An intriguing, issue-oriented collected biography of Iceland's first lady, Eliza Reid, and a mix of trailblazing and "ordinary" women alike. Beyond biography, it also serves as a history of Iceland, its culture, and people. Reid highlights the highs and lows of the country's policies, including a generous parental leave policy. At times the writing felt a bit dry and repetitive, but an overall interesting title that will appeal to readers interested in global history, government, and social science writing.

Secrets of the Sprakkar is a fascinating book which takes you on a journey around Iceland, meeting ordinary, but extraordinary, everyday but outstanding women, or Sprakkar. The term is an an ancient Icelandic word meaning extraordinary or outstanding women.
The author Eliza Reid is Canadian-born first lady of Iceland, a country leading the way in gender equality. For the past twelve years, the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report has ranked Iceland number one on its list of countries closing the gap in equality between men and women. This book lifts the lid on why the country is the best place to be a women, and what it is about the country that makes being a women such a positive experience.
I loved learning about another culture and country in such a relevant way - the writing style is friendly but informative and this book should be a must-read for all.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review of "Secrets of the Sprakkar"
Eliza Reid's "Secrets of the Sprakkar" is a captivating exploration of Iceland's journey towards gender equality and what the rest of the world can learn from it. Reid expertly weaves together her own experiences as an immigrant and First Lady of Iceland with interviews with dozens of extraordinary women to paint a powerful and atmospheric portrait of a country that could lead the way forward for us all.
I found the book to be a fascinating window into what a more gender-equal world could look like, and why it's worth striving for. Iceland's achievements in this area are truly remarkable, and this book provides valuable insights into the deep-seated cultural sense of fairness and historical role models that have helped the country make such meaningful progress.
Overall, "Secrets of the Sprakkar" is an illuminating and inspiring read that left me feeling hopeful about the future of gender equality. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this important topic.

“Earth and nature, they will stay forever. Everything else is transitory,” as said by one of the women featured in this book. Eliza Reid is a name that has become synonymous with women's empowerment, both in Iceland and on the global stage. As a writer, journalist, and co-founder of the Iceland Writers Retreat, Reid has championed the cause of women's rights and gender equality throughout her career, using her platform to inspire and educate women around the world.

In this highly personal book, Reid also championed what she calls Sprakkar – how she refers to extraordinary women in Iceland and how they revolutionise the world. Some of them are high-level figures, such as Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the first woman elected to be a head of state and the first Icelandic female president in the 1980s, while also featuring ordinary women carrying out their jobs in their respective lines of duties. And uniquely, it features not only women with the suffix -dóttir in their surnames (a typical surname for an Icelandic woman, reflecting the patronymic of a person, the suffix -son is the male equivalent).

She highlights some important factors which helped Iceland thrive in terms of building a society that is more gender equal, resulting in Iceland’s position as number one in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report for twelve consecutive years. She lists various factors contributing to this outcome, such as Iceland’s long-standing political commitment to gender equality, the enactment of laws and policies aimed at promoting gender equality, high levels of women’s political representation, implementation of policies aimed at work-life balance, as well as gender-sensitive education, all of whom are instrumental on building an Icelandic society that is gender-responsive.

Reid's journey towards becoming a leading voice in women's empowerment began as she met her husband during their university days in Oxford. Born a Canadian, she describes passionately about her adoptive country despite earlier anxiety about the possible life in Iceland (as said before, not all women featured here have the suffix -dóttir in their surnames). After graduation, she followed her husband to Iceland and worked as a journalist for various publications, including the Reykjavik Grapevine and Iceland Review, covering everything from politics and business to culture and travel. In 2014, Reid co-founded the Iceland Writers Retreat, an annual event that brings together writers from around the world to learn, network, and explore the Icelandic literary scene. The retreat also includes a focus on issues affecting women in the literary world, such as the gender pay gap and lack of representation in publishing.

In 2016, Reid became the first lady of Iceland when her husband, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, was elected as president. As first lady, Reid has continued to use her position to advocate for women's rights and gender equality. She has spoken out on issues such as equal pay, women's representation in politics, and ending gender-based violence. Through her writing, activism, and leadership, Reid has become an inspiration to women around the world. Her commitment to empowering women and promoting gender equality is a testament to the fact that anyone can make a difference, no matter how small their platform may seem. As Reid herself has said, "It's important for women to speak up and be heard, and for men to support them in that."

This was a great memoir and kind of a fairytale story. Not every study abroad student will end up First Lady of another country, but for Eliza Reid, that came true!

This was a super enlightening read! Perfect for collections where hygge, sparking joy and other similar philosophy of living books are doing well

I enjoyed this book by the First Lady of Iceland. Reid does a great job of relaying stories from her own life and interviews with others and combing those with short pieces of "sprakkar" from the past to give you a feel for life in Iceland. I'm sure I'm not the only one who read this book and wanted to pack up and move as soon as humanly possible!

“Sprakkar, an Icelandic word meaning extraordinary or outstanding women.”

I don’t think it’s often you come across a book written by a First Lady. This one is written by Eliza Reid, the First Lady of Iceland. It was very interesting to read about how her journey came about and her views on gender equality in Iceland.

Reid explains why Iceland has the smallest gender gap in the world based on her research and observations. It is indeed a profound achievement considering how many other nations are struggling with reducing gender inequality. Reid talks about the significant changes women in Iceland has made through their social and cultural norms. She also talks about how Iceland has the upper hand due to its small size but it is also due to the support of society and the willingness to change.

