The Winners | 
pickEvery chapter ends on a mini cliffhanger or foreshadowing line. Every character is exquisitely written. For a moment, I thought that 670 pages es too long and, perhaps, it needed to be cut down. However, when I finished the Beartown trilogy, I immediately wished for 100 more pages. I recommend them all, for so many reasons that one should discover for oneself.
pickNever knew a series about hockey, of all things, could steal and break my heart like this series did. A lot of heavy, complicated emotions by the end of this one. Not ashamed that I cried reading about Benji, especially. 💔
Sheesh, why do I have the sneaking suspicion that Benji is going to die...
pickThat blurry red shape out on the ice to the right is my son. I want him to read this series, but they're a lot longer than what he normally reads. I really never thought Beartown needed a sequel, much less a third book in the series, but I have loved all of them. Maybe I love them because I love hockey or because I love a boy who plays hockey or because of all the kids I've known who shine on the ice. Or maybe they're just really well written.
pick🎶 I get so emotional, baby / Every time I think of Beartown Hockey 🎶
What a finale. So many threads woven so intricately, so much PAIN, but also so much joy. Backman writes the realities of life, both good and bad. #contemporarylit #litintranslation #wearethebears
My son is 13 and started playing hockey when he was 4. This paragraph hit me HARD.
pick😭😔💔
I‘m feeling tender after finishing the Beartown trilogy with The Winners.
Backman has a way of telling you what‘s going to happen, then breaking your heart anyway when it does. His books hit my emotions like no other author.
I loved this.
#booked2023 #anypartofatrilogy
Repost for @TheAromaofBooks
Hello friends!! I have finally sorted through all the 2022 #BookSpin entries!! 181 individuals read 2200 books last year!!!! An absolutely fabulous year for getting books off the TBR. I wish I could send a book to each and every one of you!!! However, until I win the lottery, I'll have to content myself with choosing five of you at random!!
#December #12Booksof2022
I read a lot of Christmas themed books during December bu the final part of the Beartown Trilogy is still the overall Pick as this will stay with me a long time.
Notable others
The Christmas Sisters - Sarah Morgan
Snowflakes and Secrets in the Scottish Highlands - Donna Ashcroft
Many thanks to everyone who played along with #12Booksof2022 (77 people) it‘s added to all our TBRs 😱 See you all on Dec 25th.
Jan 4th #WinterReadathon #WinterReadathonDailyChallenge
We are now on the penultimate day of the #WinterReadathon and the daily challenges. For today‘s daily challenge share your favourite book of the Readathon.
My favourite Seasonal book was Snowflakes and Secrets in the Scottish Islands by Donna Ashcroft, & my non-seasonal book The Winners by Fredrik Backman.
A bonus 100 points for those collecting points.
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @Ghabi4Roses
#12booksOf2022 #October
This was worth the re- read of the 1st 2!!
pickWow!!! What a trilogy!! At first, I thought I should‘ve read the first two books over before reading this last installment, but he recaps so well that it came back to me. I loved it. 4.5⭐️
Probably 2/3 audiobooks and a lot of rereads.
Favorite of the year was The Winners by Fredrik Backman, with his Us Against You coming in a close second.
Honorable Mentions:
Remarkably Bright Creatures
The Bullet That Missed
The Guncle
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
pickNot sure what I say about this book, an emotional journey towards an end point where you can feel a train crash is about to happen. But oh what a great journey. Backman‘s turn of phrase and feel of writing within the book is oh so superb. A wonderful book and a tumultuous ending, and he just breaks your heart 💔💔💔💔 Be ready for plenty of tears in the last two chapters. 😢😭😢😭
One of the best books of the year but give it time, it is long!
When do you not want to finish a book? When you can feel what‘s coming like an express train, and don‘t want it to happen. When characters you have grown to love over three books are in grave danger.
This book and all the Beartown books suck you in and put you through an emotional wringer. Going in! 😢😭🤯😱😳😬🫠
#TheWinners #FredrikBackman
Picture courtesy of : www.doersempire.com
Got to love Fredrik Backman, his writing style and some of his great quotes.
#TheWinners
Fredrik Backman has a wonderful lyrical style all of his own but how do you even come up with this line.
‘Fairy tales are what help us cope with funerals.‘
This line really got me and really made me stop and think!
Starting the third book in the Beartown Series. Loved the first two but was a bit intimidated by the size of this one. Now 2/3 days before it has to go back to the library (and there is a queue) so need to crack on with it. Quite excited to return to this series.
