Tag Archives: children’s lit

What I’ve Been Reading Lately & #WITmonth (August 2024)

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Welcome to another round of “What I’ve Been Reading Lately” when I enjoy linking up with other readers. My focus these past summer months was the reading challenge at work. Luckily, in August I had two 5-hour flights for uninterrupted reading which helped with completing that challenge. All of the books this month checked off a box (or more) for that challenge. I tried as much as I could to choose books that crossed over with other reading challenges, but with less success than I had hoped. I did complete all the prompts, though not with unique books.

August was Women in Translation Month so I made sure to support that initiative again this year. Since I read books by women in translation all year, I try to find new original languages and points of view to read in August. This August I read a novel translated from the Catalan with multiple unusual narrators which was a nice change of pace.

For September and the next months, I am refocusing on my Nordic Reading Challenge and the Read Around the World and Diversity Across Genres challenges as well as participating in the Norwegian #sakprosaseptember challenge where we read nonfiction (sakprosa means nonfiction) books that correspond to various prompts (with English translation).

What have you been reading lately? 

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953) 📖

I found this 1984 edition on my shelf at my parents’ home. I believe I read it back then, but I didn’t have any recollection of details from the book. It was like reading a new-to-me book. I definitely enjoyed (re)reading the book because references and comparisons are often still made to it. Another interesting aspect of reading it is that Ray Bradbury lived in our neighborhood for years until his death in 2012. When his house was later sold and torn down, the new owners installed a gate with words from his writing to honor his legacy which I frequently pass by. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: A classic AND a book about books, bookstores, or book clubs
  • Read My Own Shelf

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (2021) 📖

I really enjoyed Emily Henry’s Beach Read (Reading Lately, July 2023), but unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by this one. I loved the idea of Poppy and Alex’s friendship and the travels around the world they did together on a yearly basis, but I think there were too many trips going on. The main trip is the road trip to Palm Springs after 2 years of being separated after something “big” happened on their last trip. While the Palm Springs trip is happening, the story jumps back in time to previous trips leading up to the one that disrupted their friendship. And I felt the resolution to their relationship dragged a bit. (And too bad their planned trip to Norway didn’t work out!) ⭐️⭐️⭐

  • Summer Reading Challenge: A road trip book

When I sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà (2019) 📖
Translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem (2022)

There wasn’t just one unusual narrator in this book but several, and together they told an immersive story of life in a present-day village in the Pyrenees mountains of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. The story unfolds through a series of interconnected narratives, each providing a very different perspective on the village’s collective experience. Starting with storm clouds and continuing with witches, mushrooms, a deer, mountains, and of course some human narrators and even a pet dog, the reader is immersed in this village’s life. I was surprised by how engaged I was in this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: A book with an unusual narrator AND a book by a woman in translation
  • Book Voyage: Read Around the World: Europe (Spain)
  • #WomenInTranslationMonth

Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros (2023) 🎧📖

This was a fun read, especially since so many others around me had recently read it or were reading it at the same time. I never would have thought I’d read and be so engaged in a high fantasy novel about “the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders”, but the trials and tribulations of the strong and independent Violet who never imagined herself there, her fellow cadets, and the commanding officers kept me turning the page. A note, if you are sensitive to the F-word, this book is not for you. Book #2 is on my TBR for when I need another read for pure entertainment. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: Romantasy AND a big book AND a book “everyone” has read

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (2022) 📖🎧

This is the story of two estranged siblings who reunite in California after their mother’s death. She had left them a voice recording to listen to together along with a black cake to eat together when “the time is right.” Their mother, born on an unnamed Caribbean island to a Black local woman and a Chinese immigrant man, shocks the siblings with the news that they have a half sister and she shares the story of her life growing up on the island and being forced to leave, of which they had no knowledge. Her story takes us from the island to the UK and USA, and interspersed with her story are those of the three siblings. There’s a lot going on here – many characters, many points of view, many issues – all of which kept me totally engaged in the story.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: A book written by a BIPOC author AND a debut book
  • Book Voyage: Read Around the World: North America (Caribbean Island)
  • Read My Own Shelf: unread BOTM selection

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good (Elderly Lady #1) by Helene Tursten (2013)
Translated from the Swedish by Marlaine Delargy (2018) 📖

This collection of short stories features Maud, an 88-year old woman who lives alone and, due to a technicality in the contract from way back then, rent-free in her family’s spacious apartment in Gothenburg, Sweden. She is still agile and totally with it, unless she finds it beneficial to pretend she isn’t. When someone or something is causing a problem and threatening her lifestyle, she has no problem resorting to murder. It’s supposed to be a “funny, irreverent story collection” but it didn’t quite land with me.

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà Lại (2011) 📖

This is a middle grade novel-in-verse about 10-year-old Hà who is forced to flee Saigon, Vietnam, with her mother and brothers when the city falls in 1975. It is based in part on the author’s own childhood. After travel on board a navy ship and time at refugee camps in Guam and Florida, they ended up in Alabama, a world so challenging and different from anything she had known. She struggled with the language, bullies, friends, and everything she missed from Vietnam. Family and friendly people did make it easier over time. It was a completely absorbing read and gave interesting insight into a refugee experience — all in verse which was impressive! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Summer Reading Challenge: A book from a past school reader list
  • #DiversityAcrossGenres: Asian (API) / Historical Fiction

What have you been reading lately?

