Devon Book Club discussion
Book Club Challenge
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Around The World in 80 Books 2020-2023
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Karen
(last edited Jan 09, 2020 10:59AM)
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Jan 09, 2020 10:57AM
Set in a forest town in Sweden, The Scandal also known as Beartown sees a community with a collective love of ice hockey having to face a devastating event. With divided loyalties, and discrimination, the community has to find a way through this. It's a tough topic to take on, but the author does it well.
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I loved Beartown but most of my book group concentrated on the ice hockey and not the community. Keep meaning to read the sequel.
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Oooh - stretching the rules - I like it! Yes, I'll plot it :) Was it good? Coffin Road sounds good too.
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Thanks Sue - duly entered - went for Kentucky, Did you enjoy it?
Sue wrote: "I loved Beartown but most of my book group concentrated on the ice hockey and not the community. Keep meaning to read the sequel."I've got the sequel on request at the library. Can't wait to read it! Glad to hear you enjoyed it too. So much of it was about community and loyalty.
Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Not sure if this can count. I've just finished Scoop by Evelyn Waugh, set in fictitional Ishmael which is said to be Ethiopia."Oooh - stretching the rules - I like it! Yes, I'll plo..."
Pleased to hear you're going to stretch the rules. It's very easy to see that it's closely related to Ethiopia at that time. It's good, but be aware...there is use of the 'n' word and 'c' word in relation to race not the usual c word!
It's amusing rather than hilarious as stated. It's a comedy of errors and mistaken identity which leads to a piss-take of the press and the validity of news, which is quite good to read currently.
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Oooh - stretching the rules - I like it! Y..."
I live on the edge, Karen!
Sounds interesting - its on my list though not sure when I'll get to it.
I'm rejoining this challenge- second time around. So I've started in India (which seemed fitting as it is the country of my birth!) this time withThe Case of the Reincarnated Client by Tarquin Hall. Set in Delhi this is another case for Vish Puri, India's "Most Private Investigator". I've read all the previous Vish Puri mysteries and thoroughly enjoy the accents, Indian English dialect and the sense of atmosphere and description of life with all the familiar myriad corruptions and injustices. And then I've just finished The Woman Who Walked into the Sea by Mark Douglas-Home which is set in Scotland (near Inverness), the second of the Sea Detective series (and well worth a read if you like crime fiction).
US, New Orleans with Of Foster Homes and Flies. I also read Stirring the Sheets by the same author, which I liked a bit more than the first one - but I don't remember any city being mentioned.
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Hi Ellen - I didn't know you were born in India. Whereabouts? Interesting choices of books which I shall add to the map straight away
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Hi Livia - you certainly have discovered your reading mojo. Not familiar with the writer. Do you recommend them, especially the second? If so, why?
Ian wrote: "Livia wrote: "US, New Orleans with Of Foster Homes and Flies. I also read Stirring the Sheets by the same author, which I liked a bit more than the first one - but I..."Stirring the Sheets is a bittersweet, quiet story. I’m really not sure why I prefer this one over the other; I suppose it was the strong love the main character feels towards his late wife, and the palpable grief that is born from it, but also the sweet part of the combo - the hope.
Strangely, it wasn’t as heartbreaking as my usual reads.
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Interesting that you choose depth of character as a key part of your choice of reading. I lovet hat too - I want plot of course but character driven narrative is, for me, so much richer
Germany - Confession with Blue Horses- Sophie Hardach. Easy but interesting duel time story present day and Berlin before and after the fall of the wall. Girl investigates the disappearance of her brother in the time of the stazi. Kept thinking, I lived through this! And yes Ian, the Jojo Moyes one was good too.
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Australia:. The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted - Robert Hillman. I quite enjoyed the story of n Hungarian jrwish lady who meets an Australian sheep farmer. Although much of it was so good, I felt something was missing. Following a debate in book group about men v women writers i wondered if a woman had written it ........... (Ducks)
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I felt that some of the situations/ language didn’t quite ring true from the POV of the woman. And whether it would have been different if written by a woman. Don’t want to give away anything of the plot. I don’t know about men writing emotionally intelligent books - I enjoy crime books written by both sexes but read predominantly women writing fiction .
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An interesting question - I wonder what others think? I'll pose t across the network too. In the meantime - book posted on the map.
