The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
by Katarina Bivald
Hardcover,
376 pages
Chatto and Windus, September 4, 2013
5 stars

Bookish people like books about bookish people.

We like books with sly and overt references to other books.  It makes us feel special when we recognize them and nod our heads to agree, or shake our heads to totally disagree.

I especially enjoyed the setting of this book.  I'm a small town girl, and Bivald captures the heart of a small town with all its sweet and sour notes.  There are certainly benefits to having people who have known you forever, and as Sara also learns, there is sometimes a beautiful freedom in reinventing yourself among strangers. 

I do like the comparisons of this book to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, as well as The Storied Life of A.J. Fickry . This sweet bookish book does a beautiful job portraying a town that appears to be dying - but with the infusion of a new visitor, book store and busy-bodies determined to mind everyone's business but their own - a new life is infused in the town and its residents.  Part of the beauty of this book is the very real portrayal of a young European woman in a conservative small town.  Things like overt homophobia are addressed in realistic ways, and I applaud how  Bivald deftly blends the concepts of expanding humanity and love with the expansion of literaracy.

This was a fantastic book, fun to read, and easy to love the characters. Loved it!

(I received an advanced copy from Sourcebooks via Net Galley in exchange for an unbiased review.)

Drink pairing is a shot (or 3?) of whiskey.  Because sometimes it's ok to stumble when you get off your stool.  

Cheers!  Karli

This book was just released in January here in the US, and the publisher has shared the following information!

READERS, RECOMMEND YOUR BOOKSTORE!

Sourcebooks Launches Reader Voting Campaign to Grant Money to Community Bookstores

NAPERVILLE IL (January 5, 2016) — Independent publisher Sourcebooks announces the “Readers, Recommend Your Bookstore” campaign, which will give grant money to three nominated bookstores. The “Readers, Recommend Your Bookstore Campaign” is inspired by the phenomenal support booksellers have given The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald, which was selected as the #1 Indie Next Great Read for January 2016. 

Katarina Bivald’s international bestselling debut novel, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, is a charming, big-hearted story about the joy of books and the transformative power of community bookstores. 

“Bookstores are the heart and soul of their community and have enormous impact on readers’ lives,” said Dominique Raccah, founder and CEO of Sourcebooks. “The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend inspired us to create a campaign that will not only give back to a few deserving bookstores, but hopefully highlight all the many wonderful bookstores that service communities across the country.”

Anyone can nominate their favorite bookstore at http://books.sourcebooks.com/readers-recommend-your-bookstore-sweepstakes/. Sourcebooks will award the winning bookstore with a $3,000 prize; two additional bookstores will each receive a $637 prize (the population of Bivald’s fictional Broken Wheel, Iowa). In addition to bookstores receiving prizes, weekly giveaways for those who nominate will be held throughout the campaign. Voting began January 4, and runs until February 19, when the winning bookstores will be announced.