Top Ten Tuesday: Books Published under multiple names.

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Things That Make Up My Perfect Day (Share the people, places, activities, foods, circumstances, etc. that make a day perfect for you. Go into as much or as little detail as possible!) This is such a good prompt that I did something very similar a couple of days ago for the prompt of happy! I am therefore going to go off topic this week and bring you books published under different names. It could be because the books were given different names in different markets, or they were given a post publishing revamp, or who knows why else publishers change the name of a book after it is released.

Sophia's Secret/The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley - Yes, I am unashamedly using this same book in a TTT list two weeks in a row. Sophia's Secret was the original UK title.  (my review)

People We Meet on Vacation/You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry - A lot of the time the title change is just for different markets. You and Me on Vacation was again the UK title, and because we are part of the Commonwealth we often get the same titles.

The Brides of Rollrock Island/Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan - The bottom cover here is the Australian title. I think I preferred both the title and the cover from overseas. 

The Scandal/Beartown by Fredrik Backman - Sometimes the different titles are due to being published in different languages. For example, the book known as Beartown in English was originally published with a title that would translate to Scandal, but there was at least one edition that came out in English with that title. (my review)

The Chibineko Kitchen/The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi - I think the idea here was to really cash in on the role the cat plays in this book! (my review)

Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies/The Woman Who Wanted More by Vicky Zimmerman - It is interesting to me that the cover is so similar even when the title is so different.

The Life and Loves of Becca Valentine/The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine by Laura Pearson - I loved The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine and loved the title, but I do think that the bottom title is probably more accessible. (My review)

Falling for the Italian Dream/An Italian Wedding Adventure by Leonie Mack - I am not sure why this one got changed. An Italian Wedding Adventure was a good title for this book. (my review)

The House at Riverton/Shifting Fog by Kate Morton - Finishing up with two older books. You can tell straight away that the top cover here was the Australian cover. Every historical fiction book being published around this time had a woman on the cover

Cross Stitch/Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - Cross Stitch was the UK title, and it was the one I read!

Top Ten Tuesday - Chronologically speaking!

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Book Titles Featuring Ordinal Numbers (Ordinal numbers are numbers that define an item’s place in a series. For example: first, second, third, fourth, tenth, fourteenth, thirty-third, one hundredth, etc.) (submitted by Joanne @ Portobello Book Blog)

I have chosen to twist the topic a bit. I am going to do books that are the number in the series by which I mean the title might be the fifth book in the series for example. At least one of them will be ordinal! 

1. An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister - Last year I read and adored this book. The second book in the Love Notes series is due to be released in July! I am so looking forward to it!

2. Us Against You by Fredrik Backman - This is the second book in the Beartown trilogy. I am hoping to read the third one soon! (my review)

3. The Deadly Dispute by Amanda Hampson - I read and loved all three books in this series last year, of which this is the third. The fourth book is out next month! (my review)

4. Everyone in This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson - This is the fourth book in the Ernest Cunningham series. I have only read and loved the first two but I do know that I will read this one eventually

5. Safe Harbour in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen - I do really enjoy Maggie Christensen's books. This is the fifth book in the Pelican Crossing series. The eighth book in the series is out early next month (my review)

6. The Last Camel Died at Noon by Elizabeth Peters - This is the sixth book in the excellent Amelia Peabody series. I unintentionally stopped reading this series at book number 14. It has been more than 15 years since I read that book but I do have such fond memories of it, and I feel as though I could pick the next book without too much difficulty.  (my review)

7. The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley - This is the seventh book in the Seven Sisters series. It feels a little bit ironic that there was an eight book released!

8. Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon - This is the last book I read in the Outlander series. I don't know if I have the energy to pick up the next book in the series at the moment.

9. To the Nines by Janet Evanovich - I continued to read up to book 19 before I deliberately stopped reading this series. This book was the last one that I rated as a 5 star read. It was all downhill from here.

