Cannonball Read 14

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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‘“There is nothing to talk about” she said. “I’m just a freak that’s all.”’

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

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After being convicted of libel, Mikael Blomkvist is hired to investigate the decades-old disappearance of Harriet Vanger, a teenage heiress, with the help of Lisbeth Salander. I read this book a long while ago, but very few things clung in my mind. Certainly not the length, or the amount of time that was devoted to the financial intrigue aspect. Also all the pedantic sandwich making and eating! First, the good. The mystery of Harriet Vanger is a fascinating one and hard to guess the truth […]

So maybe we shouldn’t go exploring abandoned Swedish mining towns!

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

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[Not discussed in this review but in the book itself. TW: abuse of a differently abled person, implied rape] A group of documentarians go to an abandoned village in Sweden. The lead on the project, Alice Lindstedt, wants to uncover the dark history of this little town, as her grandmother’s family was a part of the citizens that disappeared one day without a trace. But when they arrive odd things start occurring. At first it’s just mysterious figures standing in the distance and missing items. […]

Don’t have a grandfather? Go pick one out at your local senior home

Can You Whistle, Johanna? by Ulf Stark

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Can You Whistle, Johanna? by  Ulf Stark, translated by Julia Marshall and illustrated by Anna Hoglund was not what I expected of this English translation of a Swedish story. I thought at first it was going to be a book about a friend teaching another to friend (a female) to whistle. Or maybe a younger sibling some whistling techniques. Perhaps even, it was going to be some way to show that boys and girls are equal (everyone can whistle). Instead, it is about a young […]

If you like reading about cults, you’ll love Fog Island

Fog Island by Mariette Lindstein

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I’m using this for my “New Series” bingo square. This is the first in a planned trilogy of novels about “the cult on Fog Island.”  Originally written in Swedish, this novel takes place on an island off the mainland of Sweden where an idealistic group of people adhere to the principles of Via Terra – a way of living that returns to the earth. Sofia is a young woman who is searching for something, and she finds it at a lecture about Via Terra by […]

Classic Swedish Noir

Martin Beck Book Series by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

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In 1965 writing partners (and partners in real life) Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö embarked on a quest – to write and publish ten novels in ten years featuring Stockholm’s Martin Beck. The novels, police procedurals, were structured as not only mysteries, but reflections and commentary on modern Swedish society. The duo wore alternating chapters – but since I haven’t read any of their individual works I couldn’t;t guess who wrote which chapter in any given novel. The books are cohesive and follow policeman Martin […]

Anxious People: Not what I expected, but charming

Anxious People by Frederik Backman

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This was our June Book Club pick. This is an unexpected and delightful novel. I saw all of the press and buzz about A Man Called Ove and was never really tempted to read it. But this delightfully quirky and human story has made me curious about Backman’s other works.  This is a novel about a bank robbery. And an apartment. And a hostage situation. And the conflict between City and country Swedeners. And love. And marriage. And winning. And losing. And dying . And […]



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