Re-Inventing the System: Systematiker repeatedly changes his plans

[Elenia]

I have been looking for an easy way to get Swedish books, because it appears to be super annoying to get them here in the States (many booksellers don't even ship here! I may have to send things to my parents-in-law in Germany and have them send them to me on top of it!).

I don't know what kind of books you're looking for and if they'd have them, but I've never had any trouble getting Bokus to send me stuff. I think I've placed two orders with them for physical books in the past year. Oh, I'm in Canada, so technically it's a different country but I figure if they ship to Canada they'd ship to the U.S. Shipping is usually expensive, though! Be warned!

That's actually one of the ones that doesn't ship here - I tried ordering Stengrunden, and at check out, one can change the country...Canada is an option. Australia is an option. Japan or Korea, or New Zealand...but no USA.

Rats! I'm so sorry. I, unfortunately, have no other suggestions

Some items with http://www.bokborsen.se are available for shipping to the US, but as it's basically an antikvariat it might be difficult to get hold of what you want. Otherwise, you might be able to get a larger bookshop to order in on your behalf?

EDIT: You may be able to order things through Foyles if there is no viable US option. I don't know if you'd be able to special order books throughh the Grant and Cutler section (that's the foreign language department) but you should certainly be able to get them to ship the books they have on their shelves.

Here's their delivry information and here is their Swedish offering. I've been able to call and order in books specially from them from the past, but I don't know if that will be possible from the US. But they do also have an email, so it wouldn't cost you to ask!

[Systematiker]

I have been looking for an easy way to get Swedish books, because it appears to be super annoying to get them here in the States (many booksellers don't even ship here! I may have to send things to my parents-in-law in Germany and have them send them to me on top of it!).

I don't know what kind of books you're looking for and if they'd have them, but I've never had any trouble getting Bokus to send me stuff. I think I've placed two orders with them for physical books in the past year. Oh, I'm in Canada, so technically it's a different country but I figure if they ship to Canada they'd ship to the U.S. Shipping is usually expensive, though! Be warned!

That's actually one of the ones that doesn't ship here - I tried ordering Stengrunden, and at check out, one can change the country...Canada is an option. Australia is an option. Japan or Korea, or New Zealand...but no USA.

Rats! I'm so sorry. I, unfortunately, have no other suggestions

Some items with http://www.bokborsen.se are available for shipping to the US, but as it's basically an antikvariat it might be difficult to get hold of what you want. Otherwise, you might be able to get a larger bookshop to order in on your behalf?

EDIT: You may be able to order things through Foyles if there is no viable US option. I don't know if you'd be able to special order books throughh the Grant and Cutler section (that's the foreign language department) but you should certainly be able to get them to ship the books they have on their shelves.

Here's their delivry information and here is their Swedish offering. I've been able to call and order in books specially from them from the past, but I don't know if that will be possible from the US. But they do also have an email, so it wouldn't cost you to ask!

Thanks for those tips! I’ve got some time to figure it out, actually - I’d have gone ahead with Stengrunden because I’ve been wanting to read it in Swedish for a while now, but I’ve actually got a couple physical books I picked up a while back that I need to read before I get too much more going. It’s not exactly in my “lit plan” but I enjoy the genre, and I never did get anywhere with Vägen till Jerusalem (I read the first few pages the other day and I can handle it now), so that trilogy (got to get the third one yet! But it’s on Amazon) will hold me a little while. And my wife will be happy if I “read and remove” physical books.

I may just ask my acquaintance in Stockholm to send me stuff and I’ll pay him back. He kind of owes me a favor, I mailed him books last year, so that might be easiest.

[Lawyer&Mom]

Check out Thriftbooks. They always seem to have some used foreign language fiction. It’s a hodgepodge, but right now they have 76 Swedish fiction titles. The selection looks like what you would find in an airport bookshop, but can be a good deal.

[Ogrim]

Have you tried Bokon? It is purely for e-books and audio books in Swedish, so delivery should not be any problem, and as far as I can tell there are no geo-restrictions on buying from them. They also have an app for iOS, so you if you have an iPad you can buy directly through the app. On the website I get the prices in SEK, on the app in euro, as the payment will be through iTunes, and it seems slightly more expensive to buy via the app, although you will avoid any exchange rate issues.

Edit: If you buy through the website you can also send the e-book to your Kindle if you have one.

[Systematiker]

Have you tried Bokon? It is purely for e-books and audio books in Swedish, so delivery should not be any problem, and as far as I can tell there are no geo-restrictions on buying from them. They also have an app for iOS, so you if you have an iPad you can buy directly through the app. On the website I get the prices in SEK, on the app in euro, as the payment will be through iTunes, and it seems slightly more expensive to buy via the app, although you will avoid any exchange rate issues.

