Current Pick
Heiða: A Shepherd at the Edge of the World
By Steinunn Sigurðardóttir
Sunday, February 22, 2026 @ 3 pm Central Time
Heiða is a solitary farmer living with her flock of 500 sheep in a remote and unforgiving region bordering Iceland's highlands, an area often referred to as the End of the World. This stark landscape is shaped by the presence of Iceland's most notorious volcano, Katla, whose periodic eruptions have long driven away the inhabitants of Ljótarstaoir since farming first began there in the twelfth century.
Life in this part of Iceland is defined by its isolation and harsh natural conditions. The land is both beautiful and remorseless, demanding resilience, resourcefulness, and a deep connection to the rhythms of the seasons and the threats of the surrounding environment. Heiða’s passion for her home runs deep. She feels part of the land’s history, woven into its rhythms, its seasons, and its silences. Her connection is ancestral, carrying forward traditions that value stewardship, respect, and harmony with nature. To Heiða, this is not just geography—it is identity.
However, not all see the land through Heiða’s eyes. While she is devoted to preservation, others look at the wilderness and see opportunity for ‘progress’ and profits. When she hears of plans to build a giant hydroelectrical power station in her area, she finds herself propelled out of solitude into politics. The development plans threaten irreversible changes: compulsory land purchases and the looming spectre of ecological devastation. For Heiða, this is not just a battle over property—it is a struggle for the very soul of her community and its environment.
Heiða's memoir offers a unique window into the life of a young Icelandic farmer. Amidst the solitude and demands of tending to her sheep, Heiða finds moments of creativity and reflection, composing poetry in the cab of her tractor. Her story is one of determination and independence, as she navigates the challenges posed by both the landscape and the demands of farming. Though Heiða lives in relative solitude, her story is intertwined with the history and community of those who have farmed these lands for centuries. The periodic eruptions of Katla have repeatedly tested the resolve of generations, shaping the culture and collective memory of the region. Heiða’s life and work carry forward this tradition of perseverance.
Whether Heiða’s story ends in victory or defeat, in her struggle to stop the hydro plant, her passion and courage illuminate the importance of standing up for the places we call home. Her fight asks all of us to reconsider our relationship with the wilderness, and to recognize that sometimes, the greatest riches are those that cannot be measured in dollars or steel—but in the enduring bond between people and the natural world.
Author Steinunn Sigurðardóttir
See https://steinunn.net/about-me.html
Steinunn Sigurðardóttir is one of Iceland´s most highly acclaimed novelists and poets. She published her first volume of poetry at the age of 19. Her output to date includes fourteen novels, eleven volumes of poetry, two books of fact, a children’s book, a stage play, TV-plays, radio plays. She is also translator of poetry and prose. She graduated in psychology and philosophy from University College Dublin, then embarking on a career as radio reporter and journalist in Iceland.
Steinunn Sigurðardóttir has contributed greatly to the international recognition of contemporary Icelandic literature, being one of the most frequently translated living Icelandic writers. Amongst her novels are Place of the Heart (Herzort) which won The Icelandic Literary Prize, Sunshine Horse (Sonnenscheinpferd), Jojo (Yo Yo) and The Love of the Fish (Die Liebe der Fische). Steinunn’s first novel, The Thief of Time (Zeitdieb) was made into a French feature film, Voleur de vie, starring Emmanuelle Béart, Sandrine Bonnaire. Her latest novel BÓL/Lavaland (Nov. 2023) has been received with unanimous enthusiasm, being called a "true masterpiece" and "opus magnum." For BÓL she won the most important Icelandic literary prize - the second time around, being the first female author to do so. She wrote a book about President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir which was an all-time bestseller in Iceland. Steinunn Sigurdardottir’s bestselling true story about Heida, The Mountain Farmer, is published by leading European publishing houses and has been bestseller.
You can find a preview of the audiobook version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD0G-YaCuh4
Steinunn Sigurðardóttir has spent time in the United States and Japan, and various European countries. She has lived in Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Dublin, Strasbourg, South of France. She is now dividing her time between the lovely mediaeval town Senlis in France and Iceland. Her life companion Thorsteinn Hauksson is an accomplished composer of modern classical music.
ABOUT INLNA READS
Icelandic heritage and literature go hand-in-hand, with some of the highest literacy rates, Iceland also has an impressive publication rate. The history dates back to 13th century Sagas, the narrative history of the Vikings and early Icelandic settlement, written by Snorri Sturluson.
The Reads Program works to highlight both historical and contemporary works by Icelandic authors though coordinated nationwide book clubs. Reading is a beloved pastime in Iceland and books are popular Christmas gifts. So much so, that Jólabókaflóð, or “Christmas Book Flood” has become a tradition. An official Jólabókaflóð catalog, the Bókatíðindi, or "Book Bulletin," listing out popular books and new releases, is sent to every house in Iceland in November.
A book selection is announced annually in early September, and materials distributed to local clubs for promotion. Clubs may choose to incorporate the Jólabókaflóð tradition and encourage Christmas giving, or use this tradition to help promote the book club to the community. Book club meetings are public and run January through April, but schedules will vary by location based on the sponsoring local club or individual.
