To read or not to read? This has become the question of the summer. “Have you read this book?”, ”Is it a good read?”, “My friend hated it so I don’t know if I should buy it”. 50% of those who read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo loved it; 50% hated it. Customer comments ran from “the best book I ever read” to “I couldn’t get past the first 100 pages”. And so my curiousity won out and I decided to read Stieg Larsson’s blockbuster novel and judge for myself.
To be sure, this book is different. The first 100 pages are quite boring but crucial to the multi-faceted plot so they are best digested. Larsson pulled me into the book as soon as he described the “girl”: punk, pierced, tattooed? I was curious as to how she would fit in with the previously described gray-suited crowd, so I read on and I’m glad I did. I enjoyed this book even though I am not a particular fan of the crime genre. I continued on to “The Girl Who Played With Fire”, the second in Larsson’s millenium series. I enjoyed this book even more since it went into detail about the “Girl’s” (Lisbeth Salander) background.
Now, with first hand knowledge, I can tell customers this:
1. If you’re looking for literary genius, you won’t find it here. Larsson, a magazine editor, had a story to tell, nothing more, nothing less.
2. The series is complex and not a light read. Larsson tends to be wordy. The Swedish names are confusing especially since he switches from first names to nicknames and back again. He is also partial to names that begin with “B” so the characters are difficult to follow initially.
3. If you are squeamish about sex scenes and violence, this is not the book for you. Originally titled “Men Who Hate Women” it is a story about violence and revenge. However, the main characters are endearing.
4. Dissecting readers will find a map of Sweden and its environs as well as a foreign money conversion table helpful in determining Larsson’s accuracy. Or you can take him at his word and just enjoy the story.
5. Those who like non-stop action with a multiple character cast will engross themselves in this series and, hopefully, like me, hate to see it end. Supposedly, Larsson planned seven millenium books and somehow I feel cheated knowing only three were completed before his death,
Larsson died in 2004 of a heart attack shortly after completing the trilogy. 21 million of his books have sold worldwide.
Reviewed by Gail
I recently read Dewey: The Small Town Cat Who Touched The World by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter. I loved it so much I gave it to my daughter-in-law to read and asked her to write a review on it. Here is what she said:
Dewey is a must read for all cat lovers. It is the touching story of a town who loved a cat and the cat who loved them back. It is funny, touching and sad. He lived his life among books in a small town in northwest Iowa. The author describes Dewey in exquisite detail; this is truly a love letter to a very special cat who captured hearts around the world as the most famous feline resident of a library ever.
Reviewed by Gail
Gail gives Almost Moon by Alice Sebold 
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