Since, I am leaving for Sweden in less than 3 months, I am preparing myself to everything new and unusual that Sweden has to offer. I have come to know that Sweden is way different from US or other European countries and I want to get the hang of it before I go there. Therefore, I am planning to read books written by Swedish authors. I don’t know how many of the below books I will read before I go there but I am definitely planning on gulping a chock full. I know I am hopeless!
Here we go…

#1 The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson

All I know about this book is that this is a mystery book and it is aimed at solving a past murder case. The dead girl’s uncle and a tattooed genius hacker pair up to dig the truth behind the girl’s murder. It has been a while since I read a thriller and I think this will definitely get me started.

#2  A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman

I have heard about this a lot from the book tubers and other bloggers. I guess this will be a good change for me. Since this book is about an old man who is grumpy all the time. One day when a family moves next door everything changes in Ove’s life. He is sad and depressed but this family transforms him to a much pleasant being. Not something I would pick right off the bat but still with all the hype going around this book, definitely worth a try.

#3 Beartown by Fredrick Backman

This book is about a town called Beartown, which was thought to be done. However, the fate of the entire town rests in the hand of teenage boys who play hockey. They are going to play ice-hockey in semi-finals at national level. I am absolutely flabbergasted about the plot of the story. I have no idea why Beartown is thought to be finished or how the ice-hockey team of teenagers is going to save everyone. I am confused but I am going to give it a chance. It is more like I am pushing myself to read something I am totally not into but things like this can help you discover more.

#4 The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson

This book is about a girl who worked as the chief advisor in some secret service organization. Her childhood was not particularly pleasant but she managed to get to a higher position with her sheer will and strength. However, from a gala banquet the Prime Minister and The King of Sweden disappear. People say they are ill but that is not the case. The actual story starts much earlier when South Africa dismantles the nuclear weapons in its possession in 1990. However, the girl we talked about earlier posses very valuable information about the seventh nuclear weapon which shouldn’t have existed in the first place but it still does. The description says that the fate of the planet is dependent on this girl. Somehow this girl manages to rescue the King of Sweden who was kidnapped for unknown reasons. So, confusing yet intriguing. The cover is pretty cure though.

#5 The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules by Catherina Ingelman

This story is about an old lady who lives in a care house. She gets sick of early bedtimes and platonic lifestyle of hers and decides to something crazy. She teams up with four other pensioners and resists against the early bedtimes and plastic meals. However, she gets smart and coneives a perfect plan to break out of the care house and live in a proper neighbourhood in Stockholm. I think the story is humours. Though this story is not my cup of tea, still giving it a try.

#6 Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it all by Jonas Jonasson

Hitman Anders, recently out of prison, is doing small jobs for the big gangsters. Then his life takes an unexpected turn when he meets a female Protestant vicar (who also happens to be an atheist), and a homeless receptionist at a former brothel which is now a one-star hotel. The three join forces and concoct an unusual business plan based on Hitman Anders’ skills and his fearsome reputation. The vicar and receptionist will organize jobs for a group of gangsters, and will attract customers using the tabloids’ love of lurid headlines.
The perfect plan—if it weren’t for Hitman Anders’ curiosity about the meaning of it all. In conversations with the vicar, he turns to Jesus and, against all odds, Jesus answers him! The vicar can’t believe what’s happening. When Hitman Anders turns to religion, the lucrative business is in danger, and the vicar and the receptionist have to find a new plan, quick.
Fast-paced and sparky, the novel follows these bizarre but loveable characters on their quest to create a New Church, with all of Sweden’s gangsters hunting them. Along the way, it explores the consequences of fanaticism, the sensationalist press, the entrepreneurial spirit and straightforward human stupidity—and underlying all of it, the tenuous hope that it’s never too late to start again.
Didn’t even bother to read the blurb. The title sounds intriguing.
I think I have tourtured myself enough. I abosoultely don’t like one bit about readin unfamiliar swedish translated books. Yet, here I am trying to read them. I think these books can really open my eyes to Swedish culture. I hope they do. I am not sure about reading all the books but at least I will read couple of them before I leave for Stockholm!