LA Public Library: Interview With An Author: Eliza Reid

Press release from the Los Angeles Public Library:

Daryl M.

February 17, 2022

Eliza Reid is a journalist, editor, and co-founder of the annual Iceland Writers Retreat. Eliza grew up on a hobby farm near Ottawa, Canada, and moved to Iceland in 2003, five years after winning a student raffle for a date with the man who later became her husband. That husband, Fudni Th. Johannesson, took office as president of Iceland on August 1, 2016, and Eliza became the country’s First Lady. In that capacity, she has been active in promoting gender equality, entrepreneurship and innovation, tourism and sustainability, and the country’s writers and rich literary heritage. The Secrets of the Sprakkar is her first book and she recently talked about it with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.

During the beginning of the pandemic, former Icelandic President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir turned 90. She was the world’s first democratically elected female head of state and remains a role model to many. But it occurred to me that many people outside of Iceland don’t know about her and about Iceland’s many other achievements in the field of gender equality. So I decided I wanted to paint a portrait of a country where gender equality was within reach, using interviews with a variety of women to talk about what we do well and what we need to improve on.

The process was relatively quick, partly because I knew that as pandemic restrictions were lifted I would have more commitments as First Lady. I first had the idea for the book in late April 2020 and I submitted the first complete draft at the beginning of February the next year. The interviews were conducted between late May and early December 2020, but of course, the book wasn’t completed for several months after that.

I learned so much and was inspired by all the women I spoke to. It was really interesting just learning about specifics in people’s lives and work, for example, how you let lava flow into a showroom or how much training you need to work as a search and rescue volunteer.

It is such an honor and privilege to serve as First Lady, and I have so many stories (maybe I will save the best ones for a memoir when I am no longer First Lady). It sounds like a cliché, but really the most memorable thing is the opportunity to meet people from all backgrounds and walks of life, in Iceland and abroad, who are doing so much to make the world a better place for all of us.

I try not to play favorites because there is so, so much to see and do. I definitely recommend going to a local outdoor geothermal pool because it’s such an authentically Icelandic experience. I also recommend traveling outside of the capital, but not being overly ambitious; it might be better to cover one region in more detail than trying to dash around the entire country. Finally—always drink the tap water. It’s the best water in the world!

I certainly believe that this is an important target and ambition. But it will take tireless work to achieve it because the minute we become complacent, we will take some steps in the wrong direction.

A rather teetering stack of books! Right now I am listening to one of Louise Penny’s Three Pines mysteries and reading Canadian journalist Omar Mouallem’s excellent book Praying to the West: How Muslims Shaped the Americas. On my nightstand, you’ll also find Alexander Chee’s essay collection How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, a mostly translated collection called The Book of Reykjavík: A City in Short Fiction, and a biography of a 17th-century Queen of Sweden. I told you it was a teetering pile of books!

I think my answer to this would change all the time as I enjoy a diversity of authors, but people who I have read a lot of included Pat Barker, Roxane Gay, Rohinton Mistry, and Meg Wolitzer. I also try to read a lot of books by Icelandic authors. And my youngest brother, Iain Reid is an author, so I always recommend him! So I don’t have a top five but I will say you won’t be disappointed if you read something by these writers.

It has been an emotional roller coaster and a fascinating and fun adventure. I suppose one thing that stuck out to me is the idea that the words on the page are just one piece of the larger puzzle of bringing a book into the world. Another point is that sometimes those words on the page look fantastic to me, other times cringeworthy. I try not to be too hard on myself if I’m having one of those days where I see mostly the latter; we all have those moments and they pass.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, and the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery.

Not that I can recall. They encouraged all kinds of reading.

I think I fell asleep once reading Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness in a high school English class.

Not off the top of my head, I’m afraid!

Lots of books have had an impact. I can’t name one over all the others, I’m afraid.

I love recommending books to people—especially memoirs, crime fiction, and newer nonfiction. But what I recommend really depends on the person who I’m speaking to.

Probably Murder on the Orient Express, even though I have read it many, many times!

I’m watching a terrific Icelandic television series right now called Blackport. I never cease to be impressed by the amazing cultural output of this country, which is only home to 350,000 people.

THE perfect day would probably involve visiting a new place, eating a variety of delicious foods from around the world, meeting some interesting people, and ending with a good book!

I really can’t think of anything! I’m just so thrilled that people are interested in the book, I’m happy to answer all sorts!

Now I am pivoting a bit to my other projects: running the Iceland Writers Retreat, and a new event, the Iceland Readers Retreat, and my various commitments as First Lady. But I have loved the process of writing a book, so I hope I get another idea soon!

Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World Reid, Eliza View on OverDrive View in Catalog

This press release was produced by the Los Angeles Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.