I love books. No you do not understand, I LOVE books!

I thought that I was obsessed by books and reading. Well, I do not drool when I see a book that is 200 years old, but I like to be surrounded by books, look at them, read them, talk about them, and touch them. It was not until I met a Swede here in Seattle who told me that she was always embarrassed going into a bookshop with her father, because he used to take the book out of the book shelf and lift it towards his nose and inhale and say: “Ah, this book smells good.”  that I realized that maybe I was not obsessed about books after all.

Not only do I like to read books, but I also like to be surrounded by books. Next time we move, I will ensure that we have a better layout in our abode for books. It is hard to fit more than 2,000 books into a single room, but fortunately I have managed to, at least, fit the fiction part of our book collection into our living room.

I do not only read fiction. I also like non-fiction; particularly books about history, the environment, and current affairs around the world.

I also have a special interest in Japan and Japanese literature, and I have a section with Japanese fiction and non-fiction books. I really like Banana Yoshimoto and Haruki Murakami, the latter having become very popular in Sweden during recent years.

I am happy that I have the opportunity to be part of a Swedish book club here in Seattle. We meet every six weeks to discuss a Swedish book. This is a very good way for me to keep up-to-date with Swedish literature, but a way to meet some other Swedes who also like to read.

"People get nothing out of books, but what they bring to them."

George Bernard Shaw