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I thought this was going to be a cuddly, feel-good book, but it was actually pretty intense--in a good way. I was completely engrossed in the town and the behavior of its characters. The novel goes out of its way to point out the misogyny that is an integral part of many boys' sports teams and the consequences of that. It is not for the faint of heart. This book is a roller-coaster. I thought it was excellent.

It‘s very delicately and cleverly handled – Backman has remarkably accurate insight into the psychology and perspective of teenage girls. It‘s all too rare for a male writer, and he should be applauded for doing it and doing it well. And as much as Beartown feels like a departure from the rest of his oeuvre, there are still a few moments of classic Backman. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/beartown-fredrik-backman/

“The only thing the sport gives us are moments. But what the hell is life, Peter, apart from moments?"

Hockey #Teams #SchoolSpirit

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#SchoolSpirit #Sports

Loved this when I read it I didn‘t review it at the time so I‘m just trying to update everything while I wasn‘t posting … I‘m so happy to be back to my normal postings on Litsy 🥰

First read of 2024 and one off of my #24in2024 stack. After a glacially slow start, this became a much more emotional read. I didn‘t love it as much as many other Littens have but I still pulled the sequel off of my shelves so that I can see what happens to these characters next. A light pick.

I tried to get the reflections from my Christmas lights to make this a more festive photo, but alas, a filter will have to do! Thank you, @Marmie7 - what a perfect #jolabokaflodswap2023 package to celebrate with! 🥹💖 And thank you as ever to @MaleficentBookDragon for organizing! Hope you‘re all having a beautiful day! 💖

I absolutely loved this book. It had me gripped to the end. A great family drama, the characters were all great. I can't wait to read the next two books.

Definite pick! Stayed up until 4:00 AM finishing it. Think “Friday Night Lights“ with hockey. But way darker. Looking forward to watching the HBO series soon.

Starting this one today!! Have a great week, everyone!!

PosiTEA morning message.
#bepositivethinkpositive

Definitely a triggering book but also such a good read. This is my 2nd Bachman book & I love his writing. I like how he examines the emotions & thoughts of his characters from each perspective (whether you agree with them or not). He really does make you think about the experiences that make up people‘s lives. I am looking forward to see how the rest of the story plays out in the next two books. #bookspin book

#RushAThon @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

I thought I would love this book and it had a lot of important things to say. Yet I just couldn't get into it. There were too many POVs and the plot was super slow. The prose was awesome though. Still I was more than 1/3 in when I bailed. I tried but just couldn't make myself finish.

A star hockey player rapes a girl; the town divides (very unevenly) as to who is telling the truth…because the rape affects whether Beartown will win the national championship. Many residents believe the allegation was motivated to prevent the team from winning. The book dissects the gut-wrenching view from a huge cast of characters. Trigger warnings abound. This is a dark, dark book and takes readers to a despairing place so beware. But as with⬇️

Assembly is so slow. Those little “joyeux” were crazy difficult to cut, dye, and affix to the shimmer and then cut the shimmer to match. Going a little cross-eyed with it. Card bottom left is the only one I‘ve finished. And of course this book is very dark. #litsylove #foodandlit #Sweden @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Catsandbooks

I‘m starting to assemble the pieces for Christmas cards for #litsylove while listening to the tagged book

 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I‘m assembling the last set of cards for #naturalitsycardswap. Those pine cones are quite the challenge! Listening to the tagged book while I work on these. @TheBookHippie @AllDebooks @Chrissyreadit @jenniferw88 #foodandlit #Sweden @Catsandbooks

I‘ve started this audiobook slightly early for #foodandlit #Sweden. @Catsandbooks

Fredrik Backman is a favorite author of mine, so I went into this audio book blind not know what it was about. It was a tough listen, but I felt like he surprisingly captured a really hard subject from several women‘s perspectives which can be hard for a male to do. Important themes of family, teams and community!

Atmospheric & gut wrenching. It took a bit for me to get hooked on the story, as someone who has watched and likes hockey, but isn‘t a “fan”. However, that hockey background was necessary to understand the depth of its importance to this town. There are so many characters that it was hard to keep them straight, but by the end of this book I felt like I knew them. All the feels - this book made me smile, cry and rage. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 /5 #serieslove2023

It took me forever to read this book even though it was extremely well written and the town and the characters leapt off the page. I am just so tired of a world where this seems common place.

Started this on audio last night. ❤️📚 #serieslove2023

A slow start, but a really insightful story about relationships and our instinct to protect ourselves and those we love, sometimes at the expense of what is good or right.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

1. Yes! I played softball and volleyball in college. I love watching them as well as basketball, football, baseball and gymnastics.

