Comments and questions about translation of Swedish, German, Danish, and Norwegian crime fiction as well as "real" literature.
"Music is supposed to wash away the dust of everyday life."
Art Blakey
19 June 2009
Ystad the hot destination in southern Sweden
Tiina and I were in Copenhagen last month and took the train to Malmö to buy some Swedish crime books. From the train we noticed this sign testifying to Ystad's new prominence, thanks to Wallander and Henning Mankell. (Click on the photo to blow it up.)
Dear 'Reg' Hope you both had a good time in Scandinavia. Yes--Ystad is an easy train ride from Copenhagen-for Wallander fans. Please pass my thanks to Tiina for her wonderful translation of the excellent Mikkel Birkegaard--The Library of Shadows- which is just out in UK -and Ihave reviewed on www.amazon.co.uk--A must read. Cheers Simon
Dear Reg, Thanks for the recommendations for reading on my blog. Apart from recent monumental blog-relandscaping, I managed to order in both (after reading your comments) Karin Alvtegaen's 'Betrayal' and Mankell's novel. Currently reading the Mankell one, and loving it. We were in Scandinavia in '88 from a hot Indoneisan 'dry' season to a Scandinavian summer. We wore knitwear whilst the locals sunbathed! Loved our month long train tripping around Denmark, Norway and Sweden! I'm trying to work out why I love 'cultural crime' so much. Have pre-ordered the third Larsson novel through Amazon and am eagerly looking forward to reading it. Kind of like Harry Potter-fever, only (sssh, don't tell any of my ex-students) I've never read a Harry Potter...although I might one day. Cheers, Steph ('Ms Textual'/'Ms Bubblefish'(!!)
Thanks, Bathmate. We'll be heading over again next August and will try to visit Ystad this time. Want to take the official Wallander tour. I haven't been there since 1964 in the depths of winter...
The Last Good Man - A.J. Kazinski [translated by Tiina Nunnally]
The Black Echo - Michael Connelly
Worth Dying For - Lee Child
Gateway - Frederik Pohl
Inside the Jihad: A Spy's Story - Omar Nasiri
Relic - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Me, the Mob and the Music: One Helluva Ride with Tommy James and the Shondells - Tommy James with Martin Fitzpatrick
2084: An Oral History of the Great Warming - James Lawrence Powell [on Kindle]
Eleven Minutes - Paulo Coelho
Untouched by Human Hands - Robert Sheckley (his first collection of SF stories, some of which hold up well after 57 years)
The Hidden Child - Camilla Läckberg [translated by Tiina Nunnally]
Silesian Station - David Downing (if you like books about Berlin in the '30s & '40s, this series is excellent)
Zoo Station - David Downing
After the Wall - Jana Hensel
On Gratitude: Celebrities Share What They're Most Thankful For - Todd Aaron Jensen (lots of nuggets of wisdom here)
The Tourist - Olen Steinhauer
Tripwire - Lee Child
Black Betty - Walter Mosley
The Main Experiment - Christopher Hodder-Williams
Dead Low Tide - John D. Macdonald
Albums I'm listening to
Lionel Hampton & Teddy Wilson with Gene Krupa (1960s)
George Benson/Joe Farrell: Benson & Farrell (1976)
Larry Carlton: Sleepwalk (1982)
Al Cohn/Zoot Sims Quintet: You 'n Me (1960s)
Joe Pass, Clark Terry, et al: A Celebration of Duke (1980)
Eric Gale: Blue Horizon (1982)
George Benson: Blue Benson (1976)
George Benson: Body Talk
A Man and the Blues - Buddy Guy (1968) Buddy's first Vanguard album and still one of his best -- with the wondrous Otis Spann on piano
Hoosier Hot Shots: Everybody Stomp (2003) Great 4 CD set from Proper Records in the UK (if you haven't heard these guys, check them out -- the happiest music on the planet!) "Are you ready, Hezzie?"
Tony Mottola: various pop guitar albums from the '60s
Erik Satie: Piano Music (Aldo Ciccolini) (1950s) Magnifico!
Eric Gale & Ron Carter: In a Jazz Tradition (1988) Tasty!
Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde (1966) My favorite poetry in song form
The Harmonicats: Best Loved Hits (1984) Fond memories of my grandfather's 78 collection...
Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) The Lou Reed workouts are the standout on this disc
Hoyt Axton: Life Machine (1974)
J.S. Bach: Orchestral Suites 1-4 (1739)
Some of my favorite movies
District 9 (2009) a modernized PhilDickian tale about humans and aliens; which do you think are more human?
The Soloist (2008) very good movie that zeros in on what music does to your mind
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Out of the Past (1947)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Vertigo (1958)
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Chinatown (1974)
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
The Awful Truth (1937)
After the Thin Man (1936)
The 39 Steps (1935)
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Saragossa Manuscript (1965)
Any B science fiction movie with Whit Bissell, such as Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)
Dear 'Reg'
ReplyDeleteHope you both had a good time in Scandinavia. Yes--Ystad is an easy train
ride from Copenhagen-for Wallander fans.
Please pass my thanks to Tiina for her
wonderful translation of the excellent
Mikkel Birkegaard--The Library of Shadows-
which is just out in UK -and Ihave reviewed
on www.amazon.co.uk--A must read.
Cheers
Simon
Dear Reg, Thanks for the recommendations for reading on my blog. Apart from recent monumental blog-relandscaping, I managed to order in both (after reading your comments) Karin Alvtegaen's 'Betrayal' and Mankell's novel. Currently reading the Mankell one, and loving it.
ReplyDeleteWe were in Scandinavia in '88 from a hot Indoneisan 'dry' season to a Scandinavian summer. We wore knitwear whilst the locals sunbathed! Loved our month long train tripping around Denmark, Norway and Sweden!
I'm trying to work out why I love 'cultural crime' so much.
Have pre-ordered the third Larsson novel through Amazon and am eagerly looking forward to reading it. Kind of like Harry Potter-fever, only (sssh, don't tell any of my ex-students) I've never read a Harry Potter...although I might one day.
Cheers,
Steph ('Ms Textual'/'Ms Bubblefish'(!!)
This is wonderful posting. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBathmate
Thanks, Bathmate. We'll be heading over again next August and will try to visit Ystad this time. Want to take the official Wallander tour. I haven't been there since 1964 in the depths of winter...
ReplyDelete