Thank you Roy! I should perhaps have spent some more time on how intellectualism works in Norway. You see in many ways we are not an intellectual country at all but a nation of sports idiots and nature lovers. Norwegians don’t have respect for intellectualism and philosophy like the French. Norwegians are extremely anti-elitism, which is a trait shared with Americans, although it seems to me that in America people very much admire the moneyed elite which is not quite the case in Norway.

Norwegians don’t really read all that sophisticated literature. What I wanted to get across is that Nordics is more about a broad reading culture even if that just means reading rather mundane tabloids newspapers and pulp fiction. It is more about people actually reading than it being all that sophisticated.

The average Norwegian may traditionally have read something like a western, crime novel or romance novel. Not deep intellectual stuff. The difference I felt I saw in the US is that ordinary people simply don’t read at all. TV has a much more central role.

There is however a fairly large sophisticated intellectual elite in the US which is no lesser than that of other countries. Perhaps it is even more developed. My focus has been on the weaker chain. The Joe and Jane who maybe watch monster trucks, soap operas and football.

The Norwegian equivalent is not that different, but they more eagerly read newspapers and magazines. They also probably believe a bit more strongly in getting good books for their children.