Novels

My parents have a large bookshelf of novels, among them collected works of both Tolstoj and Dostojevski. I have read many of their books and shorter novels, and I liked them (although I think that Ana Karenjina is one book too long :)). Dostojevski's "Crime and Punishment" is a great story. I have also read all 7 books of "Grička Vještica" by Marija Jurić Zagorka, and uncountably many (not literally, I've just stopped counting :)) SF books (my favorite genre). I can hardly forget "Ender's Game" for its unexpected twist at the end.

The Fountainhead

I have read "The Fountainhead" traslated to Norwegian (so I had double benefit: train the language and get to read the book). I had absolutely no problems reading the Norwegian translation, and it's an awesome book that gives (maybe even a bit scary) insight into psychology of the masses and certain types of individuals. Even though it's old (written in 1943.), I have an impression that it still reflects well the way today's society is working.

The most interesting part for me was Chapter 14 in part "Howard Roark". A citation (not quite, translated from Norwegian): "Listen to the prophet, and if you hear the word sacrifice, run. Run for your life. Common sense shows that where there's a sacrifice, there's also someone who receives those gifts. Where one man serves, there's also one man which is being served. One who mentions the word sacrifice, really talks about slaves and masters, and has an intention of being master himself."

Trollringen

Another novel by Sigurd Hoel. Unlike his other two novels, I didn't like this one too much because of its grim and depressing descriptions of a small Norwegian village somewhere in 19th(?) century. I don't know how close his descriptions are to the way that people really lived, but if it's anywhere near the truth -- it's just horrible (esp. the amount of envy and not wanting to accept new knowledge.) Like his other books, this one too teaches a bit about life and human nature (or.. their most ugly sides).

Norwegian

I'm actively learning Norwegian, and literature is a great way to extend vocabulary. I have read these books during the course level 3 (only the 1st one was obligatory reading):

Erlend Loe: Naiv Super
Sigurd Hoel: En dag i oktober
Sigurd Hoel: Moete ved milepelen
Kjell Askildsen: En plutselig frigjoerende tanke

Both novels from Sigurd Hoel are very good and I reccomend you to read them. There isn't much action inside, but psychological analysis of characters is very deep and interesting. And it's surprising how many wisdom "jewels" are hidden inside. They are a remarkable reading, and another his book is on my todo list.