A theme for this year's digital book fair is the deteriorating reading comprehension and declining reading among young people and children - and on Thursday afternoon the leaders of the eight parliamentary parties gathered to tell about their reading habits and their own favorites in the world of fiction and non-fiction during the fair's inaugural seminar at the Riksdag Library.

And judging by the meeting, the Swedish party leaders 'reading spans several genres and time periods - from classics like Karin Boye's "Kallocain" - which was praised by the Christian Democrats' leader Ebba Busch - to the brand new "Family" by Johanna Lerneby Bäckström, who is the Moderate leader Ulf Kristoferson's non-fiction book selection.

Åkesson reads Fogelström

Another party leader who pays tribute to a Swedish literary-historical classic in the form of Per Anders Fogelström's "Stadserie" is the Sweden Democrats' leader Jimmie Åkesson, who said that the novels have fascinated and followed him since high school - when he had not yet visited Stockholm.

- They say a lot about Sweden's growth from another time to a welfare society, and I am fascinated by that development, Åkesson said.

"Did not read as a child"

Interior Minister Mikael Damberg, who during today's seminar jumped in for his Social Democratic party leader, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, chose for his part to recommend one of former US President Barack Obama's favorite books "A gentleman in Moscow" by the American author Amor Towles.

The Minister of the Interior also mentioned the declining reading among young people, when he said that he did not read as a child either.

- I did not read a book as a child, then I just watched TV.

It has only come in recent years, and now I read out of desire, to relax - and to learn new things, Damberg said.

Today's seminar also celebrated its 20th anniversary - already in 2000, the party leaders of that time gathered during the book fair Bok & Bibliotek by the association Läsrörelsen to under the heading "What do the party leaders read?"

reveal their reading habits.