Posts tagged with "book contest"

Win a Swedish book!

Posted by jennie 55 Comments
Jan 27 2011

Inspired by Tibor’s book-post from yesterday, I figured it is definitely time for another book competition! This time, the fabulous price is the most popular and bestselling book in Sweden at the moment, Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann. (Something along the lines of: The hundred year old man who walked out through the window and disappeared). It’s an amazing Forrest Gump-like adventure about 100 year old Allan Karlsson, who decides to escape from his own birthday party and with 50 kronor in his pocket and slippers on his feet, he begins an amazing journey…

I have just read this book myself and boy what a story! I highly recommend it and I’m more than happy to send it anywhere in the world, it deserves to travel! So, in order to get your hands on this little diamond, all you need to do is to leave a comment along with your email address (for my eyes only) in the comment field. I will pick and announce a winner on the 11th of February. The jury consists of me and me only and you might be able to bribe me with sweet talk, fun blog post suggestions, your Swedish stories, book recommendations…  Good luck and happy reading always!

Win a Swedish book – again!

Posted by jennie 32 Comments
Apr 28 2010

Anyone up for some Swedish readning? Since last month’s book contest was such a great success, I think it’s time for a favorit i repris ( “to rerun a favourite”)  But this time I’m going to make it a little bit harder for you – but only a little bit. All you need to do is to to drop a comment – in Swedish – on what kind of books you like to read most. Love, crime, biographies… whatever style you prefer! You don’t have to write loads, it can be one word even, the most important thing is that it’s in Swedish.

I will pick the winner on May 13 at 8 pm, so you got two weeks to work on that winning Swedish line!  Of course, I will do my very best to grant your book wish and send you the type of book you prefer (believe me, charity shops and community book swaps are not terribly keen on Swedish books…) and I am happy to post it anywhere in the world, just make sure to leave your email address in provided field as well (for my eyes only).

By the way, got a good tip from a  friend living in Mexico the other day. Sweden Bookshop, a bookshop specialized in books about Sweden and Swedish literature in translation and they ship overseas and everywhere. I know, the shipping cost can be a bit of a nightmare, but it might be worth it if you find a real bargain book.

Unless you don’t win one, that is! Good luck (lycka till) once again!

Happy Birthday Swedish Blog!

Posted by Transparent Language 13 Comments
Jun 24 2009

I don’t know if you’ve noticed (because I must say it has totally escaped even me) that our little Swedish Blog is one year old now! Can you believe it? I’m not sure about you, but somehow this fact is enough to put a big smile on my face.

You’ve survived one whole year with me! And frankly, I couldn’t have done it without you. Your comments, support, suggestions, and just plain being there and reading what I have to say ten times a month is more than what any blogger could have asked for. Because what’s a blog good for if no one ever reads it, right?

So, while we’re on the subject of age, let’s learn how to say how old we are in Swedish (well, not “we” because you’re not supposed to ask a lady’s age, but just in general) , OK?

  • Swedish Blog är ett år (gammal). – Swedish Blog is one year old.

See? It’s easy. Very similar to English. That final “gammal” is not even necessary. Just like we would say in English that someone is (for example) 14, with “years” and “old” being understood and omitted.

Same in Swedish. You could say that:

  • Han är 14 år. – He is 14. And that’s good enough.

Notice anything interesting about that final “år”? Even though it looks like a singular noun, in reality it’s not.

Take a look:

  • år (def. året, pl. år, pl. def. åren) – 365 dagar * – year

This is the kind of stuff that happens with many “ett” nouns, and unfortunately, there’s no way around it – you just need to learn it.
And how do we ask about someone’s age?

  • Hur gammal är du? – How old are you?

And our young friend would answer:

  • Jag är 14 år. - I am fourteen.

But what happens if the object about whose age we are inquiring happens to be an “ett” noun? Then of course, instead of “gammal”, we have to say “gammalt”.

  • Hur gammalt är ditt barn? – How old is your child?

“Barn” is an “ett” noun, and so the adjective “gammal” acquired one “t” at the end.

But wait a sec. Now take a look at this:

  • Hur gamla är dina barn? – How old are your children?

“Barn” is one of those pesky nouns, just like “år”, that look the same in both indefinite singular and plural forms. But because “gammal” morphed into “gamla”, we know we are talking about more than one of your children here.

And this is how a simple birthday celebration turned into a grammar lesson. Ouch!

Har den äran på födelsedagen, Swedish Blog! – Happy Birthday Swedish Blog!

* A year with 366 days is called “skottår”.

PS. Even though it’s after Midsommar, it’s not too late to enter my Midsommar Swedish book contest!!! If you a reader from a country other than Sweden where Swedish books are hard to come by, all you need to do is to leave a comment under this post telling me IN SWEDISH why I should send the book to YOU (and not to someone else)! Good luck!!!

Midsommar Book Contest!

Posted by Transparent Language 22 Comments
Jun 18 2009

It’s almost summer! I am saying “almost”, because we all know that the summer season officially starts with midsommar. And speaking of midsommar – what are your plans?
I will spend the occasion in Vancouver, actually, I’m on my way there right now – I’m sitting at the airport while typing this.

But, it’s not airports I wanted to talk about today.

To celebrate the beginning of summer, I have something special planned for you.

I don’t know about you, but for me it just wouldn’t be summer without a dorky summer pop hit, beach and summer reading. You just can’t have a summer break and NOT read a funny, lighthearted book. Do you agree?

And I remember how some of you complained about how hard it is to get Swedish books abroad.

So, I’m going to help you out a bit with this book problem! To celebrate the beginning of summer, I thought a little something special was in order.

And tah-dah! We have our first annual Swedish Blog midsommar book contest.
The book you can win is “Populärmusik från Vittula” by Mikael Niemi. Which just happens to be one of my most favorite books, ever.

It was the winner of the August Prize for the best Swedish novel of 2000 (vinnare av Augustpriset som bästa svenska roman 2000). So, you can say it’s almost a classic.

I picked this book not because I have an extra copy sitting around (thought that’s true, too) but because of its location – a lovely little town called Pajala in the north of Sweden. And you know how much I love the far north! The rest of Sweden is really, well, the rest, if you live in the north.

This book has been translated into English, so if you want to read along with an English version, that’s possible, too. That’s another reason why I decided to give away this particular book, and not another. I want to make this Swedish reading experience as fun for you as possible, so even if you’re not confident you can manage all the way through in Swedish, you can follow along in English when you get tired.

OK, enough of me talking.
Do you want to win it?
All you need to do is to tell me in the comments section, på svenska, in 15 words or less, why I should send this book to you (and not to someone else). The deadline – June 30th.

Easy? Very!
Just remember when you leave your comment to enter a valid email address, it won’t be seen by other blog readers, but it’s visible on my end, and this is the email address, I will use to contact you, OK? Don’t leave your mailing address in the comment – I will ask you for it when my distinguished panel of judges (consisting of me, myself and I) selects the winner.

Oh, and one more thing – the contest is open only to subscribed readers of this blog (to subscribe click in the box to the right – it means that you will be getting new Swedish Blog posts by email) from countries other than Sweden. I know, I know, it doesn’t seem fair. But you guys in Sweden can just saunter down to your local library and read all summer long.

Trevlig midsommar!!!

Back to the Top