Snow in winter? No, really?

There have been no real problems here in Sweden, but it's ridiculous when you compare it to Britain and especially Scotland. I mean it is on the same latitude as Stockholm, so it shouldn't be that different.
Differences: Swedes don't put water into their screen wash-yes if the temperature goes under 0 degrees Celsius it will freeze. They put 100% anti-freeze in it instead-quite basic stuff. And they have studs on their tires so that when it gets icy on the roads the cars don't skid everywhere! There are ploughed side-walks and there are laws that say that people are in charge of their own driveways as well as the side-walks outside of their homes, which is important in case you need to turn your car around. It is well stocked up on salt and grit so the roads are always well ploughed, salted and gritted. The schools don't close if it snows, the transport system still runs and although there might be delays people aren't advised to stay indoors.
People wear the right shoes and coats for this kind of weather and less people leave their homes in just t-shirts. But nobody is perfect and Sweden also has oldies falling and breaking hips and homeless needing extra help during the cold snaps, but that's the same as every year.Why is Britain so far behind? Can it really simply be because everyone wants a snow day?

the struggle vs. the dream

On to a new book now: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
I had heard about the author for a long time, and I had one of his books, but I hadn't read anything by him. A friend got really into him and has recently been reading a lot of his books so when I was trawling a second hand book store in Inverness over the holidays to replace Desai's book, I came over this book. I read the back of the book and I was sold, and so was the book...It captured my feelings exactly at the time and is still making me think.

The story line is quite basic and in some ways simple, but i think that is what makes it special. It's not trying to be something it's not, like for example Desai's book which feels like it's trying too hard.
Desai has been taught from an early age what sells and how she should write, being influenced by her mother, that she's lost the feeling for it. It has no personality of its own.

In Coelho's book it's the simplicity that captures you, the plain language, the basic storyline. The survival of the believer, of the fighter, the lover and the dreamer. You can achieve anything as long as you believe it yourself, but that doesn't mean you won't have to fight for it. Nothing arrives on a silver plate and even if you face drawbacks you can't let them win.
It's an easy story to read if these thoughts and beliefs are already in you when you set out to read the book, but it's interesting to see how others believe the same thing you aspire towards.

There is one thing I don't like though and that is the magical angle. If you believe in the struggle and you believe in omens and working hard to get where you are today then the magical part ruins it. I don't believe that there is a selected few that are lucky and will get it right while others struggle. I believe everyone has the same chance without luck. I don't believe in luck. I believe that you have to work hard at things and you yourself will get to where you are today with that belief not because you've been the chosen one, but because you achieved your destiny by not giving up. And I hope that this book will lead to this aspect.
I don't want magic in my life. It will make me think that when something bad happens it's because some higher power is working against me. If I miss the bus in the morning it's not because I'm unlucky, or that someone wants me to be late, it's because I couldn't be bothered to leave the house on time.
Saying that though I do believe in omens and signs. But I also believe you can influence the signs and turn them into what you want t believe. I think these signs come from a higher force than religion or magic. I believe they come from the soil, the earth our atmosphere and our surroundings. I believe our human and natural instincts are stronger than any force of magic or religion and that these are the signs which will guide us to our destiny.

literature prize?

I finished Kiran Desai's book The Inheritance over the Christmas period and no, it didn't do it for me. I don't know, like her mother (Anita Desai) I just don't feel the connection. Maybe I've simply been too distracted to be able to concentrate on it.
Which makes me think.
Why are the books which are often nominated for literature prizes often quite difficult? It's almost as if they are meant for people who don't have anything on their minds but reading. I admit I get very easily distracted and if a book doesn't capture me, my mind will wander.
Are their prizes out there for good books which are still written well and don't take up all of your time just to try to understand what that first sentence on the first page actually means and not just the basic meaning? Or do they all have to follow certain rules?
Of course there are always exceptions, The White Tiger for example by Aravind Adiga was one of those books, exciting, well written, funny and a good story line which made you think.

Who has time to sit and read a book with loads of underlying meanings, heavy language, and confusing and depressing plots. Who, outside of the literature scene, had even heard of Herta Muller before she won the Nobel Literature prize? Fair enough if it's your job then it's understandable, but what about the rest of us who are trying to catch up.
We have a long way to go. There are a lot of books which need to be read as well as understood. Sure I can read them, but I have no idea what they're about...

These literature prizes influence us way too much.