BOTM for November is Adventures With Waffles

[SaraKat]

Leave your comments about this month's book on this thread. Happy reading!

[Jemima]

The library have it waiting for me to collect! Woot!

[Jemima]

So, I brought it home from the library, and sat down to read a little of it.

I couldn't put it down (other than to make tea!). I absolutely adored it. Such a refreshing change to have a small town where everybody knows each other, yet the kids still get up to tricks that, frankly, would make me laugh even if I was a parent there.

And real heartache from Trille on many occasions.

I thought the translation was very good (by Guy Puzey), but I'm interested to hear whether your US version has a different translator, as some of the idioms in the first couple of chapters (e.g.popping one's clogs) maybe need a different translation, not just a different title :)

Beautifully written, and as fresh as the Norwegian air.

[Janice]

Jemima wrote: "So, I brought it home from the library, and sat down to read a little of it.

I couldn't put it down (other than to make tea!). I absolutely adored it. Such a refreshing change to have a small town..."

It sounds like a wonderful cozy book. :) And also reminds me of where I grew up in the country where everyone knew everyone and we weren't "helicopter parented". There are only 3 copies in my province's libraries and they are still out.

[Jemima]

Janice wrote: "There are only 3 copies in my province's libraries and they are still out. "

I know that problem. I've just been notified that the book for the August read in another group is ready for me to collect!

[Janice]

Jemima wrote: "Janice wrote: "There are only 3 copies in my province's libraries and they are still out. "

I know that problem. I've just been notified that the book for the August read in another group is ready..."

Thanks for understanding. :) Oh my goodness, that is a very long wait!!! Sometimes I wonder if there are other people in my area also on Goodreads and are in the same groups as me. :)

[SaraKat]

I adored this book! Thanks to everyone who voted for it. It hit all the buttons I like. Set in a foreign country, healthy family relationships, happy animals (if you discount the sheep) and shenanigans. I had a great time reading this one. I want to see more about Lena and Trille and Grandpa in the future.

[Janice]

I can't wait to read this!!!

[Manybooks]

Have not been able to locate a copy yet, but Astrid the Unstoppable by the same author is delightful.

[SaraKat]

Manybooks wrote: "Have not been able to locate a copy yet, but Astrid the Unstoppable by the same author is delightful."

I will have to check this one out! I was thinking of looking into other by he same author.

[Jemima]

I had a browse around the books listed on Goodreads by her. It's quite fun trying to work out which translations are of which book - some of the covers have been redrawn. You need to check out the other editions of the titles presented, and do some detective work.

But it looks like the first listed, Keeperen og havet is translated variously as Lena, Theo and the Sea (Spanish version), Lena, the Sea and Me (English version), Lena, Trille and the Sea (Italian), and Keepers of something in German, and the original Norwegian. Also: Something for a year/in the sea in Swedish, Polish and a few others. A Stormy Year for Olle and Lena looks Danish or Dutch.
Was Lena the person who moved in next door to Trille?
Heaven knows what the Russian one is, but it's one word and the cover's different from all the others :).
There's also Sometimes Luck comes with (Gummistiefeln), which I had to find in translation - Gumboots or Wellington boots, not sure whether that translate in US :)

[Ken]

I ordered this at the beginning of the month, but it just showed up yesterday. I don't think I'll have it done by the end of November. I'll add my thoughts later.

[Jemima]

Yes, I only took a couple of hours with it.

This thread stays open for months for late additions, anyway :) (I'm nearly always late)

[Ken]

So I did eventually sit down and read this book. I enjoyed it despite it being very different from what I usually read. I can see this being a very enjoyable read for the younger end of the MG range for either boys or girls. I didn't find the writing to be particularly expressive, so I think some of that may have been lost in the translation to English. It was a nice combination of a sweet innocent story with some real tugs at the heart.

[Rebecca]

I read this in December, thanks to Jemima's review on her blog :) I really enjoyed it as just a fun read, with nothing *too* heavy going on, but some real feelings and real life stuff to cope with. Loved the kids' antics, with their inability to think through consequences!