Reykjavík Grapevine - 18.07.2014, Síða 36

36 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 09 — 2014LITERATURE
Book
Worms,
Ahoy!
Best Bookstore:
Nexus Afþreying
The store has been running in one form or
another since 1992. After 18 years at Hver-
fisgata 103, the store relocated last August
to a bigger space at Nóatún 17. Although
some were disappointed that the store
would no longer be in downtown Reykja-
vík, the new space has allowed for a wider
selection of wares and its non-fiction sec-
tion in particular has grown.
Gísli Einarsson has been a part of Nex-
us from the beginning and is now the sole
owner and mastermind behind its present
incarnation. When we called to let him
know that Nexus had won the ‘Best Book-
store’ award, he was so overjoyed that he
accidentally hung up the phone.
Despite the book section taking up so
much of the store’s floor space, Gísli was
surprised that Nexus was considered for
the ‘Best Bookstore’ award, and when we
met up with him the following day he was
beaming with joy, having just proudly told
his staff the good news.
The atmosphere at Nexus very relaxed,
and on a quiet day it is easy to spend a
while chitchatting with staff members
about the latest books, upcoming films
and new developments in the hobby
world. They are very helpful when it comes
to finding something for yourself or gifts
for others.
The bulk of the book section consists
of a decidedly nerdy selection of literature
(read: sci fi and fantasy), with books rang-
ing from ‘Ender’s Game’ to ‘Twilight’ and
‘Game Of Thrones,’ and staff is typically
willing to track down and order books,
DVDs, games and other wares for its cus-
tomers at no extra cost.
“We do a lot of special orders,” Gísli
says. “If the book is available somewhere
in the world, we can probably get it for our
customers at a reasonable price.” New re-
leases from the US usually arrive a week
after an order is placed, with a slightly lon-
ger waiting period from Europe.
Be warned, many new customers that
wander into Nexus come out having spent
a lot more money than they initially intend-
ed. Judging from the smiles on their faces
though, they probably don’t regret any of
it.
(Disclaimer: the writer worked at Nexus
from 2007 to 2010)
Comic Book Manager Þórhallur
Björgvinsson’s
Best of Nexus Books
Best children’s book
‘I’d Really Like To Eat
A Child’
by Sylviane Donnio
Best teen fiction
‘The Fault In Our Stars’
by Anthony Ryan
Best fantasy
‘Blood Song’
by Anthony Ryan
Best science fiction
‘Red Shirts’
by John Scalzi
Best short story
collection
‘Zombies Vs. Unicorns’
by Justine Larbalestier
and Holly Black
Best non-fiction
‘Girls Like Us’
by Rachel Lloyd
Must read comic book
‘Saga’
by Brian K. Vaughan
Must read manga
‘Attack On Titan’
by Hajime Isayama
Nexus is Iceland’s only store dedicated to fantasy and science fiction and features a large
fiction section, as well as non-fiction books on drawing, knitting, handicrafts and other
hobbies. The store also has numerous aisles filled with games, DVDs, comics and just
about everything else related to fandom.
Words
Tómas Gabríel Benjamin
Photo
Magnús Andersen
Beautyful english language cookbook by
tv/adventure chef Volundur Snaer Volundarson.
Volundur is well known in Iceland and world
wide for his stunning recipes and TV series.
These recipies, photograps and stories
will give you a memorable taste of
the unique nortern land: Iceland.
DELICIOUS
ICELAND
Tales of unique northern delicasies
SALKA. IS