September 1, 2016 YOU'RE MY OBSESSION

I absolutely love books and have been known to say on many occasions that I love books more than most people---NOT ALL--MOST.  Since I am such a fanatic for the written word--it is easy to understand that I also relish talking about writers, books and the characters that reside in my brain. Thankfully, my running buddies tolerate  my sometimes over the top passion for books--on long runs they even let me   hold "unofficial book clubs" where we talk about books, writers and I get to do my favorite thing --introduce new books.  I am kind of like a "book pusher." It's too bad I  can't get a cut for every book  I "sell" to my friends. Seriously though, if I could find a way to make a decent living at it--I  would PUSH books to the masses. I guess the next best thing to being a pusher of books is to work in --or my dream--OWN A BOOKSTORE. I often daydream about my bookstore--a table for Classics--Pulitzer prize winners--up and coming writers--bucket list books--author spotlights--and on and on and on and............OH YEAH--don't forget the coffee, cat and comfy couches too. I would get to do my favorite thing all day--TALK ABOUT BOOKS. My obsession with books has led me to love books about other book lovers--DOESN'T THAT SOUND WEIRD. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald--about this very subject.
Anyways,  I just finished reading
The main character, a young Swedish woman named Sara Lindquist, is a down and out book-loving oddball with a pen pal in Broken Wheel, Iowa. Sara and her pen pal, Amy,  share books via mail, and write letters to each other about book recommendations.  After Sara loses her job, Amy invites her to Iowa to spend the summer. Against her parents advice, Sara hops on an airplane and finds herself in Broken Wheel--ALONE-- as her pen pal has died--and the funeral guests are leaving Amy's house upon Sara's arrival. The town of Broken Wheel is exactly what it sounds like--a dying town with closed up storefronts--almost a ghost town. Bivald does an excellent job  capturing small town life and the quirky characters who inhabit the dying town. I am sure the characters in her story inhabit small towns across America--they are interesting, funny people dedicated to their broken town. Her descriptions will  almost make you  want to go to Iowa. Anyways, the townsfolk encourage Sara to stay for the summer in Amy's house free of charge. Sara tries to recompense  this skeleton of a community for their kindness by opening a bookstore to share her love of books. I really enjoyed this 400 pager. It is an easy read--about a 5 mile run--that will make you want to go to Iowa. See you at the airport.