Uruguay with Sun Inventions This read was more painful than passing a kidney stone; and I’m not referring to the good kind of pain that one would expect from a book, nooo. The translator did such a bad job, I think google translate would’ve made for a better collaborator.
It was such a short book, but it took me weeks to finish it. So infuriating, I forgot that reading the wrong kind of books takes the joy out of it.
On the other side, it’s a good reminder; I am definitely going to enjoy my next reads a lot more now!
Hmm, maybe it wasn’t such a bad experience after all, on the long (short to medium, more like it) run🙂
It's a shame, I actually suspect that the author wrote a good and interesting book. If anyone has a chance of reading the original version, I would love to compare opinions.
My current 'Rdg Grp' book is by Peter Carey and is set in Australia in the 50s. A Long Way From Home is about Mr & Mrs Bobbs, and their neighbour Bachuber, who are forced together by mishap and calumny to race the Redux Car Trial, around the outback regions of Australia. The story is witty, fast, complicated and wonderfully well-written … and I am enjoying it hugely, as well as learning a lot. My only stumbling block is the alternation of the chapters, where the main characters - and others - may also alternate as different strands of their stories, back stories and side issues are laid before us. There is a lot of detail to quickly grasp, as well as the need to establish exactly which character's role, actions, backstory, etc. we are reading. I'm about 1/3 through, and enjoying it hugely, but I have needed to frequently check on where I was, who is being discussed in a chapter, what some refs meant … and so on. However, I have had a very fragmented reading period for the last week or two. I'm looking forward to calmer reading over the next 2 days!PS I cannot find the link to the world map! Please advise!!
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This read was more painful than passing a kidney stone; and I’m not referring to the good kind of pain that one would expect from a book, nooo. The tran..."
Always good to hear the less positive experiences too - what made you stick with it?
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Hi Carol - it can be tricky to read a book like that can't it. Needs a concentrated period. The link to the map is on the home age just above the member section but this is the link https://www.mapcustomizer.com/map/Aro...
I've just read two brilliant books of 'culture'. The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Dare - set in a rural village and Lagos, Nigeria. And 10 Minutes And 38 Seconds In This Strange World by Elif Shafak - set in Istanbul.Both are excellent stories and fully recommend them.
Angela wrote: "I've just read two brilliant books of 'culture'. The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Dare - set in a rural village and Lagos, Nigeria. And 10 Minutes And 38 Seconds In This Strange World by Elif..."These sound intriguing, Angela. Thank you for this share. I shall definitely try the The Girl With The Louding Voice, because I read some others in social media mentioning it.
Ian wrote: "Livia wrote: "Uruguay with Sun Inventions This read was more painful than passing a kidney stone; and I’m not referring to the good kind of pain that one would expect from a book, ..."
My inability to leave a book unfinished; it just nags me if I do it. I don't think it's a good habit to have, to be honest.
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I cant wait to read the Elif Shafak. I have it on order from the library. And the Abi Dare novel looks wonderful - just checked it out. Thanks for recommending it. Both books are up on the map
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This read was more painful than passing a kidney stone; and I’m not referring to the good kind of pain that one would expect f..."
There are worse ones. I am very much like you. I rarely give up on a book.
Reread The Shepherds Hut by Tim Winton. Liked it as much second time round - once you get used to the language. Need to read another of his. This one was set in the mining area of Australia but I understand most are set on the coast.
Sue wrote: "Reread The Shepherds Hut by Tim Winton. Liked it as much second time round - once you get used to the language. Need to read another of his. This one was set in the mining area of Australia but I u..."That sounds good Sue, I'll read that. I finished Us Against Them, Fredrick Backman. The sequel to Beartown or The Scandal as it's also known. Set in Northern Sweden in the fictional town of Beartown and also in Hed, which does exist I think.
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Sounds great - on the map
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Also posted on the map - did you enjoy it Karen?
Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Sue wrote: "Reread The Shepherds Hut by Tim Winton. Liked it as much second time round - once you get used to the language. Need to read another of his. This one was set in the mining..."I was a blubbering wreck by the end, so it must have been good. But I didn't enjoy it as much as The Scandal/Beartown. I found the first half a bit repetitious and the relationship between the two girls Ana and Maya was too giggly and girly for me. The second half was really good. But Fredrik Backman has got something that other writers don't have. It might be an optimism or strong sense of community and hope, but it's always a good read when I pick up one of his books. Us Against Them is quite a dark novel and very different to his others.
