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I wouldn‘t want to take over a bookstore from my pen pal who died right before I arrived from another country for a visit, but it would be fun to have a store of my own for a while. I‘d call it This and That Books. It would be somewhere in a medium sized city or the suburbs, maybe New York or California? I‘d sell new and old books, journals, bookmarks, tea, candles, etc. and would specialize in mysteries. Maybe foster a cat? #wondrouswednesday

Adding to the “books about books” section of my bookshelf. This was actually an ARC that someone donated to the library, and I got for $2. Never seen one before! Sara comes to Broken Wheel, Iowa, from Sweden to meet her elderly pen pal. She arrives on day of Amy‘s funeral, but the rest of the citizens of the small town don‘t want her to go. A bibliophile, Sara decides to open up a book store. While tropey at times, I‘m happy to add it to my shelf.

🎶🎵On the third day of #12BooksOf2022 my book log gave to me… My favorite book of March 2022!
@Andrew65

It was, in many ways, her dream bookshop. Not least because all the books had already been read. Books that had already been read were the best.

Never live your life according to the idiots‘ rules. Because they‘ll drag you down to their level, they‘ll win, and you‘ll have a damned awful time in the process

This was a delightful story! Warm and funny and hopeful. And books played a central role. Right up my alley!

This was my #DoubleSpin for March.

The match with #FragileSprout may be a bit of a stretch for #Pantone2022 , since it's not the main cover color, but I thought the flourishes we're a perfect match.

Set in #Iowa for #RoadTripUSA2022, and is # 8 in my #22booksin22 TBR Reduction Mission!

@TheAromaofBooks @Clwojick @megnews @jb72

To be honest, I didn‘t get very far in this one before deciding not to finish. About a Scandinavian woman who travels to middle-of-nowhere Iowa to meet her book loving pen pal, I think it‘s one that at a different time could be a fun, easy read, but right now was just not that time for me. Originally written in Swedish, I could definitely be underselling this one. If you‘ve read it, let me know in the comments!

⭐⭐⭐💫 This book tells the story of a Swedish woman named Sara who comes to visit her pen pal, Amy, in the small town of Broken Wheel, IA. After arriving, she finds that Amy is dead. The plot follows Sara making a book store and becoming beloved by the town. Having grown up in small town IA myself, there were parts of the setting that felt unrealistic to me. The author did clearly do some research into Iowa geography, though.

Continued below 👇

I'm not a fan of the term ? "chick lit," but I agree with the sentiment! Give me all the Sophie Kinsella and keep away all the books edited and published by men who want to use stereotypes to sell books.

Pretty much what I expected, this book is kind of fluffy, even though it‘s got a sad tone too.

I enjoyed it as a light read, but I don‘t expect to retain much of it for long.

Small town Iowa, Sarah is visiting from Sweden. Circumstances lead to her opening a small bookstore and trying to help the townsfolk find a love of reading. There‘s romance as well. Cute but predictable.

#readingthestates2021 #Iowa

This book would have been a bail for me, but it was the book club pick (and I‘m super diligent about finishing all book club books), so I DID finish it! Overall, this was totally not my cup of tea, the plot felt unbelievable and there were way too many characters. About halfway through I just decided to kind of “let go” and then I enjoyed it more. There were definitely some funny parts. But overall, not for me.

Finished this cozy read off my TBR late yesterday. I had hoped for a bit more flair to it, but at least it tried being progressive. The story is utterly illogical but who cares!? #12colohrsofchristmas

This is a fivefold #SelfieScavangerHunt sitting in my favorite reading spot in front of mum&dad‘s fireplace (which my dad has forbidden to light because it‘s too close to...) the christmas tree and festive light‘s with a mellow holiday feel-good book! +76 for #ReadNosedReindeer

I have been saving this book, because I knew I would love it. It‘s about a girl who loves books and the books she loves. And how she saves a small town with her book love. And how the town saves her. I had a dream that I opened my own bookshop and I called it The Book Bank. Like a food bank, but for people who are hungry for knowledge. I loved this book as much as I thought I would. Perfect comfort read.

I‘m gonna dnf this since I‘m not that into it unfortunately

What I‘m reading now 😊

Fun fun fun!

FEATURING: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katrina Bivald

Sara came to Broken Wheel, Iowa, ​from Sweden ​to meet her pen pal, Amy, but what she found when she arrived wasn't what she was expecting.

THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL is a gem and a book that is perfect for a change of pace as well as a treasure for any book lover.

FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/y384dwm7

@katarinabivald
@Sourcebooks

Miss Molly has been enjoying this quiet day, too.

Finished the tagged this afternoon. Sara travels to Broken Wheel only to learn her pen pal has died. She ends up staying in town and getting to know the people. Broken Wheel is a dying town, with little reason for anyone to stay, but Sara has more reason to stay than to go back home. And the town needs her, too, so they concoct to have her marry a local.