Disclaimer: AVikingInLA is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (June 2024)
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately & Another Virtual Book Event (June 2020)
  3. My 10 Favorite Books for Women in Translation Month #WITmonth

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (February 2024)

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Welcome to another round of “What I’ve Been Reading Lately.” I normally try to get this out mid-month, but I needed a couple of more days to wrap it up this time. I continue to move forward without a 2024 iteration of my yearly Scandinavian/Nordic reading challenge, but I aim to have something in place by the end of March.

In the meantime, I’m motivated by challenges I’ve already committed to, in particular the #DiversityAcrossGenres reading challenge, and reading off my own shelf which certainly includes Scandinavian books. Continue reading →

Related posts:

  1. Introducing the 2021 #ScandiReadingChallenge
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (May 2023)
  3. Introducing Reading Challenge 2023: Nordic Literature

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (August 2022) & #WITmonth Wrap-Up

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I continue to join Modern Mrs Darcy’s Quick Lit where we share short and sweet reviews of what we’ve been reading lately.

For me, August was all about reading women in translation for Women in Translation Month. As I’ve written before, I usually focus on female authors outside of Scandinavia for this reading event, but this year I actually focused on Norwegian female authors since I had read so few of them so far this year. Of the two novels I read, one was a recently released debut novel and the other by a favorite author. Both were 5-star reads. Both were also longer books, so I wasn’t able to read as many as I would have liked to.

2022 Scandinavian Reading Challenge Update:

Neither of the novels I read for #WITmonth worked for August’s decade for the reading challenge, the 1980s. I was unable to find one by a Norwegian female author so I started reading Gunnar Staalesen’s Fallen Angels translated by Don Bartlett, a crime novel that takes place in Bergen in the 1980s. For September’s 1990s prompt, I plan to remain in Bergen with Gunnhild Øyehaug’s Present Tense Machine: A Novel translated by Kari Dickson. For details on the reading challenge and insight into the past, current, and next decades, along with a few reading ideas, visit 2022 Scandinavian Reading Challenge.

What have you been reading lately?

Agnes’s Place by Marit Larsen, Illustrated by Jenny Løvlie 📖
(Translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson)

I’m always curious about Norwegian children’s books that are translated into English. What aspects of Norwegian culture are present, if any? There’s nothing particularly Norwegian about this one besides a mention and illustration of heart waffles as a snack. However, noticeable is that the little girl is not your stereotypical white, blonde Norwegian, but instead she has darker skin and black hair. Diverse characters are also featured in the apartment building’s residents. It’s a very sweet book about a 5-year old girl who yearns to connect with a new girl who moves into her apartment building. The illustrations are lovely with lots of detail. This would make a great read-aloud with a young child — so much to observe in the illustrations and to discuss regarding Agnes’ feelings. (Currently available for free via kindle unlimited.)

Reptile Memoirs: A Novel by Silje Ulstein 🎧
(Translated from the Norwegian by Alison McCullough)
(Narrated by Julie Maisey)

I really enjoyed this one — the characters, the storylines, the structure, the settings, the writing/translation, the twists. It all came together for a great ride. But it’s certainly not for everyone. Not only do you have to keep track of different settings and multiple perspectives (including the snake’s!), but also trigger warnings abound. It’s a thriller that takes place in western Norway – Ålesund in the early 2000s and Kristiansund over 6 days in 2017. In Ålesund, Liv and her housemates spontaneously decide to buy a python and Liv becomes obsessed with it. In Kristiansund, Mariam’s 11-year-old daughter disappears and detectives immediately suspect Mariam. Over time, the two plot lines intersect. As the book jacket says and I can’t say it any better, it is “a brilliantly twisty and unusual literary thriller.” I highly recommend the audiobook. It was an excellent narration.

  • Summer Book Bingo: A mystery; Takes place in a country other than the US

The Last Wild Horses: A Novel by Maja Lunde 📖
(Translated from the Norwegian by Diane Oatley)

This is the third book in Maja Lunde’s The Climate Quartet. I loved the first installment, The History of Bees: A Novel, and enjoyed the second one, The End of the Ocean: A Novel. When I heard the fourth one was expected soon (coming out this Fall 2022 in Norway, English translation TBD), I was very eager to read the third one that I already had on my shelf in Norwegian. I actually alternated between my Norwegian physical copy Przewalskis hest and the English ebook depending on my reading situation/mood. I really enjoyed this one. It jumped between Norway in 2064, Mongolia in 1992, and St. Petersburg/Mongolia in 1882. The thread among the three storylines is the extinction of wild horses, and each of the storylines explores complicated relationships with those closest to us. There were also ties to the first two novels in the quartet which I really appreciated (and caused me to like the second one even more). I highly recommend the quartet and am eagerly anticipating the fourth and final installment.

  • Summer Book Bingo: Takes place in a country other than the US

What have you been reading lately?

By the way, if you’re interested in purchasing some Scandinavian ebooks at a great discount, visit my Scandinavian Ebook Deals. Some offers stay around for a long time, others only a short period. If anything looks intriguing, grab it before it’s gone.

Disclaimer: AVikingInLA is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (December 2021) & #ScandiReadingChallenge Update 
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately & Another Virtual Book Event (June 2020)
  3. My 10 Favorite Books for Women in Translation Month #WITmonth