One of them was given away for free - an offer hard to resist... (That's the one with "Sarajevo" in the title.)
One is about a tragedy that the author discovered in her own family history, and decided to research and write about. (I have not read it yet but the cover says it's the story of a woman who murdered her children - back in 1929.) I was intrigued by it because it reminded me of things I've been meaning to perhaps try to continue looking into myself, related to my own family history. Nothing as drastic as murder; and not likely to result in a book. But, as I said to the author while chatting briefly to her about hers, while buying it: Sometimes one does comes across bits and pieces here and there that makes one wish that someone had written the full story.
The third one is the first in a 'cozy crime' series that escaped my attention until now. One of the rather many such series set in an otherwise rather idyllic small Swedish Town. In this series, the scene is Hjo, such a small town on the west coast of Lake Vättern, in the province of Västergötland (the same province where I live). And as it happens, Hjo is one of the towns that my brother and I visited on our tour around Lake Vättern two summers ago. I resisted the temptation to buy the whole series (five books so far) but I did buy the first one, and am enjoying reading it now. If nothing else, it's fun to read a book where one can call to mind quite a few flashbacks from one's own memories of what the place looks like. Here's a shortcut to one of my blog posts from Hjo from 2017. (To find even more, look up September 2017 in the Archive in the sidebar of my blog.)
I also attended a lecture by a well-known Swedish-Finnish author, Susanna Alakoski (link to Wiki article in English). One of the very many who moved to Sweden from Finland back in the 1960s, in her early childhood; the parents to work and the children just having to "jump right into it", going to Swedish school and learning Swedish etc without much special introduction for immigrants back in those days. I had several classmates from Finland throughout my school years. Children pick up language and dialects very quickly. Harder for their parents! With Susanna Alakoski (having come here in early childhood) you'd never guess now except for her Finnish surname that she is of Finnish origin. But in her lecture she talked a bit about these things - language, immigration, integration, identity etc; comparing the situation back then (1960s, with immigrants coming here from Finland + eastern and southern Europe, to work), and today (with immigrants coming from "all over the world", lots of different backgrounds, and many as refugees). Some interesting observations and thoughts, well worth considering. I'm also looking forward to reading her next book which she said will be published in the autumn and will be the first in a series that involves the Swedish textile industry. So just now she was in Borås to do some research. (As some of you know, if you've been following my blog for a while, Borås is an old textile industry town, and we also have a Textile Museum and a Textile College.)
11 comments:
I had trouble reading the titles brahaha but I can read the Sarajevo
This would be so much fun, I have never been to a book fair. Except for the ones at elementary schools for the kids.The one about the murder in a family history sounds very good.
It seemed better in this case to just write something about why I chose the books, as they are not available in English anyway...
Always hard to tell beforehand if a book will be as interesting as it sounds! But I like the initiative of having a book fair which focuses on books and authors with a "local" connection. So I like to buy at least one book to show support for the event as a whole, so to say.
Book fairs - such fun! I've worked at one (in Frankfurt) and visited a few more, but not in many years. I know exactly ehat you mean about reading a book set in a place one has been to.
Good luck with investigating and writing about an event in your family. You write well and make everything interesting.
I, too, picked up on the reading of a book set in a place that one knows. The Black House trilogy by Peter May is set in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland and having read the three books it was fascinating to read about places and people whom one could identify quite readily.
Thanks, 247. I was a bit puzzled by your new signature at first but I managed to figure that out, at least :) With my own family history it's mostly just little fragments of stories. I did start a kind of family history blog, years ago, when I was trying to sort out finds made while clearing out my parents' house. Haven't added much to it over the last few years, though. I still have several boxes of old photos, postcards, notes and letters which I haven't found the time to continue going through, though. Maybe some day, if inspiration hits me... But the Here & Now has a habit of taking over :)
Meike, in Sweden it's Gothenburg that is famous for a big annual book fair each autumn. I've been there once (maybe twice), but that must have been back in the 1990s. (How time flies!) Nowadays I don't really feel tempted by huge events like that. But the local mini-version here is rather fun. :)
Graham, I have read Peter May's books too (as you know), and together with also having seen a bit of the Hebrides through your eyes, I sometimes have a feeling of "almost" having been there. (Having been to mainland Scotland way back in the past, even if not the islands, probably also helps a bit.) Nonetheless, it's never quite the same as knowing the actual roads and streets and villages etc. With the town of Hjo, in my case, I only spent one evening, night and morning in the place. But it's a small town, and we did have good wander around. One of the characters of the book is staying in the same hotel we stayed in, and with pretty much the same view I had from there over the park and the lake. The supermarket across the road from the hotel is also mentioned, and the church and the town square, and so on... So as I read, I quite often get a sense of where the characters in the book are walking (even if I'm not familiar with every street).
oh I'm afraid I have to say that I'm glad I wasnt there, far too dangerous for a bookworm like myself.
Post a Comment