From the Bookshelf of Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

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What Members Thought

Astrid Lim
A delightful book about summer, childhood, family, and grieving.

Tove Jansson wrote this book based on her experience holidaying in a little island in Finland every summer. The main characters, Sophia and her grandmother, are based on Jansson's own niece and mother.

The stories are so neat, mellow, and beautiful. Full of little details like flowers, island life, neighbors, and summer tidbits in Scandinavia. Jansson wrote this book after her mother died, and this became her way of grieving and rem
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Grace
What a sweet book! Lovely vignettes and full of simple, wise anecdotes. Of course, it also presents a calm, idyllic life which will make you long for more simplicity in your own! Either that, or it will give you a bit of wanderlust for Scandinavian/Northern summers.

Some favorite quotes (besides the ones I posted in comments as I went along):

"That's strange, Grandmother thought. I can't describe things any more. I can't find the words, or maybe it's just that I'm not trying hard enough. It was su
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Rebecca
Apr 10, 2008 rated it it was ok
Ellie
Apr 01, 2009 rated it really liked it
SarahC
Feb 24, 2011 marked it as to-read
Saunteringfiend
Apr 28, 2011 marked it as to-read
Briggs
Jun 20, 2011 marked it as to-read
Chas
Aug 28, 2011 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
1morechapter
Oct 08, 2011 marked it as to-read
Shelves: swedish, 1001
nawir nawir
Feb 12, 2013 marked it as to-read
Giovanna
Sep 14, 2023 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: scandinavia
claire
May 29, 2017 marked it as to-read
Duc
May 03, 2018 marked it as to-read
vivike
Jun 06, 2018 is currently reading it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: fiction, ebook, own
Maeve
Dec 05, 2019 rated it liked it
Shelves: book-club, 1001-book
Arianna
Jan 22, 2020 marked it as to-read
Deodand
Jul 29, 2022 marked it as to-read
Meghan
Dec 16, 2022 marked it as to-read
Mandy
Nov 18, 2023 marked it as to-read
Cami
Mar 19, 2024 marked it as to-read
Christine
Jul 07, 2024 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: 2024
Athena
Aug 17, 2024 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: 2024
Lena
Sep 27, 2025 rated it really liked it
pam
Aug 23, 2025 marked it as to-read
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Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die