Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I can really recommend the Fjällbacka series if you like Jo Nesbö or other criminal books. Book nr 1 is called The Ice Princess

Serendipity wrote: "Hmm, I really wanted to read something set in Finland for this since it is the one country in that area I haven't read from. So I could go for the broader English usage of Scandanavia and then read House of Orphans."

If you choose to do that, then at least read a book written by someone who actually knows something about Finland because I really don't know what kind of a "revolutionary" she is talking about and I don't recognize the society or culture, either, and there were no orphanages, at least not in the countryside.

Linda wrote: "Chrissi wrote: "I'm going for Burial Rites, set in Iceland."

Check message number 10 above by Hilde who says that "Scandinavia" only refers to Denmark, Norway and Sweden."

Yep! Changing book idea after looking it up this morning out of curiosity if Iceland was actually included. Struck me after posting that it may not be.

I'm interested in a historical fiction title and came across Across the China Sea set in Norway during the last few years of WWII and the future. Sounds interesting! If I can't find a copy, I'll dive into Britt-Marie Was Here, also on my TBR, or The Marvelous Misadventures of Ingrid Winter, which is waiting on my Kindle. I think that was a suggestion as well in another post.

I can read Burial Rites before next year now ... my library renewals are done on the book in a week as it suddenly has a few holds!

I read Burial Rites last year... it was good. Too bad it is not Scandinavia!

For this prompt I'm planning to read Beowulf. It is set in Denmark and Sweden.

any other YA suggestions?

Azrah wrote: "any other YA suggestions?"

That´s actually a bit hard to answer. I have a lot I´d like to recommend, but Scandinavian (and European in general, I think but I am not sure) YA tend not to be translated to English... It´s more the other way round. But I found some (I think some of them were suggested earlier in the thread)

The Circle by Mats Strandberg (Sweden)
Blood Cruise by Mats Strandberg (Ferry between Sweden and Finland - but sets out in Sweden, so I´d say it fits)
Nothing by Janne Teller (Denmark)
Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (Norway)
Me on the Floor, Bleeding by Jenny Jägerfeld (Sweden)
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Sweden)

I haven´t read Mats Strandberg (the two first books) but I have a colleague who speaks highly of his books. If you like slightly creepy with a supernatural twist, these are for you.

Azrah wrote: "any other YA suggestions?"

But then I don´t know if you speak other languages than English?

@Johanne I speak only English and Afrikaans : )

Azrah wrote: "@Johanne I speak only English and Afrikaans : )"

Okay. It´s just because some books may be in Spanish, German etc. but not English (or Afrikaans). Hope you can use my suggestions, and maybe someone has more.

Just stumbled across You Were Made for This which I'm pretty sure is set in Sweden. Think that'll be my pick for this one.

Sigh. There are other countries in this world, Popsugar. Gah.

I'll be reading:

Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbø

If I don't get to it this year, Beartown. If I do, Us Against You.

Ian wrote: "If I don't get to it this year, Beartown. If I do, Us Against You."

I'm going with Beartown too Ian :)

For YA (or slightly younger), what about Number the Stars. It follows the Danish resistance to Nazi occupation, from the point of view of a younger non-Jewish girl.

I'm actually surprised I don't have more options for this one, but I do have The Orange Girl on my Kindle so that'll be my pick for this.

I struggled for this one, but then I squinted a bit at the books on my 'want to read' list and realized thatNorse Mythology by Neil Gaiman would do.

I am going with 'Smilla's Sense of Snow' by Peter Hoeg. Its out of Copenhagen.

Some suggestions that I've read and enjoyed...

Books by:
Jo Nesbo
Stieg Larsson
Jussi Adler-Olsen
Henning Mankell

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country by Helen Russell

Kym wrote: "Some suggestions that I've read and enjoyed...

Books by:
Jo Nesbo
Stieg Larsson
Jussi Adler-Olsen
Henning Mankell

[book:Burial Rites..."


Burial Rites won't work for this prompt. It is not set in Scandinavia.

I ended up going with a nonfiction book for this, The Dark Heart: A True Story of Greed, Murder, and an Unlikely Investigator by Joakim Palmkvist, about a murder set in Sweden.

I am going to go with An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good, which is set in Sweden.

Anna wrote: "This sounds like a good excuse to read another Fredrik Backman :)"

I totally agree!!

Chrissi wrote: "Linda wrote: "Chrissi wrote: "I'm going for Burial Rites, set in Iceland."

Check message number 10 above by Hilde who says that "Scandinavia" only refers to Denmark, Norway and Sweden."

Yep! Chan..."

Iceland was a part of the Kingdom of Denmark from 1814 to 1918, and Burial Rites is set in 1829. I think that would make it fit the promt enough for me.

I will be reading The Road to Jerusalem

Line wrote: "Iceland was a part of the Kingdom of Denmark from 1814 to 1918, and Burial Rites is set in 1829. I think that would make it fit the promt..."

Oooh, a loophole! I am going to keep Burial Rites as an option for this prompt with that in mind.

Line wrote: "Iceland was a part of the Kingdom of Denmark from 1814 to 1918, and Burial Rites is set in 1829. I think that would make it fit the promt."

Not really because Scandinavia is defined by geography, as well. Greenland is a part of Denmark even today but no one is counting it as a part of Scandinavia.

Linda wrote: "Kym wrote: "Some suggestions that I've read and enjoyed...

Books by:
Jo Nesbo
Stieg Larsson
Jussi Adler-Olsen
Henning Mankell

[bo..."