2025 INLNA Reads Picks
2024 INLNA READS PICKS
SARAH TOLMIE’S ALL THE HORSES OF ICELAND
SUNDAY, March 3, 2024
Everyone knows of the horses of Iceland, wild, and small, and free, but few have heard their story. Sarah Tolmie’s All the Horses of Iceland weaves their mystical origin into a saga for the modern age. Filled with the magic and darkened whispers of a people on the cusp of major cultural change, All the Horses of Iceland tells the tale of a Norse trader, his travels through Central Asia, and the ghostly magic that followed him home to the land of fire, stone, and ice. His search for riches will take him from Helmgard, through Khazaria, to the steppes of Mongolia, where he will barter for horses and return with much, much more. All the Horses of Iceland is a delve into the secret, imagined history of Iceland's unusual horses, brought to life by an expert storyteller. (Macmillan)
The Seal Woman’s Gift by Sally Magnusson
SUNDAY, JANUARY 21, 2024
INLNA READS kicks off 2024 with Sally Magnusson’s, The Sealwoman’s Gift, a story of tragedy and courage, loss and hope. This fictional story of Ásta, a pastor’s wife kidnapped from the Westman Islands in Iceland by Barbary pirates and enslaved in northern Algiers, is based on true historical events that happened in 1627. Ásta loses her home, her children, her community and her freedom. This is the story of how she survives through never losing what she carried in her heart and soul: the sagas and folklore of her northern land. Magnusson shows us how ‘the eternal power of story-telling’ strengthens our spirit. This is an inspirational novel for all. This month's feature INLNA club is the ICC of BC, who will guide our discussion. Come out to hear two ICC of BC members talk of their discovery of ancestors who were survivors of the Barbary pirate raid.
2023 INLNA READS PICKS
2022 INLNA READS PICKS
2021 INLNA READS PICKS
For spring 2021, the INLNA Reads selection is the novel Burial Rites written by Hannah Kent. The book is inspired by the true crime story of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman to be publically beheaded in Iceland. Set in the early 19th century on an isolated farm in Northern Iceland, we meet Agnes when she is sent to await execution for the murder of her former master.
Meeting were held February 28, March 28, and April 25, 2021, along with a special event on May 16 where Hildur Rúriks of Wisconsin invited two special guests, Maria Ellingsen and Magnus Ólafsson to join to discuss their experiences with the story.
2019 INLNA READS! PROGRAM BOOK CHOICE: 'INDEPENDENT PEOPLE'
by Halldór Laxness
Penguin Books: A huge, humane revelation of a novel is set in rural Iceland in the early twentieth century, written by the Nobel prize-winner dubbed the 'Tolstoy of the North'. A magnificent portrait of the eerie Icelandic landscape and a man's dogged struggle for independence. Bjartus is a sheep farmer determined to eke a living from a blighted patch of land. Nothing, not merciless weather, nor the First World War, nor his family will come between him and his goal of financial independence. Only Asta Solillja, the child he brings up as his daughter, can pierce his stubborn heart. As she grows up, keen to make her own way in the world, Bjartus' obstinacy threatens to estrange them forever.
New York Review of Books wrote: 'There are good books and there are great books and there may be a book that is something still more: it is the book of your life.'
Download the flyer here: Book Club Flyer 2019 Independent People.pdf
2018 INLNA READS! PROGRAM BOOK CHOICE: 'ON THE COLD COASTS'
by Vilborg Davidsdottir (Author), Alda Sigmundsdottir (Translator)
When a fleet of one hundred English ships is caught in a horrible storm off the cold coasts of fifteenth-century Iceland, twenty-five ships are lost. For Ragna, the daughter of a respected family and betrothed to Thorkell, her relationship with one of the seamen washed ashore results in pregnancy. Now barren due to a traumatic childbirth and stigmatized as a fallen woman, she is left with no prospects for marriage when the betrothal is ultimately canceled.
A decade later, Ragna becomes a housekeeper to the new English bishop in North Iceland, where passionate and ambitious Thorkell is a priest and steward. They embark on a fervent but doomed love affair as priests cannot marry and Ragna will not be a concubine. Little does Ragna know but her host, the bishop, is instigating the conflict between the English and Nordic settlers to his own gain, with a devastating impact on his housekeeper. As sweeping as it is intimate, On the Cold Coasts is a powerful, enduring story of love and personal sacrifice.
The World of On the Cold Coasts: The scene is 15th century Iceland. The country, as well as all of Scandinavia, is ruled by a single monarch, King Eric, who resides in Denmark. The king’s archbishop, whose seat is in Nidaros, Norway, has authority over the Icelandic church. The Nordic countries are united in the so-called Kalmar Union, and only merchants from within the Union are permitted to trade with Iceland. Yet not many venture to make the journey from Scandinavia to this distant island in the North Atlantic. Not so the English. Ignoring King Eric’s embargo, about 100 ships sail from England to Iceland each summer, seeking out the abundant fishing grounds. They also trade English flour, ale, wine, boots and other commodities for Icelandic stock fish, woolen cloth and sulphur, which is used for gunpowder in England’s ongoing war with the French. To strengthen their interests, the English persuade the Pope in Rome, the highest authority of the church, to appoint an English bishop in Iceland, to assist in them in trade and other dealings with the natives.
Earlier Selections
2017: “Ivory Vikings” by Nancy Marie Brown
2015: “Saga of Gudrid The Far-Traveler” by Nancy Marie Brown
2013: “The Young Icelander” by Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason
2012: “Independent People” by Halldór Laxness