10. Witness in Death by JD Robb - I read up to book 17 in the series before I unintentionally stopped reading them. Book 62 in the series was recently published so I don't see myself ever catching up on this series. (my review)

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

 

Last year in July, I read Beartown, the first book in the trilogy of the same name, and I loved it. It was always just a question of time before I picked up the second book! Sometimes though, second books in a series can just not quite live up to the first book, but I loved this just as much as I loved the first book.

In Beartown, the town was torn apart by the events leading up to one of the biggest ice hockey games for the club in years. Now, in the aftermath, a lot of the players have moved to play for the nearby fierce rival town of Hed. When the local council announces that the Beartown hockey club is going to be closed down for good, the locals are disappointed.

Enter a shady politician who excels at manipulating people, mainly by pitting them again each other. He gives the club a lifeline in the form of a big name sponsor, but only if the General Manager, Peter, agrees to make certain changes to the club, which will put him in direct opposition to The Pack who are the die hard, extreme supporters who do, on occasion, tend towards violence.

Peter is a man under siege. He is blamed by many people for everything that has gone wrong, especially seeing as his daughter, Maya, was at the centre of the events. His family are receiving constant threats, his marriage is under pressure and his young son is making some bad decisions. It also seems that he can do nothing right at the club. No matter which way he turns, there will be someone who won't like it. 

Given that they lost a lot of players at the end of the previous season, the new coach, who is a woman (shock horror) needs to build a new team around Amat, the fastest skater in town, and Benjy, who long has been the heart and soul of the team. And then there is Vidar, the troubled goal keeper. 

Whilst this is a book about ice hockey, it is also a book about so much more. The way that Backman writes relationships is exceptional. Even the secondary characters can grab your heart and rip it out. In this case it was the relationship between Ann-Katrin (a player called Bobo's mum) and Amat's mother, Fatima, that really captured my heart. 

Backman also has the ability to really make you care about individual characters. Benjy is one of my favourites. He has a secret but when it comes out, everyone has an opinion. Does his ability on the ice make up for his otherness or is too much for the town to accept.  The one things that Benjy does know is that his fearsome sisters will always have his back.

I loved this quote about Benjy!

Everyone in this town knows that Benji is dangerous, because he strikes hardest. Yet few people seem to appreciate that everything about him does just that - strike hardest, beat hardest - the whole time. Including his heart.

Backman is fabulous at building the tension. You know that things are going to come to a head, but the question is what is going to be the catalyst, and what will the lasting impact be. The author has a very interesting way of writing. There is a lot of foreshadowing, some of which might be referencing things that will happen is two years or five years, so you know that your favourite characters are going to make it, but not everyone does.

Once again I was fully invested in the events that were occurring in Beartown. I have already picked the second book up from the library. I was surprised to see how thick the final book in the trilogy is! It's going to be a commitment, but I can't wait to read it and see how everything plays out!

I am sharing this review with the Books in Translation challenge hosted at Introverted Reader.

It's a 5/5 read for me!

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers Featuring Interesting Typography

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Book Covers Featuring Cool/Pretty/Unique/etc. Typography (Typography is the art of arranging letters so they look visually appealing and more interesting than, for example, the body text of this blog post you’re reading now.). I am going to broaden the theme a bit to pick books where there are more than one font on the cover or where I found them interesting in some way.

Dinner at the Night Library by Hika Harada - I like how they fit the title, author and translator all in the sky of the illustration by putting it on an angle (my review)

Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson - I like the mix of fonts, and the way they did the word train (my review)

The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson- Three different fonts probably shouldn't work but it does (my review) 

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman- This is a different font choice

Good Spirits by B K Borison - I like the font choice here

Dear Mrs Bird by A J Pearce - I really like how the cover looks like a typewriter (my review)

Escape to the Northern Lights by Carrie Walker - chose this purely because of the curly bit on the end of the word Escape (my review)

The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina - I like how they use all lower case on this cover (my review)

Hooked by Asako Yuzuki - This book isn't out yet, but I like how the title is vertical instead of horizontal

The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden - Love the font and the colour on this one. (my review)

This week...

