Wednesday, September 22, 2010

What I'm Reading


I finished Stieg Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo over the weekend. Wow, that's quite a story. While it's very graphic and very disturbing at times, I couldn't peel myself away from it. I suddenly found myself staying up far past my bedtime to read yet one more page. And given that I love sleep more than just about anything else on earth, that tells you how engrossing it is.

Now that I've finished the first book in the Lisbeth Salander trilogy, I'm ready to tackle The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. In fact, I was so wishing that I had the next book to read, I almost ran out to the bookstore last night. But, it was 9 p.m. and I had to show some restraint.

Once I finish the last book in the trilogy, though, that will be it. Larsson died in 2004, therefore no more Lisbeth novels to follow. A film based on the novel was released in 2009. It's a Swedish film with English subtitles, so when I'm good and alert, I plan to watch it. Apparently a Hollywood version is in the works. We'll see how Tinseltown does. Little-known actress Rooney Mara has been cast as Lisbeth and Daniel Craig has been cast as the other main character, Mikael Blomkvist. Now, that is a VERY good thing. :)

I'm sure there are readers out there who will disagree with my assessment of Larsson's novels. Believe me, the subject matter is not for the faint of heart. But, if you like psychologial thrillers, and you can somewhat decipher the pronunciation of the many Swedish towns, restaurants and other businesses featured in the stories (seriously, I've never seen so many umlauts in one publication), then you may find the books appealing.

In other literary news, I finished True Prep. I'll just say I wished I had checked it out from the library instead of spending the money.
Image courtesy of Amazon

13 comments:

Cindy said...

I just finished Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as well. Loved it and am getting ready to dive into the next one in the series. I heard they get better with each one.

Cindy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cindy said...

Sorry, I accidentally posted that twice. Am a new follower btw :)

Teresa Hatfield ~ Splendid Sass said...

Thanks for sharing. I will get the first book today. I need to read something I want to read instead of these art history book, lol.
Have a nice day.
Teresa

Heather said...

I enjoyed the trilogy, but liked the 1st one best. Most of my friends disagree with me and liked the 2nd and 3rd better. The Swedish names were hard for me to keep track of, but it was worth it due to the stories.
I'll just warn you that there's little to no closure in the 2nd one so you may want to have the 3rd one on hand to avoid a late night dash to the store. :)

Mostly Style said...

I... LOVED (!!) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo! I only saw the movie, and I had no idea that it was a book too!!! It was dark and eerie, but so so good :)

Lisa Borgnes Giramonti said...

I resisted reading them, despite witnessing my husband stay up practically all night tearing through them (he usually nods out after two pages)...and then I picked up the first one and read ALL three in three weeks. They were like crack. I even went on a binge of eating open face sandwiches, swiss cheese on jam toast, and drinking coffee at all hours (like they do in the book)!

Tessa said...

I'm with you on True Prep - not near as fun as The Official Preppy Handbook. I read the Dragon Tattoo this summer...I too couldn't put it down, but boy did it get CRAZY. Maybe a little too graphic for me -- but well written and entertaining.

teresa-bug said...

I have Girl With the Dragon Tattoo ready to be read next. I am looking forward to finally reading it. This is the second less than favorable review of True Prep I have read today. Lucky for me...I get all of my books at the library.

Samma said...

I loved all three! They each are progressively better, so get excited for 2 amd 3!

Michelle said...

I haven't do the Girl with books...I think I am too faint of heart. BUT, I do relate to late nighs of "just one more page". Happy Fall, sweet blog friend!

highheeledlife said...

Is it not fantastic with eavh word, paragraph of a book you are reading just keeps you wanting to read and find out what next?

I have not read any of the late Larsson's books ... but now after reading your post and some of the comments on it ...It may have to be on my list for the next book run to Chapters.

Winter is very cold here.. and there is nothing better than curling up with a blanket a cup of tea or cocao and a great book!!! XO HHL

Suburban Princess said...

I recently finished the series too - I hear the Swedish made film is wayyyyyy more violent and graphic than the book. I heard there is a biography of the author called The Man Who Died Too Young but it might just be an internet article...