Yup, the Swedish lack of interest in religion is more an exception to the rule, AFAIK. Many, many other countries treat religion as something much more central - even if they do not all believe in something, a lot of the culture is shaped around it.
It's an interesting difference. I mean, in the US, it seems impossible to run for president unless you belong to some variety of Christian church, and are happy to admit it - in Sweden, being openly religious means you would most likely NOT end up being prime-minister, because you'd be perceived as kind of weird. I mean, look at Kristdemokraterna; they're barely hanging on to enough percent of the voters to even be allowed into Riksdagen.
OOooh! I only ever read the first of those books, but I remember really enjoying it! I really liked the idea of moving cities - that was cool! And for some reason reminded me of Kiruna - which will actually have to move soon, unless it wants to be swallowed up by the mines. XD
New Horizons just made it to Pluto! Curiosity is tootling around on Mars, turning over rocks and learning new stuff every day. A Russian experiment on how humans would survive in enclosed artifical habitats on Mars has taken place. Cool stuff is happening all the time!
I just wish it was happening faster.