I'm reading

This week I had finished several books and two of them were 5 star reads. That has to count as a good reading week right? The first one was Us Against You by Fredrik Backman, which is the second book in the Beartown trilogy! I did pick up the third book in the trilogy from the library as well, and it is a very big book! I am looking forward to reading it!

I then finished The Girl from Lake Maggiore by Siobhan Daiko. I actually started this book a few weeks ago but I put it aside. When I was trying to decide what to read after finishing my last book, I figured I should probably finish that one!

I also started reading The Resistance Knitting Club by Jenny O'Brien for a blog tour later this week. So far I am enjoying it a lot

When my read on a theme book club chose the theme of Childhood Favourite, I decided pretty quickly that I was going to read Jean Plaidy as I read every one of her books I could get through my school library when I was 12 or 14. I have a whole stack of her books which I got from someone, and there were two copies of The Goldsmith's Wife so I took that as a sign that I should read that book. It was only on Wednesday night that I realised that I only had two day to get it read before the meeting! I loved it though and gave it 5 stars. That could be related to the nostalgia of reading one of her books after so many years.

There was only a small group of us at book club for the first meeting of the year and these were the books that we talked about. The next theme is a Book Someone Lent You!

Best of

In January I read 14 books and had quite a few that were 4.5 star reads. The two that were 5 star reads for me were Us Against You by Fredrik Backman and The Goldsmith's Wife by Jean Plaidy, which are pictured at the top of the post.

Books let our imaginations travel where our feet cannot - Nora Nguyen

Here are all the places I travelled in my reading this month

Europe

UK - The Sweet Life Café, The Goldsmith's Wife 

Ireland - So Late in the Day 

Croatia - The Croatian Island Library

Norway - The Arctic Cruise 

France - The Boulangerie on the Corner

Sweden - Us Against You 

Italy - The Girl from Lake Maggiore 

US

New York - The Housemaid 

Australia

NT/SA - Everyone on this Train is a Suspect 

Asia

Japan - Dinner at the Night Library 

Japan/Korea/US - Flashlight

Korea - Soyangri Book Kitchen

I'm watching


Nothing in particular really

Life

On Saturday night we went to a new show that is on at the casino in the city. It was called Piper's Playhouse and is an interesting mix of Paris cabaret, magic, drag, burlesque and circus type acts. The acts were very, very good, and the night was a lot of fun. After the show, the venue turns into a piano bar and the crowd really got into it! I think even the pianist was a bit surprised by some of the things that the crowd did last night!

In the photo above, the show that you see is actually all made of white chocolate and was filled with fresh berries!

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: New to Me Authors I Read in 2025
Flashlight by Susan Choi
Mini Reviews: Two Novels Set in Japan
Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Wrapping Up January in Japan 2026
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: February links


I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week....

I'm reading

Melbourne weather is notoriously fickle and we have had some really,really hot days this week with more to come. This week it just so happened that I picked up two books set in the Arctic area of the northern hemisphere, so plenty of snow and ice to cool the brain. The first of those books was The Arctic Cruise by Caroline James. Our characters sailed north to Norway chasing the Northern Lights. It was a fun read. (my review)

Then my thoughts turned to France and pastries when I read The Boulangerie on the Corner by Susan Buchanan. As I stated at the beginning of my review...you had me at boulangerie!

I stepped a bit outside of my normal reading this week and read The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. I don't normally read these kinds of psychological thrillers. I picked it up because a friend of mine recently told me that McFadden is her favourite author, and I have noticed how her books are dominated the best sellers lists around the world! Having now read one of her books, I can see why. It was gripping, twisty and turny and definitely made me want to find out what happens next. I have requested the next book from the library but there is a bit of a wait.

