THE SWEDISH EMPIRE: A HISTORY from BEGINNING to END (kindle) by Hourly History

Published in 2021 by Hourly History

Note: Hourly History specializes in short histories and biographies that take about an hour to read. Generally, I read them to learn more about topics that I would never read about in a full sized history. Topics like the Swedish Empire, for example.

As a history buff, I see references to the Swedish Empire from time to time - an empire of Lutherans coming out of the far north, fighting in several wars, and then retreating back to Sweden. I also recognized the name of one of its kings, Adolphus Gustavus because, let's face it, it's a heckuva name.

This short history does a pretty good job of explaining the pretty short history of the Swedish Empire (1611-1721). It explains how the Swedes raised troops, fought in wars against its neighbors, reforms that were undertaken by the king, the Swedes' brief foray into building a North American colony, and the end of the Swedish Empire.

I rate this e-book 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: The Swedish Empire: A History from Beginning to End.

A MAN CALLED OVE by Fredrik Backman

Published by Dreamscape Media in 2014.
Read by George Newbern.
Duration: 9 hours, 9 minutes.
Unabridged.

Ove (pronounced ooo-vah) is a 59 year old grump in Sweden. His wife has passed away, he has no children, no pets and no job since he has been forced to retire. He keeps himself busy by keeping an eye on the neighborhood - he yells at the neighbor lady that lets her dog pee in front of his house, he yells at people who drive through the neighborhood (it has a parking area so that the entire area is pedestrian friendly), he yells at bureaucrats, bad drivers, hipsters, immigrants and...well, he just yells.

Ove has determined that the best thing about his life left when his wife passed away. He was filling in that hole in his life, at least a bit, with his work. But, since his forced retirement, he has nothing. So, he is planning his suicide to join his wife.

Then, a tough old homeless cat shows up.

After that, a hipster father with an immigrant wife and two little girls moves in across the way and backs the moving trailer right over Ove's mailbox - a trailer that shouldn't even have been there because the hipster was driving in the no driving area! Why can't people learn basic skills like backing up a trailer and reading signs?

The author, Fredrik Backman

I really hated the first hour of this audiobook version of A Man Called Ove. There is not because of the reader, but rather it is the way the book itself is constructed. The reader/listener is missing so much of the back story that is was mostly confusing. There are a lot of flashbacks intermixed with the present-day story and the flashbacks really make Ove a human being that you are interested in but it takes a while to get there.

By the time the I had gotten to the halfway point, I was pretty sure how the story was going to end - but I still had to hear it for it myself. It becomes quite the touching story.

The story was well-read by veteran actor George Newbern (he's one of those faces you recognize from a dozen different movies and shows but you have no idea what his name is). Newbern's long experience as a voice actor for cartoons and video games shows in this audiobook. Well done.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.