It’s Christmas Eve. A light snow is falling. The house is quiet. You curl up on the couch under a warm blanket with steaming mug of hot chocolate, and a great book.

This the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóðið. (Full disclosure–I do not have any Icelandic heritage. I just want to fully embrace this cool tradition.)

Translated directly into English, Jolabokaflod means “the Christmas book flood.” During WWII, many resources were in short supply, so gifts were hard to come by. However, books were rather abundant. And books make great gifts. Thereafter a tradition of gifting books to friends and family began. Gifts of books and chocolates are typically exchanged on Christmas Eve. Then everyone gets into their pajamas and retreats under blankets to read.

And when you think about it, this kind of tradition might be just what a lot of people need. With all the hustle of Christmas, the stress, shopping crowds, the cleaning, the decorating, finding the perfect gift, balancing your budget… it can be challenging to find time for yourself. A tradition of curling up with a good book gives you a chance to block out the stress, give your mind some fun exercise, and escape to a world of fictional adventure.

It’s also important to think about the chocolate. While it still has a high calorie content, there’s evidence out there that suggests dark chocolate with 70% cocoa content or more actually has health benefits! One of my favorites are Lindt’s 70% dark chocolate truffles.

Chocolate truffles also happen to be a favorite treat of my main character, Cassiopeia Requin, in First Command. They and her best friend Emica, are what help her to get through her grueling training as an astronaut officer cadet.

No Book? No Problem!

About half hay through this blog post is my handy guide to gifting an E-book. It’s so easy, you can literally do it on your phone in seconds. And you don’t even need a special E-book reader. Anyone with a smart phone, tablet, or personal computer and an internet connection can read one.