#translated from Swedish

Newly unemployed Sara arrives, intending to spend 2 months with her pen pal, Amy, only to learn Amy has died. Sara finds herself staying in Amy‘s house and the subject of curiosity in a town of 630. One thing she knows: the people of Broken Wheel need books. And Amy had a lot of books.

How could it be possible to have traveled thousands of miles and still be the same person when you arrived?

This. This really burns my biscuit. For the love of all things, why would you put a tag on a readable page!!!! (I get it, you put it where people won't want to just rip it out because it will ruin the book, but ugh, come on!!!!) #petpeeve

I think I have the unpopular opinion of really liking this book. What I liked most about it was the atmosphere it created. I really felt I was in a quirky little town with all its eccentric residents each experiencing life in their own unique way. Reading this book - it felt like home: comfortable, warm, and kind of crazy.

This is one of those charming books full of quirky but lovable characters that warm the heart.

After exchanging letters (mostly about books) Sara travels from Sweden to a small town in Iowa, America to meet her pen pal Amy only to discover that she has past away. The town is on the verge of disappearing but the townfolk take Sara under their wings.

A book about a bookstore: COOL
A book that mentions several other books: REALLY COOL
A book that spoils the plots of other books: NOT COOL
A book with two-dimensional characters: NO WAY COOL
A book with off-the-wall plausibility: MAY BE COOL BUT NEVER COULD BE COOL IF IT AIN‘T DONE COOL

Why did I read it? BECAUSE IT WAS ABOUT A BOOKSTORE and like I said THAT‘S ALWAYS COOL!😎
Oh, also it was a book club selection so I had no choice.

There's a quote on the cover of the book that absolutely nails my opinion of it.

"One of those books you want to live in for a little while."

An adorable, romantic comedy fiction. I loved the characters and I loved the antics. A feel good book for any season but fits the vibes of a Christmas Hallmark movie. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Currently listening to this book and it's such a true statement!!

Book club reading on a Saturday morning before the family finds their way to the kitchen to inquire about breakfast.🥞🥓🍳
Just starting this book...it is a quaint story filled with small town living. I think that I‘m going like being here experiencing an old-fashioned sentiment.

A bit slow for my taste, but a great cast of characters. They were a bit frustrating at times and the plot felt a little too drawn out. I can see why it‘d be a favorite for people but just a 3/5 stars for me.

On the subject of student reading lists: “The real crime of these lists isn‘t that they leave deserving books off them, but that they make people see fantastic literary adventures as obligations.”

So far, so good. Only about 75 pages in but this is normally when I decide to DNF a book or not and I‘m definitely going to keep going. The characters are a little indistinguishable to me at this point so hopefully they sort themselves out in my head, but I‘m intrigued to see what Sara does to this little town!

Hewo~ I'm new here and I need to ask a favor to you... Pls recommend me books

In preference recommend books with a motivational or philosophical message

This sounds like such a cute bookstore book I had to buy it!!

Sara was determined to make the town of Broken Wheel a town of readers.

THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL is a gem and a book that is perfect for a change of pace as well as a treasure for any book lover.

I truly enjoyed the small town of Broken Wheel and its quirky, caring residents.

♥️ A favorite of 2015 for me. ♥️

FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/y384dwm7

🐝Book Buzz🐝: Fun, light read--perfect for summer!

Ah I liked this.
Not my usual type of book but thoroughly heart warming and romantic!
Now I need to move there!
It reminded me of A Man Called Ove and the others in that series.

This was recommended on Litsy and I'm looking forward to starting this morning :)

6 books for £1!!!! Then I'll have 12!
And so the to read pile grows...

Like A Man Called Ove, this will live in your heart forever. Sara arrives in Broken Wheel from Sweden to visit Amy, who has just died. She stays, and looks to repay the townsfolk‘s kindness. She does it with books ❤️ Before long, she has changed the town, and they can‘t bear for her to leave. Shenanigans ensue🙂
This is about how books change people, relationships, & the world. And how everything changes when you change one thing.

Oh, how I wanted to love this book. So much potential but the poor writing, the cast of ill defined, indistinguishable characters and omg book spoilers force me to pan this one. Ugh.

I did like Sarah and her reflections on reading but the wacky hijinks of the town were a bridge too far.

This is the feeling I had the first time I was in Powell‘s 😓

Good book club choice.

A great rom-com story. If you need a happy read, this is a good one. Reminded me of Leap Year with Amy Adams and a mix of When You Were Sleeping and The Proposal with Sandra Bullock. 😊😊

Enjoying sitting outside tonight! Still finding out what the readers of Broken Wheel are recommending while sipping on a Pelee Lighthouse Riesling. 👍😊 Hubbie's beer is Czechvar.

So my audio borrow expired and others were waiting, so I'll finish with my paper copy. It was a very good audio!

This is going well in audio for me!

A good read, not great, but good. Pacing was a bit slow and it ended and I was like, “wait... what happened to [characters that seemed to fall off the face of the planet]”. A solid 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A cloudy, blah day, but a beautiful sunset tonight 🥰 Bring on those summer sunsets!! 🌅🌄🌆☀️