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Star Belt Press

@starbeltpress

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An independent press amplifying the voices of women and nonbinary writers. 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ 🖊️ 📚

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Another five-star review! Woohoo! Thank you @a.d.elliott of Rite of Fancy Book Recommendations & Reviews for your generous words!

“I spent a surprising amount of Happy Iceland thinking about discomfort.

Anne Marie is cold. She is wet. She is tired. She walks until her feet hurt. She sleeps badly. She eats cheap food repeatedly. She gets into cars with strangers and heads toward places she often barely knows how to find. At one point, she reflects on walking until her feet bled, being unable to sleep because of the cold, and eating instant ramen yet again, and still decides it was worth it because those uncomfortable moments brought her into the lives of people who became friends.

And I think that discomfort is part of what makes the book work. This isn’t a polished luxury-travel version of Iceland where every waterfall is followed by a warm hotel room. Wells is deliberately allowing uncertainty into the trip. She starts asking strangers about happy memories almost immediately and follows those memories instead of a carefully planned tourist route. The result is messy, funny, occasionally frightening, and much more human.

What I enjoyed most, though, was the exploration of happiness itself. One of the most interesting moments comes when an Icelandic woman tells Wells that she and her husband have simply had happy lives because they find happiness in the everyday parts of living. That makes Wells wonder whether real happiness might actually be a kind of “happy boredom” rather than a constant string of exciting experiences. That idea stayed with me.” (Continued in first comment) taken in Iceland by @starbeltpress

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14 days ago

We are so excited that Happy Iceland will be featured as @neighborhoodreads ‘ Hot Off the Press book club pick for October. If you live in or around the Washington, MO area, hop on over to Neighborhood Reads on October 28. Copies of Happy Iceland get a 20% discount when purchased through Neighborhood Reads for the book club. Thank you, Neighborhood Reads, for selecting Happy Iceland! taken in Neighborhood Reads by @starbeltpress

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15 days ago

Happy Iceland is going to be in Kelowna, British Columbia; Boston, Massachusetts; Washington, Missouri; and Washington, DC. If you’re in or around these places, stop by and bring a friend with you :) by @starbeltpress

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16 days ago

Happy Iceland was in attendance for Taste of Iceland events in New York City today hosted by @scanhouse 🇮🇸💙

Every seat was filled for a panel on Iceland’s “hot pots” and communal bathing culture facilitated by @andrimagnason followed by a screening of The Extraordinary Miss Flower featuring music and performance by @emilianatorrini

Tomorrow’s events include a screening of Magnason’s documentary film, “Time and Water” (2026), a meditative look at the impacts of climate change on Iceland’s glaciers as well as an intimate portrait of his family’s enduring, multi-generational connection to them. His 2021 book of a similar title, “On Time and Water” explores these themes as well.

Taste of Iceland brings Icelandic food, music, art, design, and culture to multiple cities each year. After New York, the festival heads up my way to Vancouver in mid-November, so Canadian friends, keep an eye out! 🇨🇦🇮🇸 by @starbeltpress

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17 days ago

Which Happy Iceland character will you love the most based on your zodiac sign? Swipe to find out!

Have you read Happy Iceland yet? Which character did you love the most? by @starbeltpress

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23 days ago

So excited to announce The Bookworm Buffet Book Club has selected Happy Iceland for their 2027 reading lineup. Special thanks to the Riverton Branch Library who will be coordinating a “book club kit” that will be available for any future book clubs to use.

If you (or someone you know) live in or around Riverton and would like to join in on the event, be in touch with The Riverton Branch Library to be added to the list. by @starbeltpress

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24 days ago

Thank you, Eygló, author of the Lonely Planet guide to Iceland, for your generous words 🙏

“Meet Anne Marie, a lovely and a little lost hitchhiker pushing 30, traveling Iceland in the most irrational way while retracing other people’s happy memories. Despite encountering plenty of obstacles: dismal weather at times, angry seabirds, harsh elements, treacherous paths and frigid nights, she stubbornly follows through on her non-plan plan, as she calls it. Anne Marie’s itinerary is dictated by strangers, who tell her about places where they felt happy. She hitchhikes to that place, then finds another stranger to ask the same thing, hitchhikes to that person’s happy place and so on—even if it means crisscrossing the country, passing through the same places several times and walking or hiking long or arduous distances. Anne Marie visits famous destinations and places off the beaten path, plenty of waterfalls and hot springs, and makes friends with many of the people who pick her up. She is also on an inward journey, on her own quest for happiness and true love. In beautiful and humorous writing, Anne Marie paints an honest picture of Iceland while philosophizing on happiness—everyone’s ultimate destination. This hitchhiker’s guide to Iceland will not leave you untouched.” by @starbeltpress

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25 days ago

Hello Libras, Libra season is upon us, and these prompts from Write Some Cool Sh!t are just for you. ♎️ Curated by The Writer’s Astrologer, @yapstellium

#libra #libraseason by @starbeltpress

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a month ago

I still can’t read or think about this memory or listen to this song without tearing up. Use the QR code or follow the link in bio to listen to the full song and other songs mentioned in Happy Iceland. by @starbeltpress

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a month ago

Thank you to all our readers who put Happy Iceland at NUMBER ONE for Iceland and Greenland travel! Word of mouth is the best marketing, so to everyone who recommended Happy Iceland to friends and family or that stranger wearing a baseball cap with the Icelandic flag on it while waiting in line at Costco, know that each recommendation is so so so appreciated! Woohoo! 🥳 by @starbeltpress

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a month ago

“I absolutely loved Happy Iceland. The narrative voice, [Wells’] voice, is what really blew me away. [She] mentioned Cheryl Strayed at one point in there. While [Wells’] voice is different from [Strayed’s], I think [she] accomplished the same tightrope walk of being candid and reflective.” Thank you to @raincorbyn , Audiobook narrator and founder of @haruspexaudio for your generous words! by @starbeltpress

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a month ago

What happens when the parents of an Icelandic rockstar pick you up while hitchhiking? Well, 10 years later, your sister will get the VIP treatment at one of their concerts! Use the QR code or follow the link in bio to listen to the full song and other songs mentioned in Happy Iceland. taken in Iceland by @starbeltpress

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a month ago