Sweden

Reading books about Sweden offers a glimpse into a country renowned for its progressive social policies, stunning natural beauty, and rich cultural heritage. From its high standard of living to its innovative approach to sustainability, Sweden has a lot to offer those curious about the world.

Looking at Swedish history, we have reading recommendations on the Vikings and Osebol: Voices from a Swedish Village was shortlisted for the 2022 British Academy book prize, “It deals with a tiny village in Sweden which has about 40 inhabitants left....you get the minutiae of the life of a village, against the backdrop of the 20th and 21st century and changes that are taking place.".

Birgit Nilsson's autobiography La Nilsson is a must read for any opera fans, "She was one of the most important singers of the 1900s".

Sweden's contribution to the world includes the Nobel Prize named after the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel.   Swedish authors featured on Five Books included the creator of Pippi Longstocking Astrid Lindgren, crime novelist Henning Mankell and philosopher Nick Bostrom, who's book Superintelligence is one of our most recommended books on artificial intelligence. Another much recommended book is Factfulness by Swedish doctor and academic Hans Rosling, "It does have this startling effect on the readers of challenging widely held assumptions. It’s a plea to look at the empirical data, and not just assume that you know how things are now.”

International best-selling Swedish psychological thriller The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo has been discussed many times on Five Books.