The Greatest Books of All Time Set in Iceland

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
288 Independent People Halldor Laxness 1934 Icelandic Icelandic
926 Journey to the Center of the Earth Jules Verne 1864 French French
1544 The Poetic Edda Unknown 1270 Multiple Old norse
1550 Njal's Saga Iceland 1280 Icelandic Old norse
1844 The Sixth Extinction Elizabeth Kolbert 2014 American English
2654 Iceland’s Bell Halldor Laxness 1943 Icelandic Icelandic
2699 Cod Mark Kurlansky 1997 American English
2719 The Sagas Of Icelanders Örnólfur Thorsson 1000 Icelandic Old norse
4137 The Faraway Nearby Rebecca Solnit 2013 American English
4798 The Fish Can Sing Halldor Laxness 1957 Icelandic Icelandic
5595 World War Z Max Brooks 2006 American English
5603 Jar City Arnaldur Indriðason 2000 Icelandic Icelandic
5895 The Prose Edda Snorri Sturluson 1220 Icelandic Old norse
6311 Burial Rites Hannah Kent 2013 Australian English
6969 Collected Shorter Poems W. H. Auden 1966 British English
7610 Running Blind Desmond Bagley 1970 British English
7895 The Bone Clocks David Mitchell 2014 British English
8441 Heaven And Hell Jón Kalman Stefánsson 2007 Icelandic Icelandic
8466 Griftopia Matt Taibbi 2010 American English
8701 Silence Of The Grave Arnaldur Indriðason 2003 Icelandic Icelandic
8801 World Light Halldor Laxness 1937 Icelandic Icelandic
9673 Strange Shores Arnaldur Indriðason 2010 Icelandic Icelandic
9719 Laxdæla Saga Unknown 1245 Icelandic Old norse
9971 The Silence Of The Sea Yrsa Sigurdardottir 2012 Icelandic Icelandic
10092 The Ends Of The World Peter Brannen 2017 American English
10552 The Darkness Ragnar Jonasson 2015 Icelandic Icelandic
10616 Ships Of The Sky Gunnar Gunnarsson 1938 Icelandic Unknown
10973 This Machine Kills Secrets Andy Greenberg 2012 Unknown English
11346 Best Loved Folktales Of The World Joanna Cole 1982 Unknown English
11366 Complete Works Jorge Luis Borges Argentinian Spanish
11440 Field Notes From A Catastrophe Elizabeth Kolbert 2006 American English
11613 The Next Christendom Philip Jenkins 2002 American English
11637 The Means Of Reproduction Michelle Goldberg 2009 American English
13362 An Iceland Fisherman Pierre Loti 1886 French French
13362 Die Fahrten Thiodolfs Des Isländers Baron Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué 1815 German German
14070 Erste Erde Epos Raoul Schrott 2016 Austrian German
14232 Under A White Sky Elizabeth Kolbert 2021 American English
14985 Angels Of The Universe Einar Már Guðmundsson 1993 Icelandic Icelandic
14985 Europe Norman Davies 1996 British English
14985 The Blue Fox Sjón 2003 Icelandic Icelandic
16621 Salka Valka Halldor Laxness 1931 Icelandic Icelandic
17163 A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall Will Chancellor 2014 American English
17163 Red Storm Rising Tom Clancy 1986 American English
17163 Miss Iceland Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir 2018 Icelandic Icelandic
17163 Magma Thora Hjörleifsdóttir 2019 Icelandic Icelandic
17163 The Book Of Reykjavik Becca Parkinson, Vera Juliusdottir 2020 Unknown English
17163 Quake Auður Jónsdóttir 2015 Icelandic Icelandic
17163 A Fist Or A Heart Kristín Eiríksdóttir 2017 Icelandic Icelandic
17163 Woman At 1000 Degrees Hallgrímur Helgason 2011 Icelandic Icelandic
17163 Moonstone Sjón 2013 Icelandic Icelandic
17163 101 Reykjavik Hallgrímur Helgason 1996 Icelandic Icelandic
17163 The Whale Philip Hoare 2008 British English
17163 Atlas Of An Anxious Man Christoph Ransmayr 2016 Austrian German
17163 Drawdown Paul Hawken 2017 American English
17163 Diplomacy Henry A. Kissinger 1994 American English
17163 M Train Patti Smith 2015 American English
17163 The Last Odyssey James Rollins 2020 American English
17163 The Devil Colony James Rollins 2011 American English
17163 The Silk Roads Peter Frankopan 2015 British English
17163 Að Laufferjum And Að Brunnum Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson Icelandic Icelandic
17163 Justice Undone Thor Vilhjálmsson 1986 Icelandic Icelandic
17163 For The Living And The Dead Tomas Tranströmer 1989 Swedish Swedish
17163 Hotel Silence Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir 2016 Icelandic Icelandic
17163 An Elemental Thing Eliot Weinberger 2007 American English
17163 All The Horses Of Iceland Sarah Tolmie 2022 Unknown English
17163 Spare Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex 2023 British English
17163 Zero Zero Zero Roberto Saviano 2013 Italian Italian
17060 The Saga Of The Volsungs Anonymous 1270 Unknown Old norse