with.  Buy Independent People here.

2. Burial Rites — Hannah Kent

Kent’s novel is based on the true story of the last woman executed in Iceland, in 1830, sent to await her fate on a remote farm rather than in a cell. Kent, an Australian author, spent time in Iceland researching the case, and the result is atmospheric enough that you can almost feel the cold coming off the page.  Buy Burial Rites here.

3. The Blue Fox — Sjón

This short, strange, poetic novella weaves together an arctic fox hunt with the life of a local herbalist in 19th-century Iceland. Sjón is better known internationally as a longtime collaborator with Björk, and his prose has the same odd, folkloric quality as his lyrics.  Buy The Blue Fox here.

4. 101 Reykjavík — Hallgrímur Helgason

This is a dark, satirical look at 1990s Reykjavík through the eyes of a cynical, unemployed thirty-something drifting through the city’s nightlife. It’s a very different Reykjavík from the one in a travel blog, and worth reading precisely for that.  Buy 101 Reykjavík here.

Nordic Noir and Crime Fiction Set in Iceland

It is somewhat amusing (to me at least) that Iceland has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and has a murder rate of well below 1 per 100,000 residents each year.  And based on the population of just over 400,000, well, that’s 4.  And you can usually find that number in each of the books I’m about to share.  And yet, Nordic noir is practically its own export industry at this point, and Iceland’s contribution to it is enormous. These are series rather than standalones for the most part, so I’ve picked a starting point for each rather than listing every title.

1. Arnaldur Indriðason — the Erlendur series

If you read no other author of Nordic noir from Iceland, then make it Arnaldur.  He is frequently the first name mentioned in any conversation about Icelandic crime fiction. Nine of his Inspector Erlendur novels are available in English, starting with Jar City, since the first two Icelandic-language entries were never translated. He also writes a separate wartime trilogy, the Flóvent and Thorson books (The Shadow District, The Shadow Killer, Petsamo), set in Reykjavík during the WWII occupation, which is a different angle on the city’s history – and that’s where I started and where my addiction began.  Buy Arnaldur Indriðason — the Erlendur series here.

If WWII is an interest and you want to explore places in Iceland with a connection, then check out my guide to Iceland’s Museums for two war museums, and my guide to East Iceland for more WWII history. (Iceland was occupied by both the British and the Americans during WWII, to prevent the Nazi’s invading), has never had an army

2. Quentin Bates — the Officer Gunnhildur series

Bates is a British author who moved to Iceland for what was meant to be a year and stayed for a decade, which shows in how convincingly Icelandic his writing feels. His Officer Gunnhildur series starts with Frozen Assets (also published as Frozen Out), following a tough, down-to-earth female police officer through Iceland’s post-crash corruption. He keeps promising not to write any more novels.  I’m glad he keeps breaking that promise.  Gunna is one of my favorite characters of Nordic Noir. Buy Quentin Bates — the Officer Gunnhildur series here.

Gunna was born and brought up in the rural village of Hvalvik, on the Melrakkaslétta peninsula, which is covered in my guide to the Arctic Way.

3. Lilja Sigurðardóttir — Reykjavík Noir and Áróra

Sigurðardóttir has two separate series worth adding to your reading list: the Reykjavík Noir Trilogy (Snare, Trap, Cage), following a single mother pulled into drug smuggling, and the Áróra Investigation series, a more recent run of five novels. Both are based firmly in Reykjavík, and you’ll recognize the city easily.  Buy Lilja Sigurðardóttir — Reykjavík Noir and Áróra here.

4. Yrsa Sigurðardóttir — the Children’s House series

Sigurðardóttir is frequently dubbed the queen of Icelandic crime fiction. The Children’s House series, starting with The Absolution, blends gritty procedural work with genuinely unsettling, atmospheric horror elements, a combination that’s become something of her signature.  Although Yrsa and Lilja share the same patronymic surname, they’re not related – it just indicates that both of their fathers were called Sigurður.  Buy Yrsa Sigurðardóttir — the Children’s House series here.

5. Ragnar Jónasson — Dark Iceland and Hidden Iceland

Jónasson is a master of the locked-room mystery, and these two series are worth reading for different reasons. Dark Iceland, starting with Snowblind, follows rookie detective Ari Þór in Siglufjörður, a small northern fishing town accessible only through a mountain tunnel; isolation is used as a genuine plot device. Hidden Iceland, starting with The Darkness, follows Hulda Hermannsdóttir, a Reykjavík detective nearing retirement, and is told in reverse chronological order across its three books.  Buy Ragnar Jónasson — Dark Iceland and Hidden Iceland here.

6. Satu Rämö — the Hildur series

Rämö is a Finnish author based in the Westfjords. Rämö writes what she calls “Nordic Blue Crime,”( an emerging subgenre of Nordic Noir that combines thrilling murder mysteries with warmer, more human elements like romance, humor, and everyday friendship), set in and around Ísafjörður. Start with The Clues in the Fjord. If the isolated, dramatic Westfjords setting appeals, see my full Westfjords travel guide for the region itself.  Buy Satu Rämö — the Hildur series here.

Memoirs of Iceland Books

I’ve currently only got one pick here, but it earns its place: a first-person account of actually relocating to Iceland, rather than just visiting it.  And at a particularly interesting time in Iceland’s history.

1. Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland — Sarah Moss

An English academic moves her family to Reykjavík just as the 2008 financial crash and the Eyjafjallajökull eruption both hit, more or less at once. It’s funny, honest, and an interesting alternative to the postcard version of Iceland.  Buy Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland here.

