The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Plot

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.


But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander.


As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all.

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A lot of hype comes with this book, as well as with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  With that much expectation, a book is almost certainly doomed to fail.  Fortunately, that didn't happen here.  I completely enjoyed this book (Side note: The first book I got to read on my brand new Kindle).  Even more than I enjoyed reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, something I didn't actually realize until I sat down to the write this review.

While reading, I found myself feeling that the story didn't progress as quickly as it did in the first book (and even in the first book, it took a while to get going).  As I got to the end, I almost felt like it was rushed.  It seemed like everything suddenly got wrapped up within the last few pages (or "pages" as far as the Kindle is concerned).  Now, that I'm typing this review, I can honestly say it had a nice pace.  Sort of an abrupt ending, but that's to be expected with the middle book of a trilogy.

Larsson has (had?) an insane ability to really give his less desirable male characters these disgustingly misogynistic traits.  If I didn't already know his inspiration for writing the Millennium Trilogy, I'd be tempted to think that he honestly harbored that attitude toward women.  His writing is that good, in my opinion.  Another thing I enjoyed about his storytelling was that he would plug in references to actual events in Swedish history, within the story.  I don't know.  Maybe other authors do it too and I just never noticed, cause I subconsciously understood and didn't have to actively look them up, like I did with the references in this book (and also in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

So...bottom line, I would definitely recommend reading this book.  Obviously, you'd need to read The Girl Who Played with Fire first, but it's definitely worth the read.  I look forward to reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  Unfortunately, that will not be next.  These books cover subject matter that just leave me needing a happy little break between stories.

~Missy

I'm Back

So...for Christmas, I recieved an Amazon Kindle.  This means it's going to be so much easier to get in some reading, cause no matter how long the story, I won't have to lug around a huge book anymore.

So...I'm reviving my book-it list.

Currently reading and next to be reviewed...

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson


While I was takign my break from this blog, I actually read the first of Larsson's books, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. At this point, it's been too long for me to write a decent review, but I can say that I enjoyed it and would recommend people read it.

~Missy

Temporarily On Hold/Slowed Down

Yeah.  So...I'm back in school and of course every one of my classes involves a bunch of reading, so I don't know exactly how much time I'll have for recreational reading.

That being said, this blog is either going to be dead until the end of the quarter (12/10/2010) or the reviews will be even more infrequent than usual.

~Missy

Will Storr vs. the Supernatural by Will Storr

Synopsis

Will Storr has done some seriously bizarre and other-wordly things over the course of his career as a journalist.  But even spending an entire day with Ozzy Osbourne wasn't as frightening as when he agreed to follow Philadelphia "demonologist" Lou Gentile on his appointed round.  Will Storr never believed in ghosts--but his healthy skepticism couldn't explain the strange lights and sounds he witnessed, and the weird behavior of the occupants of several allegedly haunted houses.


What resulted is a confirmed cynic's (and proud of it!) dedicated search for answers in a shadowy world of seances, mediums, devil worshippers--even the Vatican's chief exorcist.  So get ready to confront the genuinely creepy along with the hilariously ridiculous in Will Storr vs. the Supernatural!

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After my last three books, I thought it was about time I get back to reading books where I don't already know the ending.  What better way to do that than to read a work of non-fiction?

I was surprised by this book.  I went into it expecting to get a straight-forward progression from complete skeptic to full-on believer.  That did not happen.  The book basically involves a cynic having this beliefs (or lack thereof) tested.  Storr attends countless paranormal research events, meets with renowned investigators, questions a philosopher, interviews a psychiatrist and sits down with an exorcist.

Ultimately, he finishes completely unsure about whether or not the paranormal exists, but that's fine.  The guy did his research.  I'm surprised the guy lasted a year.  I would have slapped every psychic he came in contact with.  His experiences with psychics and mediums were so awkward (not written awkwardly...like the situations themselves were awkward).  I would not have been able to smile and nod the way he did.

One complaint...and it really has nothing to do with the content of the book.  My complaint...WHO THE HELL EDITED THIS BOOK?!  I can understand the occasional spelling error (and I had to have a little leeway for the fact that Storr is British and so you get the expected differences), but there were words that were consistently just flat out spelled wrong.  Spell check is your friend, people.  Look into it.

Bottom line...read it.  No matter who you are, read.  Originally, I was just going to recommend this to people who are believers.  As the book went on though, I changed my mind.  No matter which side of the paranormal fence you fall on, I think this is a book to read.  It makes you consider things maybe you haven't thought of before.  It's not shy about revealing the seedy underbelly of TV ghost hunting programs.  Hell...it makes it painfully obvious just how full of it some psychics and mediums are.  Read it.

