At the moment I have no knitting to rip out, but I do have a yarn to recommend: The Long Ships, by Frans G. Bengtsson. Published in Sweden during WWII, it appeared in an English translation in the 50's, but has been out of print for years. Now New York Review of Books editions has reissued the book, with an enthusiastic and highly readable introduction by Michael Chabon.
The book is "Once upon a time..." for anyone who loves a tale that makes a faraway place and time solidly real. The Long Ships takes place between the years 980 and 1010, and carries its hero, Red Orm, from his home in southern Sweden (in those days part of Denmark) as far south as Moorish Spain, to Ireland, England, and far out into the Atlantic, all in ships propelled by oars and sails.
Orm spends two years as a galley slave, matures into a fierce fighting man and a chieftain, serves the Caliph of Cordoba, turns Christian in order to marry a king's daughter, and has no end of ferocious encounters and hairbreadth escapes before ending his days as the wealthy patriarch of a large family.
Adventure stories are as old as the human race, and they never lose their appeal, especially when told with skill and verve. In his introduction, Michael Chabon celebrates the "deadpan humor" of the book, found on nearly every page. Bengtsson's extensive knowledge of the period illuminates the book, but never gets in the way of the narrative.
Well-written historical novels are a window into the past. While looking through this one, you may well wonder how descendants of these plundering, death-dealing, take-no-prisoners rovers of 10th century Scandinavia became the highly-civilized, forward-looking, peaceable Swedes, Norwegians and Danes of today.
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