Sara Blædel Leif Davidsen About deadly serious

For summer reading we wish to draw attention to this book, Deadly Serious, because you've both contributed to it and the profits from the sales benefit a good cause. But still I'm thinking: You're two of Denmark's most widely read writers, you must be madly busy, why have you prioritised contributing to a book like this? It was the publishing house Politiken who called me and asked if I'd like to participate. The profits go to Doctors without Borders, an organisation that does a fantastic job in places where it's no fun to be. They are not paid a great deal to do it and it's an organisation I admire very much. So I'd gladly participate if I could only get an idea. Luckily, an idea surfaced and I wrote the story. I've participated previously in an anthology called Literature without Borders, which was in aid of the thousands of Kosova-Albanians fleeing from the war in the Balkans. So the good cause will make room in your schedule? Yes, it does. But I don't want to pretend to be a saint; if I'd been in the middle of the writing process the way I am at the moment, I might have said no without thinking much about it, because I couldn't cope with it. Luckily they called in January - a good time for me. What do you say, Sara? Can you tell the same story? Yes, more or less the same story, because I too find it easy to say yes to support Doctors without Borders. But I already had a serial, which just needed to be edited into a short story called Skagens Mørke (Darkness of Skagen). I was in the middle of something, so I couldn't start writing something new. So when it turned out that it was possible to just edit something I'd already written and also rather liked myself, it was easy to say yes. So, you can read this book... No no, you MUST read this book OK, this is an order, you MUST read this book. And it's a good idea because it's short stories. Whenever there's a shower you can go inside and read.. ..and whenever the sun comes out you go OUTside and read.... ...and when it starts raining again you Luckily, most books have chapters, so they can also be read intermittently can go inside and read the next one. between sun and showers. Now we would like you to tell the viewers, which books you're bringing on holiday with you. I know that you won't be having much of a vacation, you're busy researching for your new novel. Yes, I'll be going to the Baltics and Russia, but I will be bringing some books to read. Yes, because you read a book every week? Ah, almost, it depends. When you're in the summer house there's lots of time to read, when travelling there's generally less time unless it's a long haul flight. So, what have you packed? I've packed this new book by Jesper Stein, who's normally a journalist on the broadsheet Jyllands- Posten. It has received fantastic reviews and as his writing in the paper is very good, I'm sure his writing is equally good in a book. The book has the riots in connection with the clearing of "Ungdomshuset" in Copenhagen as it's starting point, which is quite an interesting place to start, so I'm looking forward to reading it. So are you, Sara, because, quite independently of Leif, you've chosen the same book? Yes, I've chosen "Uro" (Unrest) because I'm also certain that Jesper Stein has written a great piece of crime fiction. I'm just repeating what Leif said, he writes really, really well and he knows a lot about the genre, so he knows the "rules" for writing a crime fiction novel. I have complete confidence in him! He has gone about this very quietly and I wrote to him and asked whether I'd been inattentive? He wrote back to say that yes, he'd been keeping a low profile - this is his debut. It has had fabulous reviews. So that's one of the books for the suitcase. In addition to that, we've asked you to recommend books within three categories. So, besides this one, what else are you bringing? I've decided on Robert Harris' "Ghost". Now I'll have to be a bit politically incorrect, because in the old days, this book would have been translated into "Negeren" (ghostwriter in Danish). The ghost of the book is a so-called ghost writer - a person who sits "behind" a politician or a celebrity and writes their biography as themselves. It would say Tony Blair on the cover, but it would be written by a ghost writer. That's our protagonist. He's a professional ghost writer, who's invited to the US to write a biography about a well known British politician who could be Tony Blair, because the person they'd originally hired has been found drowned. He says yes, he's short of funds and has problems with his love life, and he goes there, to Martha's Vineyard on the east coast of northern USA. This is a great mix of suspense, politics and an intriguing crime about the strange symbiosis between media and politicians. Thus recommended! Sara, which crime fiction novel are you going to recommend? That would be Karin Slaughter. If crime fiction is your thing, I think she's highly recommendable. American crime fiction when it's best, full speed forward. I really like her. Next up is a novel. Which one will you point to, Leif? I'm recommending Jonathan Franzen's Freedom. A big American novel about the American middle class over the last 20 years. It received raving reviews and also sold well. It probably helped sales that Barack Obama said it was the most pleasure he'd got out of a book in the last ten years. That really pushed sales up! A good reason to read it! It is good, very good. And what novel have you chosen, Sara? I've picked The Imperfectionists. It may be that this book is especially good for journalists, but I don't think so. We just discussed it and agree that it's a good book for anyone. It's funny, it's good and it's well written, so that's my recommendation for a good novel. Then there's the people who never read. Yes, men. Yes, it's mostly men who don't read, just never open a book. And I know you have something special for the man who rarely opens a book. If you can find it, it's James Clavell's Shogun. It was made into a tv-series, which many people have probably seen, but it's also a fantastic book. It's a novel taking place in Japan in the 16th century and the protagonist is a British sailor who strands on the Japanese coast at a time when Japan was completely closed to the world and becomes accepted as a Samurai - a soldier at the court of the Shogun. It is well written, and if a man is not captured by this, nothing will. What's your recommendation Sara? I've chosen Swedish Åsa Larsson. It's in fact also a crime novel, but like Leif's choice, this is also a good choice for a person not used to reading. It's well written and the storyline is just so compelling. Åsa is just wonderful! So this is a great place to start if you're not much of a reader. That's it, we got our book recommendations for the holidays and all that's left for me to say is thank you to both of you and do remember to write as well as read, because we also like your books. Thank you. Thank you so much.