Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Would Recommend to Readers Who Normally Don't Read Scandinavian Authors!

Wow that's a long title! So this week the topic is as stated in the title - books I would recommend to readers who don't normally read books by Scandinavian authors. Head over to The Broke and the Bookish to see what other bloggers have come up with - here we go:

10) "The Dinosaur Feather" by Sissel-Jo Gazan
A young mother and student at University of Copenhagen is writing her thesis on dinosaurs when she becomes embroiled in a mystery. A professor has died under strange circumstances and now everyone at the faculty are under suspicion.

9) "Otto is a Rhino" by Ole Lund Kirkegaard
One of the cutest children's book ever about a boy who draws a rhino that then comes to life. A classic.

8) "Ronia, The Robber's Daughter" by Astrid Lindgren
Lindgren is the original mother of girlpower. You probably know her famous "daughter" Pippe Longstocking who is so strong that she can lift a horse? Ronia is made of the same stuff and runs away from home to live in the forest, such a cool girl!

7) "The Exception" by Christian Jungersen
A nerve-rackingly mystery thriller about adult bullying. Very difficult to summarize but very easy to read in one go out of pure excitement.

6) "The Boys from St. Petri" by Bjarne Reuter
This is dark YA at its best! A group of young men take a stance during WWII and decide to fight the Germans by sabotaging the German war effort. Gripping. A classic history YA read and a must-read in most Danish schools.

5) "Popular Music from Vittula" by Mikael Niemi
This Sweden is so incredibly different from the Sweden that Stieg Larsson describes. This is a Sweden of folk tales, of magic, of saunas and drinking competitions, of midsummer nights and becoming a man. Give it a try, you won't regret it.

4) "The Half Brother" by Lars Saabye Christensen
I read this one right when it came out about ten years ago and really enjoyed it. It is about half brothers growing up in Oslo in the 1960's. It really touched me, I remember.

3) "Doghead" by Morten Ramsland
This one I haven't actually read myself but it was recommended so many times that I am going to include it anyway :-)

2) "Exile" by Jakob Ejersbo
This author died way to young. His writings have so much promise and the Tanzania trilogy of which "Exile" is the first have become huge successes in his native Denmark.

1) "Seven Gothic Tales" by Karen Blixen
A classic, a must read from one of the greatest Scandinavian authors ever.

So which books are you recommending this week?

"One Book, Two Book, Three Book, Four... and Five..."

My favourite blogger, the wonderful Simon over at Stuck in a Book - http://www.stuck-in-a-book.blogspot.com - has done a fun little post that I will copy here :-) If you do the same, post a comment and I will visit your blog. Love reading about all your reading experiences.




1.) The book I'm currently reading:
Currently I am reading "The Russian Debutante's Handbook" by Gary Shteyngart. I started it while on vacation but is still only half-way. The main character Vladimir is such an anti-hero that I sometimes have to take little breaks from him... I am also reading the non-fiction book "Descarte's Errror" by Antonio Damasio about neuropsychology.


2.) The last book I finished:
"Mrs. Simpson: The Secret Life of the Duchess of Windsor" by Charles Higham. After having seen the amazing movie "The King's Speech", I found myself being really interested in the life of Wallis Simpson, the cause for the abdication of Edward VIII. I just finished the biography today and it was quite a read - I will try to review it tomorrow.


3.) The next book I want to read:
That is always a really difficult question... One that has me standing in front of my book shelves trying to decide which one to start next. However, my next non-fiction work will be "Havana Real" by the courageous blogger Yoani Sanchez and my next fiction read will probably be "The Passage" by Justin Cronin or "Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris. Or maybe something else...


4.) The last book I bought:
"Cousin Kate" by Georgette Heyer I will be having an operation later this month and "Cousin Kate" will be one of my comfort reads to get me through some days in bed.


5.) The last book I was given:
I was given a few books for Christmas, among them "Prince Faisal's Ring" by Danish author Bjarne Reuter. Looking forward to reading it as Reuter's books have been favourites of mine for years.