Place: Sweden. As I write this, it’s 37 degrees in Stockholm, Sweden. I am SO jealous. If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I am a winter girl. I blame it on the fact that I was born in January (coldest month of the year) in one of the worst storms of the decade in the Chicago area (the snow was above our garage). It doesn’t hurt that I was raised in Illinois and Colorado – both places where I got my dearly beloved cold weather in spades. Not so much here in California where I have to pretend it’s cold by reading about it… or possibly scouring the Weather Channel’s website for cold places and pretending I’m traveling there sometime soon. Let’s have a go at Sweden shall we?
What to Pack:
What to Do: I’ve never been to Sweden, so I can’t give you any personal recommendations. However, I love the New York Times travel section and boy do they have space dedicated to Sweden on their website! It makes me want to go even more than I already wanted to. Sigh and swoon!
What to Read:
- The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy by Stieg Larsson (read and loved books 1 & 3)
- Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (read and adored as a child – loved the movie too!)
- Smillas Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg (own and started, haven’t finished but want to)
- Let Me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (own it, waiting for the courage to read it!)
- The Devil’s Star by Jo Nesbo (the new most popular Swedish author to hit the American market, I own it/ scared to read it)
- Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell (one of the original, best Swedish mystery writers/ own it)
Have you been to Sweden? Any recommendations for my future dream trip? Favorite books or authors from there (or books set there)?
This is a brilliant post. I love the idea! I don’t have any particular books to recommend about Sweden, but I want to be out there with all those cute clothes reading around a mug of tea. I would love to see what other countries/cities you come up with!
I’m also a little worried about the Pandora’s box that may have just opened with this whole NY Times Travel Guide…
Thanks! I know, the NYT travel section is my kryptonite. I could waste an entire day planning fake trips using that section.
I’ve done other cities (and will do more). You can find them here if you’re interested: http://unputdownables.net/tag/literary-travel/
Go for the northern parts, Norrbotten and Lapland, enjoy the midnight sun (if summer) or the northern lights (if winter). Visit the Tree hotel in Harads, amazing! Or the ice hotel in Jukkasjärvi. Tornedalen with it’s beautiful landscape during summer. Hike in the mountains “fjällen”: Sarek, Lapporten. So beautiful! See the rapids in Storforsen. Go fish in the Kalix river and enjoy the archipelago with the most beautiful islands Sandskär and Malören. Look me up and I’ll buy you coffee
Thank you so much – this is WONDERFUL! Thank you!
I read ‘Let Me In’ in one sitting during a thunderstorm in Tahoe last summer – it was that good. Chilling and unsettling but utterly fantastic!
Ohhh fantastic! That makes me feel like it might be doable (not too scary, more exciting?).
Thrilling and somewhat graphic at times, it was more suspenseful than scary, but it definitely made my skin crawl.
One of my favorite Swedish novels is April Witch by Majgull Axelsson. I read it a couple of years ago, captivated by the cover at first, but actually enjoyed it overall.
Good, that makes me feel better – takes the edge off a little. I’ll look into April Witch, thanks for the suggestion!
I love these posts!
I’d love to go to Sweden (or any Nordic country) to see the Northern lights- that’s No.1 on my bucket list
Great selection of books!
Thanks!
I’m a winter girl too, Wallace, and I live in….Tennessee. Ugh! I do miss my Michigan winters. Everyone thinks I’m crazy. I really want to move to Vermont, or Sweden would also be great.
I LOVED Let Me In! What a great book. I have another Swedish recommendation for you. Blackwater by Kerstin Ekman. It was an excellent book too.
Everyone thinks I’m crazy too – you’re in good company.
Fantastic – I’ll look into Blackwater, thanks!