SBSCA Summer Reading Recommendations

Summer is just around the corner, a time for travel and a time for relaxation — and what could possibly be better than a good book during your holidays?

In response to member requests, we have put together a list of summer reading recommendations for you. Some of the books are by local authors, and others are by Norwegian writers. We are also introducing a new U.S. novelist who has set his story in Bergen.

With this list, we believe there is something for everyone, so choose your book and enjoy your reading wherever you may find yourself. this summer.

All of the titles below are available from Amazon.com or other major booksellers.

	At the top of our list is the award-winning historical novel by Don Pugnetti Jr., A Coat Dyed Black. A resident of Gig Harbor, Wash., Pugnetti has a long career as a recognized Pacific Northwest journalist behind him. Italian by ethnicity, he developed an interest in Norwegian history after getting to know his wife's family and their life stories in Norway. A Coat Dyed Black was meticulously researched and is filled with historical details often left out in many accounts of World War II. With this novel, you will learn about ordinary people compelled to do the extraordinary.
	The Reindeer of Chinese Gardens comes to us from Barbara Sjoholm, one of our favorite Pacific Northwest authors. The novel tells the story Norwegian-born Dagny Bergland and her husband, who land in turn-of-the century Port Townsend, Wash., after years of sailing their merchant ship around the globe. They’re just in time for the Yukon Gold Rush and the arrival of a group of Sámi reindeer herders from Lapland on their way to Alaska to supply the ill-prepared miners. Dagny’s journals tell a fascinating history of the Pacific Northwest and its immigrants. It is the story of a remarkable woman who finds a new life in a new land.
	And, of course, we recommend Norway's Nobel Prize winner Jon Fosse from the Hardanger region, not far from Bergen. In his novel Morning and Evening, a child who will be named Johannes is born, and an old man named Johannes dies. Between these two points, the author gives us the details of an entire life, starkly compressed. The story with Johannes' father's thoughts as his wife goes into labor, and ending with Johannes' own thoughts, as he embarks upon a day in his life when everything is exactly the same, yet totallydifferent. Morning and Evening is a novel about the beautiful dream that our lives have meaning.
	And what Norwegian reading list would be complete without a good crime novel?Fortunately for us, Bergen is an epicenter of Nordic Noir with the extraordinary work of Gunnar Staalesen and the dark tales of Private Investigator Varg Veum. One of our favorites is Mirror Image, a story in which two cases cross Varg's desk. A lawyer, anxious to protect her privacy, asks Varg to find her sister, who has disappeared with her husband, seemingly without trace, while a ship carrying unknown cargo is heading toward the Norwegian coast. We will leave the rest for you to find out in this most intriguing tale of whodunnitit ....
	This semi-autobiographical debut novel by Michael Cummings is set in the aftermath of the tumultuous 1960s and explores the universal struggle of finding one's self. Erik Hellberg is a 20-year-old who dreams of leaving his small Midwestern town and traveling to Norway, the land of his ancestors. On his journey, he attempts to come to terms with his brother's death in the Vietnam War, for which he feels an inexplicable guilt. The protagonist hitchhikes across northern Europe and lands in Bergen, Norway. There, he forges a relationship with a beautiful young woman and begins to examine his entire life.
	Finally, for the little ones in your life, we present Anna and the Rosemaling Hearts by SBSCA member Wendy Jangaard Jensen. Part of her "Anna" series, this delightful story will introduce your child to Norwegian culture in a lighthearted and entertaining way. It tells the story of school art project that leads Anna to overcome fears, and, above all, to share with others. You can also make Anna's art project at home as part of the book's follow-up activities. With its beautiful illustrations by Emelie Wiklund, this book is a pure joy!