Caught in the Web of the Steig Larsson Trilogy

I have been remiss in updating my blog ... but unfortunately after finishing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo I went out and bought The Girl Who Played with Fire. And now that I have finished with that book, I had to buy The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I am about 1/2 way and will update all with my thoughts shortly.

  Buy the trilogy at amazon.com and save some money. Trust me, you  will want all three books.

A Technical Aside...

Thanks to the suggestion of a good friend, I will provide links to the books I am recommending going forward. Please see the links below for the two books reviewed in my previous posts.

 

Read THIS Book - Chapter 1

As mentioned before, I also want to use this blog to highlight books that already have a place on my bookshelf and come with my recommendation. And so... I will start at the beginning.

As a youngster, I can remember my frequent trips to the library. While in the third grade we lived right next door to our public library and I couldn't get enough. Inevitably once a month I would pick up my all-time favourite book - Matilda by Roald Dahl. I think I read this book atleast 10 times that year.

Even though I have long outgrown my desire to be as smart, powerful and well-read as the 5 year old genious, Matilda, I still go back to this book annually and it stands the test of time as a great read. My copy is well-worn and I hope one day it can inspire a love of literature in my own children the way it did for me.

(Editor's Note: Many of Roald Dahl's other books are great - check out "The BFG," for example)

The Almost Moon is Almost Enjoyable

In celebration of my country's birthday, I recently embarked on a camping trip. I was extra jazzed as a fresh shipment of books came in only 4 days prior. Nothing says relaxing like a stack of novels and a hammock.

I had started Alice Sebold's The Almost Moon before leaving for the weekend, but had not really found myself engrossed by the tale. Now, let me start out by saying that although I possess a graduate-level degree in literature, the purposes of this blog are to review from a purely pleasure reading standpoint. However, this book was ripe with rich passages begging to be dissected by any eager second year lit student. Moving on...

This story contains an interesting premise (a woman plagued by her mentally ill mother finally snaps and the book details the next 24 hours with frequent flashbacks filling in the gaps).

I was looking forward to this anything but conventional examination of the mother-daughter relationship. I must say, here the book succeeded. It really demonstrated the way that this relationship can be both one of love, but can also be emotionally crippling in a way that no other relationship can. 

While these insights were profound, and offered a lot of meat to this story, overall this could not carry the story. Oftentimes the inner dialogue of the character was convoluted and I found myself skipping many a paragraph (never a good sign). Similarly, the writing style, while rich, did not lend itself to the more thrilling, leisurely read I had in mind.

So - my final thought here is Literature majors with a need for some meat - Pick this one up. Kelsi on the beach in a hammock - Leave the weighty stuff at home next time.

Currently Reading: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

Just Finished: The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

Up Next: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Introductory Paragraph

To read or not to read?

A question I am constantly asked by friends or colleagues. This prompted my sister and husband to encourage me to blog about the books I am reading, the books I recommend everyone should read and those that would be better left off of your bookshelf. I am going to begin with the books I currently have on my summer reading list, peppering my blog with old favourites that come with strong recommendations.

Enjoy!