The Buzz...About Books

In Finland, July 27 is Unikeonpäivä or National Sleepyhead Day. It has been celebrated since the early 1600s to commemorate the story of the Seven Sleepers. The legend states that during the Middle Ages, 7 men were ordered to renounce their Christianity by the Roman Emperor Decius. They opted to hide in a cave instead and fell asleep for 200 years.

On National Sleepyhead Day, the last sleeping person in the household is awakened with water thrown in his or her face or by being tossed into the nearest body of water. The city of Naantali hosts a Sleepyhead Festival lasting for several days. On the morning of July 27 a celebrity is wrapped in bedsheets, carried to the marina and thrown into the sea.

These are some recent books set in Finland:

The Glitter Scene by Monika Fagerholm
• eBook
A teenager becomes fascinated by an old local tragedy and as she studies it closely, finds connections to her own family.

The Healer by Antti Tuomainen
• eAudiobook
• eBook
In post-apocalyptic Helsinki, poet Tapani Lehtinen searches for his missing wife, a journalist who may have gotten too close to learning the identity of a politically motivated serial killer. Winner of the 2011 Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel.

Light in a Dark House by Jan Costin Wagner
A woman, comatose and unexpected to recover, is murdered and detective Kimmo Joentaa must try to make sense of this seemingly senseless crime.

Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta
• eBook
Noria and her father are tea masters with knowledge of secret water sources–vital in a post-climate change world where natural resources are rationed. When the military begins pressuring Noria to disclose the location she must make a difficult choice.

Snow Angels by James Thompson
• eBook
• Large Print
Kari Vaara, police chief of a town in Lapland, investigates the murder of a Somali refugee whose mutilated body has been found on a reindeer farm.