2. I‘ve read a lot of sports/athletes NF & memoirs but when asked about a book with a sport, I always say Beartown! Then I tell them to read all of the Beartown books 🤓

1. Ummmmm does gymnastics count? And ice skating? I love the Olympic competitions for those 😊 But me? Too clumsy for sports 😂😂
2. Tagged book was amazing!
Thanks, Randy, for the tag! @The_Penniless_Author #twofortuesday @TheSpineView

Not as much as I wanted to accomplish for my #BookSpinBingo but not too bad overall. I did have some great reread this month. I got one bingo this month, I completed both my #BookSpin and #DoubleBookSpin for the month. I also started catching up on my friends pick. Best book of the month was Malevolent Seven, worst book was The Between, and the books that gave me the most feels this month were BearTown and I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings.

I have mixed feelings about this book. But I‘ll give it a pick since I fought my desire to bail. It‘s a good story, a devastating story. It‘s a slow burn (maybe a little too slow at times ☺️), but I think the complex relationships and storylines deserve that. Sometimes we make something (sports/grades) too important and we lose sight of what actually matters: human beings. May‘s Double #BookSpin

4.6⭐️ my emotions are frazzled. I almost did not finish this book, not because it wasn‘t good, but it was kind of triggering for me. My heart hurts, I guess that‘s really all I can say right now. Super good book and in my humble opinion, worth the read.

"Late one evening toward the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barrelled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else's forehead, and pulled the trigger."

This sounds really dark to me and prohibitive. But since it's Fredrick Bachman and is a well-loved book I will give it a chance.

Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds. Every day can mark a whole lifetime or a single heartbeat, depending on who you spend it with.

You either love or hate Fredrik‘s writing style. I love it! It‘s truly an experience for the readers. The only reason this book isn‘t getting 5 stars is because it was agonizingly slow in the beginning for me. There‘s a lot of characters and he was introducing them all properly while also explaining the dynamic in Beartown, so I get it, but there was a lot of hockey talk. And then you realize the story isn‘t about hockey at all, and it‘s so good.

“You never have the sort of friends you have when you‘re fifteen ever again. Even if you keep them for the rest of your life, it‘s never the same as it was then.” #nostalgia

I reread #Beartown and #UsAgainstThem by #FredrikBackman yesterday, for the first time since 2019 (when I also visited Stockholm), and today I found the Swedish original in a bookstore at the Centralstation 🇸🇪. I also saw a lot of other Swedish translation, and I really hated the covers. Apparently, they like real people on the covers 🙃.

#holiday #bookstore #sweden

**sob** I loved it all. A slow build told with agonizing and steadfast heartbreak. Friendship, loyalty, family, love. All will be tested. Are there any winners? Bang.

@CollapsingLibrary I must know. Book 2 on hold.

What a first line!

Finally, I‘m going to hear what the fuss is all about! 😀

Very excited to start this after a very. long. wait.

I'm giving this a soft pick. It was not earth-shattering new but it did have a quirky cast of characters and I was entertained while I read it. I'm not sure exactly what didn't resonate with me at the time of reading so I will give this series another go with the next book. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

Title #WithATown 🏒 #TemptingTitles ☔️🌸💜

#BookNerd 🤓📚💙

A story about a small town set in a forest. An ice rink is the hub of the small community. The junior hockey team is taking part in a national semi final and trying to put the town on the map. One violent act leaves a family in turmoil. Accusations are thrown and the town becomes divided.
I did like this book and the way Backman developed the characters was very real. But rotating characters within the same chapter took me a while to get used to.

My weekend read. Hope it‘s as good as everyone says 📚

Though I have read/listened to most of Backman‘s other books, the hockey focus here always turned me off- but when the publisher invited me to read the third book in this trilogy AND my book club picked it to discuss, I knew I had to first read the first two books first. And I ended up being totally enraptured by the story of this whole town! The large cast size does slow things down in the beginning, but by the end, I couldn‘t put it down!

I am so sad that I waited so long to read this. I wish I would have listened more closely when people said it‘s about a hockey town, and not heard it‘s about hockey. Because it‘s about high schoolers and relationships and betrayal and parents and trust and belief. Please do check TW and even though it crosses into painful places, ultimately this book is beautifully about human beings and the hurt we cause but also the healing.

Cannot put it down!!
Looking forward to the sequels. 😍😍😍
Fredrik Bachman has become my favorite author.

#Two4Tuesday
Thank you for the tag, @TheSpineView

❄️ Snow, cold weather, shorter days, reading by the fireplace with a hot beverage & a soft blanket

❄️❄️ I have 2. Beartown & Winter Garden

Want to play @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @dabbe @BennettBookworm ?

I bought the books in this trilogy all out of order, but I finally nabbed book 1. First I love Backman and second, I‘ll need it for #Sweden for #foodandlit in December (again with the planning ahead). Will also work for #serieslove2023

😳 wow, even better than expected 🐻 🏒 🇸🇪