Finally, I started Us Against You by Fredrik Backman, which is set in a small town in Sweden. This is the second book in the Beartown trilogy and I'm enjoying it very much. I can't wait to pick it up again today.

I'm watching


I watched the first episode of the Irish show, The Walsh Sisters, which is based on the Marian Keyes books. I wasn't really sure what to make of the first episode. There was lots of drama, but I guess I always think of Marian Keyes as being funny while she tackles heavy issues. I am not sure I got the funny yet. I will keep watching too see if it picks up or not.

Recently, it was announced that the best selling books in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series are being made into a TV series. I thought that it was probably about time that I watched the movie version which was made back in 2018, which is called Cafe Funiculi Funicula. I enjoyed it,, and liked the way that they depicted the person going back in time. It was a bit different to the book, which I guess is to be expected. I liked it, but I am not 100% sure it would have made a lot of sense if I didn't already read the series.

Here's the trailer

Life


It's a long weekend here for Australia Day. It is a bit of contentious holiday. It's not because people aren't proud to be Australian and love our great country, but the date of 26 January is seen as being harmful for indigenous Australians as it represents the day that the British came and took their land and so many of their people in the following years. I would be quite happy to see the date changed to another date that is less painful. It's been changed before and it can be changed again. I am, however, happy to have the additional day off. Work has been pretty stressful so I am grateful for the chance for one extra day to just do not much, especially seeing as we have had some pretty hot days

With the heat comes the threat of fires. Whilst I have never been close to being threatened by a really big fire, I do hate the days that you wake up and all you can smell is the lingering smoke from fires in other parts of the state. It was like that yesterday morning.

Max


Poor Maxxie boy has an eye infection so he looks a bit rough at the moment. It is getting better slowly though. You can also see how bad his blindness is getting. He is, however, still a happy boy. We will see if there is anything that can be done for him this year. With all his other health issues though we are just taking it one condition at a time!

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: Goals

Blog Tour: The Croatian Island Library by Eva Glyn

Blog Tour: The Arctic Circle by Caroline James

Weekend Cooking: The Sweet Life Café by Helen Rolfe

Weekend Cooking: The Boulangerie on the Corner by Susan Buchanan

Sunday Salon: 2025 Year in Review



I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I Read in 2025

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Best Books I Read in 2025

I am generally pretty stingy when it comes to giving a book a grade of 5/5. Looking back over the last 5 years I have given somewhere between 2 to 4 books the top grade each year. For 2025, I have 13! I am pretty sure that is the most ever for me. So what was different this year? The only thing that I can think of is that I wasn't working for the first 7 months of the year, so I was reading purely for enjoyment. I wasn't trying to read on the commute, or before going to bed or during lunch breaks. There's certainly been a drop in the grades since I went back to work.  Other than, it might just have been an extraordinary first half of the year.

So here are my top 10 13 books for 2025

Midnight in Paris by Gillian Harvey - I started off with several books set in Paris. I have read quite a few of Gillian Harvey's books over the years and enjoyed them all, but this one just really worked for me! (my review)

The Paris Bookshop for the Broken-Hearted by Rebecca Raisin - Another author who I have read a lot of books from. I love the way that she writes about places, books and foods, and this one combined those very well. (my review)

The Wedding People by Alison Espach - I had heard such good things about this book and it completely lived up to expectations. (my review)

The Jam Maker by Mary-Lou Stephens - I went to hear Mary-Lou Stephens talk about this book and knew that I was going to enjoy it! (my review)

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley - I don't reread much, but I have read this book about 4 times now. it is still a 5/5 read for me every time. This one isn't pictured in the collage in order to fit all the others in. (my review)

Pictures of You by Emma Grey - I met Emma Grey at a reader's retreat a couple of years go but it took me that long to actually read one of her books. This was the first of two 5/5 reads by this author this year! (my review)

The Women by Kristin Hannah - This book seems to be a love it or hate it kind of book. I loved it! (my review)

