Once again, I’m joining Modern Mrs Darcy’s Quick Lit link-up where readers share short and sweet reviews of what they’ve been reading lately. It’s been two months since I last shared what I’ve been reading, and it’s been vacation time with plane rides and down time, so I’ve had a chance to read quite a few titles. Luckily, all of them were worth finishing this time.

Did you know that August is Women in Translation Month? I just learned that this month. I seized the opportunity to add some female authors in translation to my reading list.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (translated from Swedish by Henning Koch)

This was on my TBR list for a long time, but I was waiting for the audiobook (narrated by George Newbern) which was highly recommended by so many people. It didn’t disappoint. Ove was an interesting character and I had no idea what he was actually trying to do when I started reading the book. But really, my favorite character was his new nextdoor neighbor Parvaneh from Iran, pregnant mother of two young children who was married to the Swede Patrick. It’s a heartwarming story of a disconnected little community who come together over time. I actually shed a few happy tears at the end.

Bienes historie by Maja Lunde

I was quickly hooked on this Norwegian book (which will be available to English readers August 22, 2017, entitled The History of Bees translated by Diane Oatley). It’s a look at the role of bees in the past, present, and future from the perspective of a family in each of those time periods, and over time their stories intersect. The first storyline takes place in England in the mid-1850s when beehives are being improved, the second one in USA in 2007 when there is an increase in the number of colony collapse disorders happening, and the last one in China in 2098 when humans have had to resort to hand-pollination due to the total collapse of bees. I highly recommend it, and it will be out just in time to read for Women in Translation Month!

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham

This was our book club’s latest read. It was very good! I highly recommend it. It’s a historical novel about the Tulsa race riot of 1921. It jumps back and forth between today and then, and the stories slowly but surely intersect. There were some difficult parts to read that required me to take a deep breath first or put the book down for a moment before continuing, but it was a great book and very discussion-worthy. I also enjoy books that introduce me to periods of time or events that are new to me, which the Tulsa race riot certainly was.

Eva’s Eye by Karin Fossum (translated from Norwegian by James Anderson)

In honor of Women in Translation Month, I chose to read a book in translation by Norway’s “Queen of Crime.” I read the first in the Inspector Sejer Mysteries series. I liked Inspector Sejer, a middle-aged and mild-mannered detective. The crime being investigated was interesting. But I wasn’t a fan of the style of writing. I wonder if something got lost in translation or maybe it was because it was a British translation. Also, I didn’t really like Eva, the woman of interest in the story. But, I am not giving up on Fossum. I will certainly read another in the series, probably book #5, The Indian Bride translated by Charlotte Barslund, which received Los Angeles Times’ Mystery Prize in 2007.

Good as Gone by Amy Gentry

This was my “book with a reputation for being un-put-down-able” for Modern Mrs Darcy’s 2017 reading challenge “Reading for Fun.” It certainly kept me turning the pages. I was eager to find out the truth behind the story of the girl who was kidnapped from her bedroom and the story of the girl who returns eights years later appearing to be that kidnapped girl. It’s a book with multiple storylines, in this case the different identities of the girl who shows up at different points in time, and I had a bit of a hard time keeping track of it all, maybe because it was suspenseful and I was reading too fast. Overall, though, an interesting read. I can’t say fun or entertaining, though, due to the trauma the kidnapped girl suffered.

Honolulu by Alan Brennert

I picked this book up on the fly while vacationing in Hawaii. I was between books and thought it would be fun to read one that took place where I was. I became quickly engrossed in the story and was thrilled with my pick. It’s the story of a Korean picture bride who came to Hawaii in 1914 hoping for a better life. It turned out not to be what she was expecting at all, but she was strong, determined, and resilient and made a life for herself. It was a fascinating immigrant story about a time and place I was not familiar. I loved learning about the history of the area I was visiting, and when people and places were mentioned in the book, I had some familiarity since I had been there.

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

I wasn’t a great fan on Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train, but I had heard this book was liked by people who hadn’t liked the first one, so I gave it a try. Yes, it was better, but it didn’t blow me away. I felt there were too many characters and storylines to keep track of. Now that the book is over and a couple of months have passed, I can’t even remember clearly what the main plot line and resolution were.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

This was my “book about books and reading” for Modern Mrs Darcy’s 2017 reading challenge “Reading for Fun.” It’s another tale of what happens when unexpected people come into your life and make an impact, like in A Man Called Ove, and it also happens to be about a grumpy man with a sad backstory, just like Ove. But this one is about books and a bookstore as well which make it very different. It was a sweet story.

Currently reading and next on my list…

Since Women in Translation Month is still going on until the end of August, I’m reading Ayse Kulin’s Last Train to Istanbul, translated from Turkish by John W. Baker, which has been patiently waiting on my kindle for a few months now. I am also slowly but surely making my way through Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist: Essays for Modern Mrs Darcy’s 2017 reading challenge “Reading for Growth.” The next read for my local book club is Pachinko by Min Jin Lee which I’m really looking forward to after reading Honolulu about Korea’s picture brides of the 1910s. My Scandinavian Book Group resumes in October, and our first read is Echoes from the Dead, a crime novel by Johan Theorin translated from Swedish by Marlaine Delargy. I’ve got a great variety of books ahead of me, don’t you think?

Have you joined the Women in Translation reading event this month? Consider adding a Norwegian woman in translation to your reading list. Check out my post Norwegian Women in Translation for WITmonth for ideas.

What have you been reading lately?

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