~Missy

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Plot

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be.  By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood.  The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate--a life role that she has never challenged...until now.  Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is.  But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister.  So, Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable--a decision that will tear her family apart and possibly have fatal consequences for the sister she loves.

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This book made me cry.  That really says a lot.  In my twenty-six years in this world, only one other book has ever made me truly cry.  I'm not talking about just tearing up a little.  I'm talking about choked up, sad movie crying.

On that subject, let me say...yes.  I had seen the movie, prior to reading the book.  I try to keep that from being the case.  I honestly prefer to read the book, before viewing the movie, but there are those rare occasions where the movie somehow manages to be viewed before I can read the book (I blame HBO and insomnia in this case).  I had a feeling this book was going to make cry, given that the movie had me crying for about 90 of the 100 minutes.

Anyway...the book's a really good read.  The ending was a little...eh.  Without giving too much away (cause it does end far differently than the movie), I kind of didn't see any purpose to what happens in the end.  You go through the events of the book and to have this final event (god...it's hard to review this without giving it away) occur seemed a little...pointless?  I don't know, maybe other people would get the value of it, but it completely eluded me.

My only complaint (aside from the "event") was some of the characters.  Not so much the way they were written.  They were written perfectly.  The characters as people bugged me.  Their behavior, more specifically, annoyed me.  Between Sara's inability to understand Anna's reasons for filing the lawsuit and Jesse constantly lashing out, I found it hard to really tolerate them at times.  I'm sure it's all in the eyes of the reader, though.  Maybe other can better accept the way they act, but I found it a little grating.

Bottom line...definitely read it.  It's a really touching book and raises a few important questions...like is it alright to just let someone die?  So...read it and form your own opinions.

~Missy

Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris

Plot

When a vampire asks cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse for a favor, she complies.  And soon she's in Dallas, using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire.  She agrees to interview the humans involved as long as the bloodsuckers promise to let them go unharmed.  Easier said than done.  All it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly.

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Another great Sookie Stackhouse book.  Another example of why the books and True Blood are separate entities.

I really enjoyed this book, for pretty much the same reasons as Dead Until Dark.  There really isn't much else to add.  I like Charlaine Harris' writing style.  I like her characters.  There's honestly nothing I'd really change.  Like I said last time though, having seen the show and already being familiar with the characters and the story, there is a good deal of bias.  I can't say for certain that my opinion would be the same, had I gone into this series completely unfamiliar, but to the best of my abilities, I tried to find faults and there were none.

I am starting to see why some fans of the book don't like the show too much, though.  For what was changed in Season 1, they really veered off from the book for Season 2.  Like...really veered off.  To the point that I wonder if they could even continue to follow, the books on the show.  But, I'm getting off point.  This is about Living Dead in Dallas...not True Blood.

This is definitely a book to read, assuming you enjoyed Dead Until Dark (which you should have), but do not go into it expecting it to be the book version of True Blood.

~Missy

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Plot

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana--except for her "disability."  She can read minds.  But when Bill Compton walks into her life, she can't hear a word he's thinking--and then then one of her co-workers is killed.


Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea...

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Right upfront, let me explain to you that this review will be ever so slightly biased.  For those of you that (somehow) don't know, the Sookie Stackhouse novels are the basis for HBO's show True Blood.  That being said, I started reading this book having already seen the first season of True Blood (which is an adaptation of this book).  Actually I'd seen it twice, so...I pretty much knew the major plot points and twists.

On top of going into this already knowing the end, I also went in having read some of the disapproval Sookie Stackhouse fans had toward the way the first book had been adapted.  That being said, I'll get started on my review.

To begin with, the book's a really good read.  Usually, when I've seen the movie/TV show before reading the book, the book tends to drag for me, because I go in expecting a certain pace.  That was not the case here.  In fact, if it was dragging because of me seeing True Blood, then I can only imagine how much faster I could have read this book.  I flew through this book like it was nothing (my copy clocks in at 312 pages).  It was a phenomenal read.  Better than some other vampire books that I've read recently (*cough*Twilight*cough*).

As for a book/True Blood comparison, I definitely view the book as being a whole other entity.  The show strayed from the book enough that I'm curious to see how things pan out in the books.  A certain character, who shall remain nameless, survives the book.  They do not survive the show.  I'm very curious to see whether or not he/she reappear in subsequent books (don't say anything, for those that have read the books and know which character I'm talking about).

At this point, I would usually start listing off what didn't work for me in the book.  I'm surprised to say that I've got nothing.  I seriously liked everything about this book.  The entire time I was reading, there wasn't a single instance where I wished something had been written differently.  It was perfect.  I loved the writing.  I loved the characters.  I wouldn't change a single thing.  I loved it.

I think you can figure out my botton line, but I'll say it anyway.  I definitely...DEFINITELY...recommend this book.

~Missy