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In the epicenter of the world financial crisis, a comedian launched a joke campaign that didn’t seem so funny to the country’s leading politicians . . . It all started when Jón Gnarr founded the Best Party in 2009 to satirize his country’s political system. The financial collapse in Iceland had, after all, precipitated the world-wide meltdown, and fomented widespread protest over the country’s leadership. Entering the race for mayor of Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital, Gnarr promised to get the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park into downtown parks, free towels at public swimming pools, a “drug-free Parliament by 2020” . . . and he swore he’d break all his campaign promises. But then...
In The Outlaw Jón Gnarr describes the harsh world of his teenage years and wrestles with painful, bleak memories of this troubled stage of his life, physically abused and surrounded by suicides. He uses punk music to cope, but also discovers an interest in girls and ponders philosophical questions of right and wrong and how to be true to himself.
A young PhD student believes she has uncovered the first professional female artist in Britain. It's a discovery that could transform her career and reputation. However, in her haste to break new ground, she has made a simple mistake which threatens everything - and she won't acknowledge her error until it's far too late. As she goes to ever greater lengths to protect her work from the truth, she begins to lose her grip on her thesis, her life and ultimately her sanity. History. A Mess. is a remarkable exploration of intellectual integrity and denial, and a gripping and satirical portrait of academic ambition.
WINNER OF THE SWEDISH ACADEMY'S NORDIC PRIZE 2023 Winner of the Icelandic Literary Prize 'An extraordinary and original writer' A.S. Byatt on Sjón Reykjavik, 1918. The eruptions of the Katla volcano darken the sky night and day. Yet despite the natural disaster, the shortage of coal and the Great War still raging in the outside world, life in the small capital goes on as always. Sixteen-year-old Máni Steinn lives for the movies. Awake, he lives on the fringes of society. Asleep, he dreams in pictures, the threads of his own life weaving through the tapestry of the films he loves. When the Spanish flu epidemic comes ashore, killing hundreds of townspeople and forcing thousands to their sick beds, the shadows that linger at the edges of existence grow darker and Máni is forced to re-evaluate both the society around him and his role in it. Evoking the moment when Iceland's saga culture met the new narrative form of the cinema and when the isolated island became swept up in global events, this is the story of a misfit transformed by his experiences in a world where life and death, reality and imagination, secrets and revelations jostle for dominance.
A retired, senile bank clerk confined to his basement apartment, Tomas Jonsson decides that, since memoirs are all the rage, he's going to write his own - a sure bestseller - that will also right the wrongs of contemporary Icelandic society. Egoistic, cranky, and digressive, Tomas blasts away while relating pick-up techniques, meditations on chamber pot use, ways to assign monetary value to noise pollution, and much more. His rants parody and subvert the idea of the memoir - something that's as relevant today in our memoir-obsessed society as it was when the novel was first published.
The punk explosion of the late 70s and early 80s changed the face of music, art, and fashion. But it didn't stop there. Punks were onto something really important. They had a unique view on an alternative way of living. The Truth of Revolution, Brother is the result of a year spent with some of punk s most influential figures. From legendary British anarchos Crass to US stalwarts Fugazi and Dead Kennedys; first generation figures the Adverts to contemporary carrier of the flame Jeffrey Lewis, this groundbreaking book investigates the approaches and life choices made by the people associated with this most misunderstood genre. The result is truly life-affirming. From the fields of Essex to Ic...
From drinking late into the night with gorgeous Icelandic blondes to traveling to the farthest reaches of the country; from hiking over glaciers to encountering a drunk, raging Kiefer Sutherland; from interviewing Jón Gnarr, the comedian mayor of Reykjavik (who ran on a platform of having free towels at all the swimming pools), to touring the homes of Iceland's hidden elves; Markley delivers the fastest, funniest memoir of an American experience in Iceland. -- p. [4] of cover.
The Viking Method uses Svava's strong mental practices inspired by her Icelandic upbringing to help the reader build the lean, powerful and toned physique they desire. It'll render the reader more resilient, bolder and full of belief in themselves. Unlike other fitness and diet books, The Viking Method isn't about the external superficiality of a beach body. It's about three core pillars: thinking like a Viking, training like a Viking and eating like a Viking. Svava introduces these pillars early on in the book - along with mantras for each pillar which are connected to empowerment, mental strength and internal validation over counting calories. The book features information on eating and exercising for your hormones, detailed workout routines based around body-weight exercises illustrated with photographs, and a selection of delicious Scandi-inspired recipes such as Thor-red Salmon and Icelandic Lamb Stew.
'A joyously peculiar book' - The New York Times 'A fascinating insight into Icelandic culture and a fresh perspective on her global influence. Warning: may well make readers wish they were Icelandic, too.' - Helen Russell, author of The Year of Living Danishly The untold story of how one tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic has shaped the world for centuries. The history of Iceland began 1,200 years ago, when a frustrated Viking captain and his useless navigator ran aground in the middle of the North Atlantic. Suddenly, the island was no longer just a layover for the Arctic tern. Instead, it became a nation whose diplomats and musicians, sailors and soldiers, volcanoes and flowers, quie...
A Guardian 'Top 10 Nature Memoirs' pick 'Poetic and heartful' Guardian Icelandic author and activist Andri Snær Magnason's 'Letter to the Future', an extraordinary and moving eulogy for the lost Okjökull glacier, made global news and was shared by millions. Now he attempts to come to terms with the issues we all face in his new book On Time and Water. Magnason writes of the melting glaciers, the rising seas and acidity changes that haven't been seen for 50 million years. These are changes that will affect all life on earth. Taking a path to climate science through ancient myths about sacred cows, stories of ancestors and relatives and interviews with the Dalai Lama, Magnason allows himself to be both personal and scientific. The result is an absorbing mixture of travel, history, science and philosophy.