Despite Reid not being a native, I could feel her love and passion for her adopted country. Her perspective is unique as she writes about the advantages and disadvantages of living in Iceland as a First Lady and also a foreigner. I love the examples of diverse local women she used in her book to support her topics. She doesn’t just paint Iceland is a positive light but instead balances out their successes by recognising that there are still important issues to be addressed and solved.

I also appreciate the large range of topics she covered from LGBTQIA+ to foreigners to people with disabilities to family roles and how feminism plays a role in their lives. I really enjoyed reading this and would recommend this to everyone!

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the arc.

This was an interesting read about Iceland and the significant parity/advancement women there have made relative to their male counterparts than other parts of the western world. More importantly, what stood out for me was the everyday Icelandic social and cultural norms - operating at a practical, nonjudgmental, and higher level than other western cultures. From the independence and maturity level of kids to the “quarter to three” mindset (which I found hilarious), this book was a keen insight into Iceland and its people. Written by the current First Lady of Iceland, who is Canadian born, and has lived in Iceland for close to 20 years, it’s a dedication to the achievement of Icelandic people, especially women, who have strived to make this small country thrive. Being small has advantages and disadvantages and Iceland has capitalized on its size to be nimble, faster moving, and resourceful. There were a lot of examples and stories of women achievements that the author cited to substantiate her points - occasionally parts felt a bit mired and maybe took away from smoother transitions in the book. The author’s love and embrace of her adopted country definitely shines through. I also ended up listening to her TedTalk. Overall, this was an interesting and eye-opening book on Iceland. I learned a lot and would definitely recommend it. I read How to Live Icelandic by Nina Bjork Jonsdottir (through NetGalley) a few months ago and that’s a great overall snapshot (lots of fantastic photos) of Iceland, which would complement this book well. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Eliza Reid is the wife of Iceland's president which a focus on gender equity. Utilizing the fact that she is now "known", as an International figure, Reid has written this journalistic look into how Iceland continues to excel at lessening the gender gap. She touches on the many different areas that impact this equity - parental leave policies, cultural standards of parenting, the population of Iceland, and even the natural environment. Something I enjoyed most about this book were the numerous interviews that Reid did with woman from around the nation. She did an amazing job in finding a diverse group of woman to speak to and using there life experiences to inform. The women interviewed were native born, immigrant, straight, gay, young, middle-aged, married, single, parents, etc. - and this created such a varied look into the various ways once "is a woman" in Iceland. Another exceptional aspect of this book was Reid's willingness to explore where Iceland can take things further and to critique areas where she still feels they fall short in gender equity. Finally, I found it very interesting that she is Canadian-born, spent her college years in England (where she met her husband), and has now lived in Iceland for two decades. This gave depth to her overview as she has various experiences in other countries to draw on as comparison points. Highly recommend!

THANK YOU! I have always wanted to visit Iceland and I learned so much about the country from this book.
I hope to visit SOON!

A tour de force explaining the ways in which Iceland seeks to achieve gender equity and the ways in which it still falls short, all explained through the eyes of several extraordinary women or, “sprakkar.”

Even better? It’s told by the First Lady of Iceland, who herself is an extraordinary woman with an unconventional life journey to becoming the spouse of the country’s leader.

This was a fantastic read! I really liked Eliza’s voice and the way she intermingled the ancient sagas and the lessons from it still practiced in modern times. As someone who has traveled to Iceland, I felt this book enhanced my knowledge of the country’s customs and vast history. If you are reading this as an intro to Iceland, or, like me, to expand your understanding of Iceland, this book would be a welcome addition to your library.

I thought this would be more interesting than it ultimately was. More narrative on how existing conditions in Iceland, like socialized health care, allow for gender equality than a prescription for how to get there. Anecdotal type of narrative kept me reading.

I enjoyed this book because of it's writing style, unique topic, and the fact that it really provided a thought-provoking experience. Recommended for readers who want to read slowly so as to take time to process.

An informative book with lots of interesting stories. I learnt a lot. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This was a great glimpse into Icelandic culture, specifically involving women. I’m not always a big fan of nonfiction but this book kept me interested with all of the different topics covered! Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

I applaud Reid's efforts to promote her adopted country's advances in gender equity. Indeed, Iceland leads most countries in providing generous parental lave when a baby is born, as well as subsidized child care. But I found the book to be repetitive, and lost interest when I had only completed a third of it. I could not finish it.

Thank you to the author, Sourcebooks and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This fantastic book allows us a glimpse inside the fabric of Icelandic society and gives insight into the history, tradition and the present-day lives of strong women that shaped this country. I loved the way the author gave space to a huge breadth of topics and voices, while at the same time also sharing from her personal POV as a outsider that now is at home in Iceland, having learned the language and acquired a unique vantage point as the "First Lady", i.e. the wife of the President. While she is the first to acknowledge the advantages and privilege this bestows upon her, at the same time it is evident that she takes these responsibilities seriously and has a real passion and love for her adopted country - and this comes across really well in her book.

Fascinating study on how women in Iceland have created a positive world in which to flourish in their private and professional lives. From the perspective of an outsider, yet someone who has access to the intimacies of the Icelandic culture, the book presents an unvarnished view of what works and what continues to need work. From the history to the geography of Iceland, all the elements that have made the benefits of being female or any other minority gender identity, have resulted in a culture where women have fought and won a solid footing of equality.