Edit: If you buy through the website you can also send the e-book to your Kindle if you have one.

This is an elegant solution to my problem, and the problem of physical space! (Seriously, 3/4 walls in my study are pure bookshelves, and the other wall has stacks in front of it). Thanks so much, Ogrim! I was stuck in the pattern of looking for physical books as I hadn’t had much luck with electronic editions in Swedish in the past. I’m sure there will be the occasional thing I’ll need to source physically, but having the electronic option is great as a first place to look.

[Systematiker]

A brief update, not even two days away!

Thoughts about listening
There have been a few threads lately about training listening, and the relation of reading to listening, and so on. I haven't been able to participate in them much due to time limitations, but I'm struck by a couple things that I've experienced. One is the recent jump in my Spanish ability to listen with background noise or to listen while doing another task. Another, though, is something I mentioned a week or so ago, and that was the ease with which I was able to listen to a sermon in Swedish, even while driving. This was after a long-ish period of not listening to much Swedish. I listened to a round-table discussion last night (granted, it was a familiar topic, on theologiska rummet), and got every word and every nuance. But I know what I've been doing for a while in Swedish, and training listening, or even much listening at all, hasn't been it. Now, this means one of three things: Option one, the half course of FSI was magic. Option two, the mysterious bow wave effect made my listening better, and I don't know why. Option three: Reading about a quarter of Röda Rummet and all of the New Testament (I listened while reading to less than five chapters) translated into better listening skills. I don't know about you, but it seems that option three is the most likely, even if I can't quite explain why it had that result.


Other update stuff:

I got a hold of some Maigret novels on Scribd, and they're easy reads. Pretty fun, actually. I'm remembering a bit more that I did like in French, and I'll find more to enjoy. Been looking a bit at what others have been reading to find some more things to try, and watching I'm not doing any in any language right now anyway. I reserve the right to become frustrated with French again, though

I'm almost done with my Catalan novel - and that means I'll be switching to a physical book, but I may not be able to, as I have to leave in about a week for four weeks and I don't know if I'd take it with me. I may have to insert something else.

Did some TTMIK.

Ukrainian podcast is just right - exactly what I was looking for at this stage.

[rdearman]

You sure it wasn't option 4?

Option 4: you have friends in high places.

[Teango]

I've noticed a similar upgrade in my listening skills after listening while reading for any extended period of time, and as a bonus, this seems to have had a positive (albeit perhaps temporary) impact on my ability to segment words in the audio stream of other unrelated languages as well. Incidentally, how long was the period of time between initially reading while listening to five chapters of the New Testament in Swedish and later listening to the Swedish sermon in your car? It would also be interesting to hear if you continue to experience a level-up in your Swedish listening skills over the longer term.

[Systematiker]

Incidentally, how long was the period of time between first reading while listening to five chapters of the New Testament in Swedish and later listening to the Swedish sermon in your car? It would also be interesting to hear if you continue to experience a level-up in your Swedish listening skills over the longer term.

I'm 95% certain that I actually did the L-R after the sermon (though before last night).

[Elenia]

I'd say that one way that reading (extensive of otherwise) can improve listening is because it teaches you more words and collocations and frequent/normal constructions. When you know the words already, it's easier to pick them out in a sentence and you spend less energy trying to break the sentence down into its most basic units. This is just theorising, of course!

I have a huge difficulty 'hearing' songs in places with noise, for example in cafés and shopping centres/malls. They tend to fade into the background for me and, even if someone points out a particular song or lyrics, I struggle to hear them. And yet, if I know the song I can pick it out easily. The other day I was walking through a shopping centre here with a friend and suddenly caught a strain of the song that way being played. Not words, not even a full phrase of music. Maybe a chord or two. And yet I recognised it. I listened harder and - lo and behold! It was the song I thought it was. I don't know if I'd ever even realised they play music in that particular shopping centre before! So I think having a better knowledge of the way the audio (here, the language) is built equips you for better parsing. Of course, a solid basis in the phonology of the language pushes you along too, and that's something that relatively few hours listening practice and study can instil.

(Likewise: I can 'hear' more words in the Portuguese version of Pride and Prejudice that I am listening to than I can in the DW Radionovela, although the latter is likly much easier in terms of vocabulary. This is thanks to my knowledge of the text. I know what to expect, and so it's easier to latch onto the words. This isn't the same phenomena, but I think it's certainly related).