#WinterReadathon @DieAReader @Ghabi4Roses
Favorite Book of December…
Backman‘s Characters Will Never Leave Me.
so-soI love Backman but this one was just so long and drawn out. A great story that could‘ve been half the length. I don‘t even have the energy to write a good review, I‘m sorry. Book #81 in 2022
You know that feeling when you want to stop reading because you feel your heart will get broken into tiny pieces - and you refuse to turn the page, but you can‘t not read further because you just can‘t help yourself? That‘s Backman. I don‘t know how he does this thing that he does to me as a reader - but it happens ALL the time, and it‘s just him. Brought this huge chunkster despite its weight for my flight because it is how it is. 🤷🏻♀️
#DivineDecember Day 13: #Sparkles are usually reserved for The Winners - look at that sky! Aurora borealis! For those who may not be aware, there was an interview with Fredrik Backman just a few days ago. I watched it live and watched it all over again the next day. That good. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/P2cGy_vQln0 - a must-watch for Backman fans like me.
#AdventRecommends @emilyrose_x
Another of my favorite reads this year. I loved the first two books and this one didn‘t disappoint in wrapping up everyone‘s story. Backman is a must read author for me.
#DivineDecember Day 10: If you are winners, then you are a #Star - my weekend plan right here. 💕 Will come up for air on Monday. 🤣
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
And Fredrik Backman breaks my heart yet again. 😭
Did you all vote? None of the books I voted for won.
How about you?
#GoodReads
#goodreadschoiceawards
pickgreat ending to the bear town trilogy. such a honest take on the nature of our souls which create the relationships and eventually the towns we live in.
Well, this has been one of my best grids in a bit with 2@A+ (5 stars), 2@4.75 (solid A), and 3@4.5 (A-). It‘s hard to ask for more than that! Chose the tagged because I was Anxious People (see the pun there!?) waiting to read it!
5* = Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Average C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F
pickI think I cried through the last 200 pages. Backman tells such a great story. He really hits your heart pretty hard. I still say it‘s too long. But it was also worth it. I might have a book hangover for a bit.
#NovelNovember One book down. @Andrew65
pickThere is so much story in this book so all I can do in this space is tell you how I feel. I wanted to stay in this cold winter town for years. I want to return to it. I don‘t want the story to end. And Mr Backman, how does he write about what will happen, keep me reading furiously now knowing what will happen, yet I have all the feels when it does indeed happen. He‘s such a good writer.
I‘m loving the story, but this book needs some editing. It‘s just unnecessarily long. I‘m not timing my readathon. Or counting my pages. Just reading.
#NovelNovember @Andrew65
pickI love that Backman tells a story in such a way that the characters feel like people you know (or want to know). They aren‘t perfect, but you root for them. And everything doesn‘t always end well, which is just like real life. Having said that, however —this book is too long. By page 500 I was muttering, “get to the point already!” (And this is from a person who routinely reads chunksters.) Still, a pick, if only for the sense of closure.
Plans for today? Sorry, I can‘t make it. My Sunday afternoon is totally booked.
#NovemberNarrative Day 9: Our university delegation arrived early for our meeting at University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, so we #Hike(d) all the way up to the uPenn Bookstore where I discovered tagged book. Backman‘s third book in the Beartown trilogy is out!! Wheeeee!
Me, yesterday: “It‘s going to be a very long day of working the polls. I need a hefty book to bring with me.”
Library notification hits my inbox: “Your hold is ready for pickup.”
SCORE one for libraries —and for democracy! 👍🏼👍🏼
Just saw the #AuldLangSpine posts—does voting AND working the polls count, @monalyisha ?
pickI‘m a mess of tears. I‘m left bereft. My time in Beartown is done. An amazing end to this incredible trilogy. It‘s going to be a little bit before I find something else to read. Think I need to just stare at the wall for a bit.
Finally diving into this one — I love these people so much. 😭 #thewinners #fredrikbackman #beartown
At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to read the third book of this series, but changed my mind after reading the comments of yous that have read it...you know curiosity killed the cat...lol
pickI loved every second of this. Backman has created a set of characters that have become a part of me I care so deeply about them. His insights into life, relationships and (obviously) hockey are incisive, heartbreaking, joyful, painfully true. He can put me on an emotional roller coaster like no other. He can rip my heart out (oh, Benji) in a way that is simply exquisite. Gah, can't bear it's over. Who knew hockey was .... everything?!
pickI have really enjoyed the Beartown series and the latest book is no exception. Backman really understands people and people in community, warts and all, and shows those people to us so well. He‘s a gem.
pickWow wow wow. Only Fredrik Backman can fictionalize an entire community of people and interweave their perspectives forward and backward in time while telling both large and small stories so relatable. Make Beartown an (American) football community and I'd be living in it or darn close in an alternate reality. Thanks for sharing such a moving trilogy with us, Mr. Backman.