Beartown by Fredrik Backman - What can I say that hasn't already been said about Fredrik Backman. I really must find time to read the second book in this trilogy! (my review)

Eat Your Heart Out by Victoria Brownlee - This was a surprise 5/5 book for me! It was just so much fun. (my review)

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson - I have enjoyed all of this author's books now, but this one is my favourite. (my review)

The Whisky Widow by Karen Brooks - This book had me wondering why on earth I had not read Karen Brooks before. So good! (my review)

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey - The second entry from Emma Grey on this list! Can't wait for her new book! (my review)

An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister - This author is an academic who specialises in romance and popular fiction, and you can tell! This book is now doing the rounds of my book club. Even our octogenarian member enjoyed it! 

One of the pleasing aspects of this is that 7 of these books are by Aussie authors!

I love seeing everyone's best of lists each year! Do we have any in common?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books set in a snowy place

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books Set in Snowy Places (If snow isn’t your thing, pick another kind of place and share books set there!)

Normally when there is a seasonal theme I swap it to represent the season here in Australia. However, this time I decided to go with the theme even though it is summer here.

The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan - I just finished listening to this. There is a lot of snow in this book to the point that the characters get snowed in for some of the book!

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson - This isn't a common Australian setting as it is set in the Alps in winter, and there is a lot of snow. (my review)

Meet Me Under the Northern Lights by Mandy Baggot - This one sees our main character heading off on a last minute trip to Iceland (my review)

Last Stop on the Winter Wonderland Express by Rebecca Raisin - This luxury festive train travels across Northern Europe and ending up in Lapland

Small Things Like These by Claire Foster - Now, I didn't read this book all that long ago, and I am relatively sure that there was snow in the book, but I am prepared to be wrong about that!

Escape to the Northern Lights by Carrie Walker - our main character thinks she is going to a luxury spa weekend but really it is a winter back to nature, vegan wellness retreat (my review)

A Winter Wedding Adventure by Leonie Mack - This is the second book in the Adventure Wedding series, set in the Italian Alps, and Mother Nature plays a bit part in the story! (my review)

One Snowy Day by Shari Low - I mean it even tells you about the weather in the title! (my review)

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett - This one is set in winter in Norway! (my review)

Beartown by Fredrik Backman - It's ice hockey season in Sweden. Of course there's snow! (my review)

Spell the Month in Books: October

Reviews From the Stacks

For 2025 I have decided to have a go at Spell the Month in Books which is hosted at Reviews From the Stacks. The link party opens on the first Saturday of the month, but I won't be posting until after that as I already have other things scheduled every Saturday and for the first two Sundays of the month. I will be sharing this post with Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz.

The idea is that you use the titles of books to spell the month name. The theme for October is This month’s theme is Trick or Treat: books that you feel strongly about, whether positively or negatively

Let's get started

O - Once Upon a Thyme by Jane Lovering - I started reading Jane Lovering's books a couple of years ago now and I really enjoy them. Most of them are set in Yorkshire which is near where I lived when I lived in the UK.

C - Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon - Don't be confused. This isn't a Diana Gabaldon book hou havne;t read. In the UK and Australia the first novel in the Outlander series was originally called Cross Stitch.

T - To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - I feel like a reread of this whole series wouldn't go astray!

O - On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta - I also feel like I could easily reread all of Melina Marchetta's books too. I think of this book every time I hear the song Flame Trees by Cold Chisel. Every time without fail!

B - Beartown by Fredrik Backman - This was a 5 star read from earlier this year. I need to read the second book in the trilogy!

E - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - This one was a five star read from a few years ago!

R - Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly - I loved the Rose trilogy from Jennifer Donnelly and this book. I haven't read much by her since then but I have such fond memories of the books I love.

