software/books for learning norwegian?

I usually recommend Pimsleur to beginner students. If you want a method that focuses on conversational skills, Pimsleur is the reference imo. It's a real confidence builder, which is essential for new students. You will learn to train your ear to understand natives (an essential part of early learning often overlooked by other methods), develop very good pronunciation and acquire the core structures and grammar of your new language (exactly what RS fails to do.) It's also almost half the price of RS (check Amazon or even iTunes Store.) Regarding Rosetta, most people have no idea what they are actually buying. Yes, Rosetta has an amazing marketing machine yet most people know little about the product. Rosetta doesn't teach you the language. It teaches vocabulary. There's a big distinction. Rosetta is certainly not the method I would recommend to a beginner that hopes to SPEAK the language (I assume that's your goal?). Rosetta Stone uses a flashcard method and like all other flashcard methods, it helps expand your vocabulary base but it will not teach you the core of the language or conversational skills. Knowing many words doesn't mean you can speak the language. Once you are finished with Pimsleur, that's when a vocabulary builder method such as Rosetta (there are cheaper alternatives though like BYKI, Babble, etc.) has its place. Daily conversation in the language after completing Pimsleur is really ideal. Good luck. I hope this helps.

Well, I just saved you hundreds of $$. Actually Rosetta Stone did, by not offering Norwegian! :)

Have a look at my website for lots of resources recommended for learners of Norwegian (bokmål). I list books and the CDrom I co-authored (KlikkNorsk)

I teach Norwegian so perhaps I can help a bit.