Ah that's right! It's set in Iceland. For some reason I had in my head that it was set in Norway???
Thanks Linda :-)

From Wikipedia
Scandinavia[a] (/ˌskændɪˈneɪviə/ SKAN-dih-NAY-vee-ə) is a region in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties. The majority national languages of the region, and their many dialects, belong to the Scandinavian dialect continuum, and are mutually intelligible North Germanic languages.[4] The term Scandinavia in local usage covers the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. However, in English usage, the term also sometimes refers to the Scandinavian Peninsula, or to the broader region including Finland and Iceland, which is always known locally as the Nordic countries

I say Iceland counts.

Katy wrote: "From Wikipedia
Scandinavia[a] (/ˌskændɪˈneɪviə/ SKAN-dih-NAY-vee-ə) is a region in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties. The majority national languages of the reg..."


Just to be clear, in comment #10, Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ user Hilde who is from Scandinavia, states the following:

"Just a short comment to clear up a common misunderstanding with the term Scandinavia. Scandinavia only consists of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Whilst if you want to include Finland and Iceland it’s called The Nordic Countries.
I understand that it is common in the US to use all five Nordic countries while speaking of Scandinavia, so just wanted to give a heads up. (Don’t always trust the US wiki;)"

Linda wrote: "Katy wrote: "From Wikipedia
Scandinavia[a] (/ˌskændɪˈneɪviə/ SKAN-dih-NAY-vee-ə) is a region in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties. The majority national languag..."

Yeah, to me even the wording in the wiki is saying "Americans call this Scandinavia even though it's not really". I'm not going to argue against anyone stretching the prompt if it works better for them, just that it IS stretching the prompt if you're not using one of the three actual Scandinavian countries.

I agree Raquel. People can stretch the prompt if they want, but it is stretching.

I think I may be the last person in the world to read this, but I have The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared penciled in for this prompt. That or Ronia, the Robber's Daughter.

I wandered up to a local bookstore last night where I came across this:

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good

I have not read it, but the description sounds great! It's by a Swedish author & it takes place in Sweden. It is now my first choice for this prompt.

Sara wrote: "Those of us who participated in the 2018 challenge are all very familiar with the Nordic Noir genre. If you aren't into that genre, any book by Fredrik Backman is a great option. P..."

Would My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry work?

I read Samuel Bjork's I'm Traveling Alone for Nordic Noir this year and the sequel The Owl Always Hunts At Night for Animal in the Title. The third book in the series, The Boy in the Headlights: is coming out in 2019 and I cannot wait! I had no idea I was into Nordic noir books, but I am so hooked!

For comics/graphic novels you could go for:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, vol. 1
Northlanders, Vol. 1: Sven the Returned
Hey Princess
Swedish Comics History

Yes Britney, My Grandmother... is set in Sweden so it is a fit (and I really love that book)

I recommend any of Per Petterson’s books, particularly for anyone who doesn’t want Nordic Noir.

A book just coming out that's set in Norway that's not Nordic Noir - North of Dawn

Thanks for some ideas and recommendations!

My daughter recommends Dark Pines by Will Dean.

I picked Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young for this one :)

Ophelia is my choice. Works since to make my Jane Austen Challenge more interesting I also am encouraging myself to read other classics and re-tellings of them. I can re-read Hamlet this way(haven't read it since like middle school). =D

Katy wrote: "From Wikipedia
Scandinavia[a] (/ˌskændɪˈneɪviə/ SKAN-dih-NAY-vee-ə) is a region in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties. The majority national languages of the reg..."

As a Norwegian, I feel the urge to reply here. Iceland is _not_ a part of Scandinavia, as mentioned before in this thread. It does not matter what a (wrongfully) Wikipedia says :)

Since I am Norwegian, I read a lot of books set in Scandinavia :) For this promt, I have chosen a crime novel from a writer that is new for me: Victim Without a Face

This year, I read The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club, which is about a group of Danish teens who started the Danish Underground against the Nazis when the rest of the country was in no mood to resist. Fascinating read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley of The Red Address Book which is set in Sweden so I will most likely read that.

For those of you who can speak Swedish I recommend De kommer att drunkna i sina mödrars tårar by Johannes Anyuru.

And for English-speakers:
Let Me Sing You Gentle Songs by Linda Olsson (set in Sweden)
Anna All Alone by Märta Sandwall-Bergström (set in Sweden)

And if you speak Italian I would strongly recommend Katitzi by Katarina Taikon. Katitzi is a children's book about the life of a romani girl in Sweden. It is based on the author's real life. Katarina Taikon was a human rights activist who fought for romani rights. I wish the books about Katitzi were translated into more languages because they are brilliant and such an important read.

For those of you who speak French have a look at N'essuie jamais de larmes sans gants by Jonas Gardell. Also set in Sweden.

Rebecka wrote: "For those of you who speak French have a look at N'essuie jamais de larmes sans gants by Jonas Gardell."

Great, someone has combined the whole trilogy with the first book of the trilogy...

Tytti, I actually don't understand what you mean.

"Never dry tears without gloves" is a trilogy, the parts are called Love, Sickness, Death, and they are about 250-300 pages long each. But the French editions seem to have the whole trilogy in one book, they are much longer, some over 800 pages, and there are no French editions of the two other parts. So most likely someone has combined a book with the whole trilogy with the first book of the trilogy. This is the second time I notice something similar happening in a short while...

Tytti, the French publisher who bought the translation rights decided to publish the triology as one book. It happens. I personally don't see why it matters, the important thing is for Jonas Gardell to be translated into other languages.