November's theme is Nostalgia. Not sure what direction I will take that one in. Good job I have a month to think about it.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Have Returned to the Library Unread

 Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time (This week was originally scheduled to be a non-bookish freebie, but I realized how close it was to the last non-bookish freebie we did. If you’re super on top of it and already wrote your post for this week, post it anyway! If you’d rather do a non-bookish freebie, go for it!). 

I am, however, going rogue this week and I am going to share the last ten books I have returned to the library unread, and I haven't reborrowed .... yet!

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by Daisy Woods - I originally requested this one after it was reviewed for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. 

Return to the Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee - I read the first book in this series a while ago

The Midwife of Auschwitz by Anna Stuart - Anna Stuart has been on the French bestseller lists for a while. When I did my Bestsellers Around the World post during Paris in July I decided it was time to try her books. 

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman - I read Beartown and loved it ages ago and fully intend to read the rest of the series.

All the Bees in the Hollow by Lauren Keegan - Lauren Keegan used to be a book blogger and I picked up her book when I saw it next to Claire Keegan's books.

The Ingredients of Love by Nicolas Barreau - This is a French author that I am hoping to read soon.

The Yellow Villa by Amanda Hampson - After reading all of the Tea Ladies mysteries, I am now keen to read the other books by Amanda Hampson.

An Act of Love by Carol Drinkwater - I read my first Carol Drinkwater book during Paris in July this year and now I will read her backlist.  

Emily Wilde's Map of the Other Lands by Heather Fawcett - I read the first book in this trilogy earlier this year

Three by Valerie Perrin - I really enjoyed Fresh Water for Flowers by this author earlier this year

I'll be reborrowing all of these at some point!

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

I am sure that you all have a list of books in your head that people have suggested that you might like. And then they suggest it again and then maybe again,! Beartown is one of those books for me. Boy am I glad that I loved it when I did read it.

Beartown isn't the first thing I have read by Fredrik Backman. Last year I read a short story called The Answer is No which was a bit of fun, and I have watched both the Swedish and American movie versions of A Man Called Ove, so I expected a book that had funny parts with kind of serious undertones. Beartown is not that book!

Beartown is about an economically downtrodden town in a forest in Sweden. The main employers have closed down so the main thing that brings the town hope is the triumphs of the town's ice hockey team. This season they are flying, and they only need a couple more wins to bring the trophy home. But it isn't just about the trophy. If they can win the championships then maybe a new sports academy will be built in the town, bring jobs and prosperity. It's a lot of pressure to put on a group of kids.

There are so many characters in this book and so many contrasts. There is the GM of the team, Peter Andersson, who grew up in Beartown and made it to the big town playing professionally in Canada, only to end up back in town with his ultra competitive lawyer wife and two kids. In contrast, there are men that he played with in town who have never left and who struggle every day just to get by. There is the old coach Sune who built the club and the team culture but the board now want him gone but he doesn't get along with the current team coach David whose coaching ethos can be summarised in just one word. Win!

In the current team there is the star, Kevin, who is this generation's boy who is going to get out of Beartown and make it to the big time. There is Benji, who is Kevin's best friend who is also the enforcer on the team. And yet, he seems to drift around not really worrying too much about school hiding his own secrets from everyone. Then there is Amat, a younger immigrant kid who has been invisible up until recently when someone realises that he is super fast. Suddenly he is part of the team, with all that means, and his friends feel left behind. 

When I started reading the book it took me a little bit to get into it. Thanks to the way that Backman tells the story, you know that something bad is going to happen but it is just a question of when. That style of storytelling starts right from the opening line. 

Late one evening, toward the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barrelled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else's forehead, and pulled the trigger. This is the story of how we got there.

The tension was built up so well, that in the end I had to put it down for a day or so. We had multiple view points from characters telling us what they were seeing and their own stories, which all helped build up the tension. Once I picked up the book again and got past the main catalyst event, I couldn't put the book down and I just had to see how it all played out, no matter how sad or angry it made me feel. 