Books about the History of Iceland

I’ve got two options for you here, depending on how deep you want to go in the history.  The first, by Bjarnason, is a rambling, conversationally written overview of some of the highlights of Iceland’s history.  We listened to it while driving around East Iceland.

1. How Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small Island — Egill Bjarnason

It’s an extremely witty, engaging history that connects a country of 400,000 people to genuinely major global events, the Moon landing, the French Revolution, and more. Written by Bjarnason, an Icelandic journalist, it shows how much local texture makes it in.  Buy How Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small Island here.

2. History of Iceland: A Captivating Guide to the History of the Land of Fire and Ice — Captivating History

It’s deeper than Bjarnason’s book, but still pretty easy reading, running from Viking Age settlement through independence in 1944. It’s a good entry point if a full history feels like too much before a trip.  Buy History of Iceland: A Captivating Guide to the History of the Land of Fire and Ice here.

Books about the Culture of Iceland

This section is less about what happened, more about how Icelanders actually live, think, and see themselves.

1. The Little Book of the Icelanders — Alda Sigmundsdóttir

A collection of short essays on Icelandic quirks and cultural observations, written by an Icelander for outsiders trying to make sense of the place. It’s easy to dip in and out of rather than read cover to cover.  Buy The Little Book of the Icelanders here.

2. Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World — Eliza Reid

Written by Iceland’s former First Lady, an outsider herself, originally from Canada. The book profiles Icelandic women and explores the country’s position as a world leader in gender equality, part memoir, but really more about the culture around her than her own story.  Buy Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World here.

3. Iceland — Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture — Thorgeir Freyr Sveinsson

A practical etiquette and customs guide from a native Icelander, the complete cleansing shower before the pool, how business meetings actually work, what’s considered rude. This is less about history and more about not embarrassing yourself.  Buy Iceland — Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture here.

The Sagas & Folklore of Iceland

The Sagas are the foundation Icelandic literature is built on.

The Sagas of Icelanders — Penguin Classics

The definitive English-language collection of the medieval sagas, written down between the 12th and 14th centuries but describing events from Iceland’s early settlement period. Dense in places, but genuinely worth having at least one saga under your belt before visiting sites like Þingvellir, where a lot of this history actually happened.  Buy The Sagas of Icelanders here.

The Food & Cookery of Iceland

In this section, I’ve got three cookbooks with three very different angles on the same food scene.  If you want to eat Icelandic food rather than read about it, check out my guide here.

1. North: The New Nordic Cuisine of Iceland — Gunnar Karl Gíslason & Jody Eddy

Gíslason runs Restaurant Dill in Reykjavík, widely credited as the restaurant that put Icelandic New Nordic cuisine on the map internationally. This is as much a portrait of Iceland’s food producers, foragers, and farmers as it is a recipe book, with restaurant-level technique throughout.  Buy North: The New Nordic Cuisine of Iceland here.

2. Slippurinn: Recipes and Stories from Iceland — Gísli Matt & Nicholas Gill

Matt runs Slippurinn, a destination restaurant built in a converted shipyard on Heimaey, in the Westman Islands, the same island covered in my guide to golf under the midnight sun. This is a beautiful, story-driven book built around a genuinely isolated island food scene.  Buy Slippurinn: Recipes and Stories from Iceland here.

3. Homestyle Icelandic Cooking for American Kitchens — Heidi Herman & Íeda J. Herman

The accessible counterpoint to the two restaurant-driven books above: 25 simple, everyday Icelandic recipes, rúgbrauð, kleinur, plokkfiskur, kjötsúpa, translated with an American home kitchen in mind rather than a professional one.  Buy Homestyle Icelandic Cooking for American Kitchens here.

Iceland on Audiobook

Long driving stretches and patchy signal make Iceland close to ideal audiobook territory, particularly on the Ring Road. If I had to pick just one for the drive, it’s How Iceland Changed the World, Egill Bjarnason’s own narration-friendly style and short, self-contained chapters make it genuinely easy to follow in and out of tunnels and signal drop-outs, unlike a dense saga text where losing the thread for five minutes actually matters.

Download it on WiFi before leaving Reykjavik. And listen to it as you’re on the Ring Road itself. See my full guide to the Ring Road for what else to plan around, or my itinerary guides if you’re still building out the full trip.

FAQs on Books About Iceland

Got questions about what to read before an Iceland trip? Here are quick answers to what I’m asked most.

What’s the most famous Icelandic novel?

Independent People, by Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness, is the one most consistently cited as Iceland’s defining novel.

Are the Icelandic sagas worth reading before a trip?

Yes, at least one. They’re dense, but sites like Þingvellir mean a lot more once you know the events that actually happened there.

Why is there so much Icelandic crime fiction?

Nordic noir is a huge export category across all the Nordic countries, and Iceland’s small, close-knit society and dramatic isolation turn out to suit the genre particularly well.

What’s a good nonfiction book about Icelandic culture?

The Little Book of the Icelanders is the most approachable, with short essays rather than a cover-to-cover read.

Are these books available as audiobooks?

Several are, but for the drive specifically I’d recommend How Iceland Changed the World on audio; check your library or Audible, and download it before you leave Reykjavik.

Which Icelandic crime series should I start with?

Arnaldur Indriðason’s Erlendur series, starting with Jar City, is the most established starting point, though Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland is more into atmosphere if isolation and remote setting matter more to you than procedural detail.

Final Words on Books About Iceland

You don’t need to read everything on this list before you go; one or two picks that match how you actually travel will do more for your trip than a stack of five. Want the landscape to mean more the moment you land? Start with the sagas or Independent People. Want company on long Ring Road stretches? Grab the audio versions. Either way, the best books about Iceland do the same thing this whole site tries to do: get you seeing the place as something lived-in, not just photographed.

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