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You are enticing me to read him. Not a writer I am at all familiar with
Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Sue wrote: "Reread The Shepherds Hut by Tim Winton. Liked it as much second time round - once you get used to the language. Need to read another of his. This..."He's very popular with women readers. A Man Called Ove is a lovely heartwarming story. I wasn't keen on the first few chapters and then really enjoyed it. Britt Marie was Here is another story about a person who doesn't really fit in. He understands them well. since Britt Marie I've really got into using bicarbonate of soda for cleaning. Who'd have thought!
I can't remember if I said about his one blog in English but it kind of explains why he is good at giving social misfits a chance. Beartown and its sequel are very different to the previous two I mentioned, but I thought his exploration of community in Beartown was really good. He's very easy to read. So when you need an easy read, try one. I'd be interested to hear what you think.
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Thanks Karen. Always open to trying new writers
I'm reading Crime and Punishment. Set in St Petersburg. He's committed the murder and is currently suffering some sort of depression while all around him they are discussing the murder and suspects. A really good read so far.
Karen wrote: "I'm reading Crime and Punishment. Set in St Petersburg. He's committed the murder and is currently suffering some sort of depression while all around him they are discussing the murder ..."Oooh! I started this decades ago - as part of a Uni course 'Literature and Totalitarianism' … which was sooo wonderful. Sadly, other books won me over for my dissertation themes, more than did the Dostoyevsky (and time was tight), so I never finished it ... yet there is still a handsome pile of Russian tomes on the shelves. Maybe a Russian month??
It's many, many years ago that I read Dostoyesky's Crime and Punishment, but I found it one of the most gripping books I had ever read. Have read most of the classic Russian authors but found Crime and Punishment the best.
Carol wrote: "It's many, many years ago that I read Dostoyesky's Crime and Punishment, but I found it one of the most gripping books I had ever read. Have read most of the classic Russian authors but found Crime..."Thanks for the recommendation, Carol, I will give it another go! I should be able to do it justice, all these decades later! Carole.
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This is one of my favourite all time books. The depth and subtlety of character and observation is breathtaking
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What a great idea. I love the Russian writers - may be a bit niche for some but why not? Any preference for when?
Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "I'm reading Crime and Punishment. Set in St Petersburg. He's committed the murder and is currently suffering some sort of depression while all around him they are discussi..."Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "Karen wrote: "I'm reading Crime and Punishment. Set in St Petersburg. He's committed the murder and is currently suffering some sort of depression while all around him th..."
Totally agree. It's a completely absorbing read. I think a Russian month is a great idea too.
Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "Karen wrote: "I'm reading Crime and Punishment. Set in St Petersburg. He's committed the murder and is currently suffering some sort of depression while all around him th..."Maybe not just yet … I don't know about others but I'm super-backlogged - even though I've given up on our Rdg Grp book.
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I know the feeling - how about in the Autumn? Would you both be up for helping me to set it up?
Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "Karen wrote: "I'm reading Crime and Punishment. Set in St Petersburg. He's committed the murder and is currently suffering some sort of depress..."Hi Ian, Happy to give it a go - although you will have to remind me! Brain still cold-logged!! When doing Eng Lit at (wonderful- then) Hull University, I did a 3rd Year option called 'Literature and Totalitarianism', with the incomparable John Hoyles. I still have all the course material - and, of course, the books - so that will be my starting point ... although the course went all over the world. C
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Sounds fascinating. Hope you recover from the cold soon
I've just finishedThe Testaments Set in Canada and dystopian Gilead...another fictitional society for you Ian. It was excellent. Really gripping and easy to read. Couldn't put it down!
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That is one that is on my TBR list - and even further up it on the strength of that recommendation.
Devon Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Testaments (other topics)The Testaments (other topics)
Crime and Punishment (other topics)
Crime and Punishment (other topics)
Crime and Punishment (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Peter Carey (other topics)Peter Carey (other topics)
Robert Hillman (other topics)
Sophie Hardach (other topics)
Jojo Moyes (other topics)
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