And I did feel angry. Very angry at times. At an after party a young girl is raped and the ice hockey club basically implodes. Most of the club members are more concerned at the threat of losing one of their best players on the eve of their biggest games in years and soon people are suggesting that someone is trying to sabotage the team. The young girl involved very quickly becomes the pariah, with suggestions being made that she is lying, or that she was asking for it and so on. Relationships disintegrate, family's are traumatised and the whole town soon has an opinion.

Please don't let the fact that this book features ice hockey put you off reading it. The reality is that this book could be set in a town near you featuring your local sports. It just so happens that Backman set the book in Sweden and features ice hockey, but it could be a suburban cricket team near the beach where similar things happen. It is a universal story.  

I've been involved in kids sports varying from cricket to footy to basketball, and I have to say I recognised some of those parents and some of the attitudes, including the must win no matter what, the parents who you never see at the games, the ones you wish you didn't see at every game and everyone having a very strong opinion on what is the right thing for the club to do. It's just that the people in Beartown dialled it all up a notch or three.

It is also not just a young person's story. How many examples are there of successful sportspeople or entertainment stars where they are accused of behaving badly towards women, or other minority groups, and yet they are back playing sports after a short ban or find themselves working in the media? The message that this sends...being good at sports/singing/producing music etc is far more important than being a decent human being.

This book was a 5/5 read for me. I have already requested the next book from the library. Will I be ready to read it when it comes in? Yes, but I am going to have to psych myself up a bit I think! What I do know is that I will be emotionally invested in the story when I do read it. 

I am sharing this review with the Books in Translation challenge hosted at Introverted Reader.  This book was also one of my nominated 20 Books of Winter reads, and at 488 pages counts as a Big Book of Summer. 

Rating 5/5

20 Books of Winter - July

 

We are already two months through the 20 Books of Summer/Winter event! Can you believe how quickly that has gone?

Our hosts, Emma from Words and Peace and Annabel from Annabookbel have come up with some fun questions for our end of month recaps.

I think I am a little bit behind at this point and that I am going to struggle to get some of the remaining books read. I read 7 books in June and 5 of the books that I nominated on my original lists in July I did read 19 books in total in June and 18 in July so I do have some opportunities for swaps should I need them later. 

Here's my full list. The ones in bold are the titles I have read. The purple ones are the ones I read in June and the ones in red are the ones I read in July

20 Books of Winter

Beartown by Fredrik Backman - Review will be posted soon

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn - Review

A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K Runyan - Review

Over the Seas to Skye by Sue Moorcroft - Review

Three Juliets by Minnie Darke

A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont

The Midnight Bakery by Emma Davies

Half Truth by Nadia Mahjouri - Review

The Village Cafe in the Loire by Gillian Harvey - Review

The Storytellers by Sue Heath

The Story Collector by Evie Woods

French Rhapsody by Antoine Laurain

The King's Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary - Review

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey

The Library of Heartbeats by Laura Imai Messina

Emily Wildes Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Butter by Asako Yuzuki

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee

Our hosts, Emma from Words and Peace and Annabel from Annabookbel have come up with some fun questions for our end of month recaps.

Which book surprised you the most this month?

I think that would have to be Beartown by Fredrik Backman. I knew that this book was going to be good as lots of people I know have loved it. I think what surprised me the most about this book was the way that the tension built throughout the book. There were times when I knew that something momentous was about to happen and the tension was ramping up so much that I had to put the book down for a while to psych myself up for the action. 

If your July reading experience was a weather forecast, what would it be and why?

Dreamy with a chance of snow - winter was very much the setting in both Beartown and Emily Wilde! The dreamy comes from both Dallergut and Emily Wilde.

Name a setting from your July books where you’d love (or hate) to take a summer vacation.

Well......I don't think it would surprise anyone if I say France. I would love to wander the streets of Montmartre to find the Bakery in Paris and then I would be more than happy to find a cafe in the Loire Valley to sit and watch the world pass by!

