The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the discussion thread for the Fall 2016 Group Read The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

As you all probably guessed from the review of this I did a while back, I really loved this book - and I can thank it for finally making me read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which was also brilliant. I hope you guys like Broken Wheel as much.

Since I don't do re-reads and since I have read all the selections, I will be sitting this task out. However, I do recommend this book for a fun read with well-developed characters and a love interest or two. Enjoy!

I may be the dissenting opinion, but I didn't think the characters were well developed. I thought Amy was the most realized and she was only present in her letters. The translation might have had something to do with that- I thought the language was flat. It was sweet and did champion the power of books and friendship, but it was pretty predictable.

I kind of agree with Dimrose's assessment. I liked in the end that the town sided with her, which can show to power of books and making friendships through books. I rated it 3 stars.

Julie L

I'm a bit on the fence with this one . I also rated it 3 stars , I liked the idea for the story and the fact that it centered a lot on books and reading , but the beginning of the book seemed a bit impersonal maybe ? I'm not sure how to describe it . Maybe a bit far-fetched as an opening, or something seemed to be lacking . Maybe it was hard to get to know the characters well ?

Good book, but not great .

I'm not re-reading it for this task (going with the ScandiCrime book), but as an Iowan who lives in the next county over from where this is set the characterizations of everyone except Amy run the gamut of pretty blah to stereotypical small town (town drunk, town busy-body, town loud-pub-owner-with-a-gun, town loner, etc). It's a lovely story about books and reading but isn't representative of Iowans at all.

Melissa
Maybe that's what was lacking in the story. The characters all seemed just like a set of run of the mill pretend people in any story. I didn't feel you got to know them well enough or couldn't really connect with them.

Wow! I felt so different when I read this book. Maybe I did suspend belief a bit about Sara's trip to Iowa, but, if you accept that, then it is not much further to find her in a town that is dying with a bunch of characters. And, Melissa, I would never assume any book set in Iowa was characteristic of the people any more than books set in North Carolina or New York. I mean, they are stories set in a place to aid the story. In this case, the setting represented being a long way from home in a "lost" place - kinda like Sara herself.

To me, this read as a cozy mystery would. Totally enjoyable and fun, but not a serious book.

" this read as a cozy mystery would. Totally enjoyable and fun, but not a serious book."

I agree with this. I thought it was very Harlequin romance. The ending was completely predictable from early on. I did end up giving it 4 stars because the latter third was better I thought.

This book definitely has some appeal as a bookish, sweet romance. However, I did not find it quite hit the mark for me overall. In terms of a small town setting and quirky characters I was hoping for more of a Fannie Flagg flavor, warmth and humor. There was a bit of humor at times, but mostly it was lacking or just slightly off. This is a translation from the original Swedish. It is a first novel for the author. Interesting choice for a Swedish writer to choose a small town in Iowa as a setting for her book.

I agree with all the comments above, and I gave it three stars too. A sweet romance, but the characters appeared for the most part 'cartoon' like - no real depth. I thought the couple Josh - Caroline was actually more interesting than the protagonists'. The author could have developed a bit more these characters earlier on in the book. All in all a good read though, very pleasant - for that reason I am tempted to add an extra star!

Lois wrote: "Interesting choice for a Swedish writer to choose a small town in Iowa as a setting for her book."

I thought that too. This interview with the author caught my eye, in case anyone's interested: http://www.bookweb.org/news/qa-katari...

Trish, that was an interesting article, particularly this Q & A:

"BTW: How did you approach making the town of Broken Wheel and its residents so authentic? Did you visit small-town America to observe its inner workings?

KB: Not at all. I didn’t want reality to intrude on my dream about small-town America. And after having spent a lifetime knowing the U.S. through books and television and movies, I had no idea where to start. In books I could visit any place I wanted, at any time, meeting real people and getting to know them in a way I never felt I could as a tourist just passing through. When I wrote The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, I had never even been to the U.S. Or, well, so people told me. Apparently books don’t count."

I had hoped that this would be more book oriented because of the title. I feared it would be more small town feel good romance. Unfortunately it was the latter. I am not by nature a gossip and don't like to hear it even if I don't know the people involved or that they exist only in the author's imagination. Thus much of this book required that I pay attention to information that was none of my business.

Being a reader, I appreciated the references to books in this novel, but the rest of the story was not my type. I don't read romances or chick-lit, and I think this is a book for someone who enjoys those genres. I thought it was going to be more about books instead of the gossip of small town life. I am disappointed in the novel, but the problem could be that I selected a book that isn't my type.

I liked the book but found parts of it not quite believable. I did like George. I also liked that Sara thought there was a book for everyone and tried to find one.

I'm sorry to say that I struggled with this one. Like other commentators above, I found the characters 2-dimensional and flat, making for a pretty boring read. The only thing that saved this for me was the references to other books - except it just made me want to put this one down and read something else!

I'm another who found this flat and predictable. Like Ava Catherine, I'm not a romance reader, so perhaps that was the problem (but this was my only choice that wasn't a reread).

And, since I didn't find the characters and story compelling, I had difficulty ignoring the practical issues I had with the book. I kept wondering, for instance, who actually owned Amy's property. I guess maybe Tom, assuming she didn't leave a will, but it all seemed pretty casual, for Sara to set up a bookstore and sell the books that had belonged to Amy. Not to mention a fairly foolish thing to do, considering her visa status - why not a community lending library or reading room or something?

I also thought the scenes in the immigration office were ludicrous.

I agree with most of the statements made here so far.

I had very high hopes for this one, but it just didn't measure up. I couldn't really get into the characters and I also wondered about the legal aspects of the book. I realize this is non-fiction, but those issues kept hitting me in the face. And, yes, the immigration office was an absolute joke. The comment about this making a good cozy mystery is the best one I've read so far about this book - a good, but not even a great, cozy mystery!! In the end, I'm not sure if Sara and Tom really loved each other or not.

Fortunately, there was enough book talk in this one for me to hang in there and finish it. In fact, I ended up giving it 3* mainly because of that.

*The GR synopsis compares Broken Wheel to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which is why I was drawn to this one. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is one of my 5* favorites and I wouldn't even begin to compare the two.

I think that the reason I enjoyed this book was because of how much Sara enjoyed books. I would have loved to see how face to face interaction with Amy would have played out in the story. Overall, I enjoyed the sense of community that one person could instill in their very small town, even though that probably would put a lot of pressure on one person to "save the town". And I will probably add Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe to my reading list, among some of the other books that were mentioned.

Overall I thought this was a fun story. It did require some suspension of disbelief, but I hadn't been planning to take this book too seriously anyway, so that was fine. At the very least it was good for some reading list recommendations.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun read. The book mentions all the books the main character read. The only thing is I thought the ending was too quickly wrapped up.

I am about three chapters in, and I am trying to figure out the ages of the two girls Amy and Sara?

I thought Sarah was in her 20's and Amy was like 70's.

Heather(Gibby) wrote: "I am about three chapters in, and I am trying to figure out the ages of the two girls Amy and Sara?"

I think Sara is probably closer to 30 ... at one point she says she worked for 10 years

And I think Amy was definitely elderly - 70s or even 80s.

I wanted to like this book, but I actually found it a bit boring. I felt like the author wanted to create these fun and quirky characters but she didn't succeed. As some of you says the characters were one-dimensional, and I didn't feel like I really got to know any of them.
I normally enjoy reading chick-lit, and a good chick-lit book either makes my laugh out loud or brings tears to my eyes if not both, but it just didn't happen with this one.

Reading this book kind of is reminding me of the movie "Fargo" at first it was just too quirky and one dimensional, but over time it grows on you.

I enjoyed listening to this one and I'm glad I chose audio. The letters came through well in that format. I don't often gravitate to lighter romances like this one and I chose it because I'd already read the other two books voted in. I did enjoy all the book references and theme. I would have liked more depth in the characters as others have mentioned, but I liked the basic plot and it kept me interested overall.

I thought this was a really sweet read. I love the idea that "there is a book out there for everyone". I related to Sara thoughts when she described struggling to read all the classics, and trying to read all those book that make a person "well read". Sara's relationship with books really resonated with me. This is all set against a small town full of quirky characters, I didn't really view this story as a romance, I think that part of the story was secondary to the theme of the magic of books.

What a lovely, cozy read! Wherein Sara's journey from Sweden to a little town in Iowa to meet her pen-pal, Amy, could lead to a new life, new love, and a new sense of belonging. I read this book while on vacation, and it was a perfect relax read for me - comforting, easy to read, and about books and book lovers. (view spoiler) There were no surprises, but sometimes it's nice to know what's coming.

Alexis wrote: "What a lovely, cozy read! Wherein Sara's journey from Sweden to a little town in Iowa to meet her pen-pal, Amy, could lead to a new life, new love, and a new sense of belonging. I read this book wh..."

Alexis ... the "link" to the spoiler doesn't work ....

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend – Katarina Bivald – 3***
Sara Lindqvist arrives in Broken Wheel IA to visit her pan pal Amy Harris. But Amy has died and the town’s residents invite Sara to stay on in Amy’s house, because that’s what Amy would want. At a loss, Sara decides to open a book shop with Amy’s books, and begins to change how the citizens feel about books, reading themselves and others. A sweet (if simplistic) fairy-tale story with a happy ending.
Full Review HERE

I have to agree with many of you who said this was a disappointing read. It was really simplistic, however, I did enjoy it.

My real problem was with the audio, however.

Fiona Hardingham and Lorelei King take turns performing the audiobook. While they are not specifically credited, I believe King voices Amy Harris’s letters to Sara, while Hardingham performs the rest (i.e. majority) of the story. I apologize if I have that backwards, because I had a real problem with whichever of these women was voicing the major part of the book. First she speaks in a British accent; she is perfectly understandable, but this story takes place in Iowa, shouldn’t the narrator be American? Or Swedish? When voicing Sara’s dialogue, she uses a Swedish accent (sounding remarkably like Katarina Bivald, whom I had the pleasure of hearing read at an author event); why not use that accent for the rest of the story? And then she gives every resident of Broken Wheel a Southern accent?! I wouldn’t mind if it were just one or two residents; people do move around in the USA and Southerners have made their homes in many a Midwestern or Great Plains state. But every single character? Just drove me crazy. So I give only 1 star for the audio narration.

I didn't enjoy this book. It is light and whimsical with an improbable movie script plot. Where was Amy's will? A total stranger can come to town and unilaterally start dispersing someone's estate? And why all the numerous spoilers for other books? I completely agree with the author's message about the joy of reading. Not my preferred style but l'm glad others are enjoying it.

D wrote: "I didn't enjoy this book. It is light and whimsical with an improbable movie script plot. Where was Amy's will? A total stranger can come to town and unilaterally start dispersing someone's estate?..."

Oh, I'm glad you mentioned the spoilers for other books. There were several times when she talked about a book and I'd comment aloud - Way to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet!

Book Concierge wrote: "Oh, I'm glad you mentioned the spoilers for other books. There were several times when she talked about a book and I'd comment aloud - Way to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet!"

And many of them weren't mild spoilers either! I remember the spoilers of Jane Eyre and The Horse Whisperer being especially egregious. I would suggest that readers check the list of books mentioned provided at the back of the book, so if there is a book they don't want spoiled, they will know to watch out. What were the author and editors thinking when they allowed all these spoilers?!

I didn't mind this book; I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to my family and friends, but if I saw they were reading it I wouldn't tell them they were wasting their time, however like D I would also tell them to check the list of books mentioned. I thought the book tried to be simple and charming, however the characters fell flat and I was incredibly annoyed with the author divulging major spoilers of other books.

This book was fine, not bad but not particularly memorable. It had a bit of humour, a bit of romance, a bit of character and a bit of a story. Not quite enough of any of those things to make it stand out. The central role that books played in the novel was the main highlight and the thing that made it worth reading. I gave it 3 stars.
I was also thinking that it would be fun to have a task next season based on reading a book recommended by The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend - there's already a listopia - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

Meg wrote: "I was also thinking that it would be fun to have a task next season based on reading a book recommended by The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend - there's already a listopia - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8..."

Sounds like a great idea.

I personally really enjoyed it - gave it 4 stars - but I wasn't blown away by it like some of the people I know were. I enjoyed Sara as a character, mainly because she's pretty much me, but did wish we could get more glimpses of Amy. Overall, a read that I'm not hurt that I read but that I probably won't read again.

Thanks for the heads up on the spoilers in the book and for posting the link to the list of books. I have an ARC that doesn't have the book list in it.

It's strange. I didn't really think of them as spoilers - more a temptation to read the books in question. But I guess they would be counted as that.

I was also surprised that the author seemed to be recommending certain books and then blithely revealed critical plot points. I agree that immigration investigators don't respond to applications that quickly and the review process isn't that relaxed. It was bizarre that every small business owner in town continued to pay rent and utilities and other expenses when they weren't making any money. And difficult to believe that a skittish woman could be ogled by a window full of staring, partying people and neither see nor sense them over a period of five hours and thirty seven minutes (and that two grade schoolers lasted that 5 1/2 hours and that no one freaked out that her kids were 5 1/2 hours late from school even in a rural small town). However, I didn't dislike the book as much as I expected to.

Jonquil wrote: "I was also surprised that the author seemed to be recommending certain books and then blithely revealed critical plot points. I agree that immigration investigators don't respond to applications th..."

lol. yep, I had the same problem with a lot of it, but it was an enjoyable fluff read (along the lines of Brigit Jones Diary) and I really enjoyed the book reference parts.
It apparently didn't irk me as much as some people, but I looked at it as pure fiction and therefore it didn't have to make sense and once in awhile happily ever after is a nice place to visit for awhile for me :-)

My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I gave this book 3 stars but like others have mentioned I did not fee that the characters were very well developed. I also found it unlikely that a town would adopt a stranger from abroad just because a town member had befriended her in a series of letters. I did like all of the references to other books and the idea that there is a book for everyone. Just an average book for me.

I gave this book a 3.5 stars. It was okay. I read it for what it was-as a nice, fluffy read especially after coming out of reading two 600+ page books in a row.
Like the majority in this discussion I took issue with some of the plot (as D said, in reality someone would get into serious trouble just taking another persons property) and also felt a lot of the characters were lacking, especially Caroline the Martyr and Grace the Wannabe.
I agree with Trish about the spoilers of the books, this prompted me to want to read books more than anything. I think it helped though that i've read most of the books with major spoilers mentioned.

I really wanted to like this book but just couldn’t look beyond the things that bugged me, all of which have been mentioned in other comments. From the shallow characters to the awkward dialogue (at least partially due to the translation, I suspect) to the implausible details: Sara reading for hours in the store window without being aware of the crowd watching her, the way no one will ever let her buy anything, all the scenes with the immigration agent, etc. Someone mentioned the book had been compared to the wonderful “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”. I agree – no comparison.

The no-one letting her buy anything actually isn't that implausible. I visited friends from the internet in Philly/Maryland a few years back and no-one would let me buy anything no matter how hard i tried!

I also saw the comparisons to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (an all-time favourite), and I think this raised my expectations too high. I came out with a 3.5 rating.

I didn't mind the spoilers for other books as I had read most of them and wasn't interested in reading the others, and it did bring that feeling of recognition - that "oh yes, I remember that" moment.

I can hardly mind about spoilers as the first thing I did with the library book was open it to the back to see how many pages long it was - and read the last few sentences, thus thoroughly "spoiling" the book for myself. Although the ending was inevitable even if I hadn't already read it; I think the enjoyment was in seeing how the characters got there.