If you could turn one book into a summer festival, what would the main event be?

I think that the Dallergut Dream Store would be a perfect theme for a summer festival.  The idea of the book is that when we are sleeping we visit the store and choose to buy our dream themes, and there are even dreams for your pets. You could do an amazing festival with all the different types of dreams. 

Choose your own adventure—recap July in the style of your choice:

I am not terribly creative so here is my cover collage

This week...

I'm reading

It's been another busy reading and blogging week! I feel like I have had a lot of different books in my hands and this list will confirm that!

I finished The Cryptic Clue by Amanda Hampson as I had to return it to the library. My review is here. This is the second book in the Tea Ladies series and I have already requested the third book.

I had to put Beartown by Fredrik Backman down in order to finish The Cryptic Clue. Once I picked it up again I was absolutely absorbed. This is one of my 20 Books of Winter and counts as a Big Book of Summer. It was a 5/5 read for me and I have already requested the next book in the trilogy.

Then I started a couple of books but I will need to go back to them again this week. I started The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl because of Paris in July.  I also started Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, which is another of my 20 Books of Winter reads.

Once again, the library conspired against me and said I couldn't renew Secrets of the Huon Wren by Claire van Ryn so I read that. This was Claire van Ryn's debut novel, but I had already read her second book. I hope to have a review for this one up shortly.

In order to try to get in front of the library I then read Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee who is from South Korea This is also one of my 20 Books of Winter. It's a different read for me but I did like it enough to request the second book in the series. The idea is that in our sleep we all go to the dream store to purchase the dreams that we want. We then pay for them using our emotions. 

Finally, I started reading A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K. Runyan which is the current Cook the Books selection.

I did do a summary of the books that I read for June for the 20 Books of Winter . You can read my recap post here.

Bookish Travel

I did a fair bit of travelling through the pages of books during June. Here's some of the places I visited.

Australia 

Melbourne  - The Butterfly Women

Sydney - The Cryptic Club

America

Maine- The Mirror

Washington - The Diamond Eye

Michigan/New York - The Page Turner

Europe

England - The Silver Ladies Seize the Day, Once Upon a Thyme, The Storytellers

Scotland - Over the Seas to Skye, the Woman Who Got Her Spark Back

Ukraine/USSR -- The Diamond Eye

France  - A Secret Garden in Paris, French Rhapsody, The Girl from Normandy

Greece - The Island of Hope and Dreams, Not My Greek Wedding

Portugal - The Lost Story of Sofia Costello

The Cruise Club (visited several countries!)

Africa

Morocco - Half Truth

Best of June

In June I read 19 books and these 6 are the ones I rated as 4.5/5 reads. 

I'm watching

I finished watching Gary Barlow's Wine Tour: Australia. I will finish watching his South Africa show this week I think. 

I also re-watched The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan this week. I originally watched it last year as part of the French Film Festival (and I posted about it here). I was surprised to see it on the normal movie channels on our cable provider as normally if I want to watch any foreign language films you have to go searching for it. 

Life


After 3 weeks, I still sound a bit husky but finally feel like I am getting better. 

We did have a busy weekend as our kids were down from Brisbane for the day on Saturday so Robert was being dad's taxi service driving all over the city while I cooked dinner. Then we had my sister and her family around for dinner on Sunday along with my mum who is over from Adelaide. 


Posts from the last week

20 Books of Winter: June

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: July links
Paris in July 2025!

Paris in July/Top Ten Tuesday: Books with the Eiffel Tower on the Cover
Paris in July: Since the last Paris in July
The Lost Story of Sofia Castello by Siobhan Curham

Paris in July: Mini Movie Reviews
Blog Tour: The Cruise Club by Caroline James
The Cryptic Clue by Amanda Hampson
Weekend Cooking: In My Kitchen - June
Six Degrees of Separaton: Theory & Practice to Sisters of the Resistance

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date and Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz