UPDATE! I’ve now recorded a review on Youtube, as well. Check it out!

(If you’re wondering why I’m reading all these old books that have been out so long, I have a one-word answer for you — college. That’s all.)

This post was going to be a review of Augusten Burrough’s deeply disturbing memoir, Running with Scissors. But I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo today and wow! It’s so good!!!!!! /fangirl

I’ve been vaguely curious about Stieg Larsson’s trilogy for awhile, so I jumped at the chance to take it off my mother-in-law’s hands (she inherited someone else’s books and this series is probably not her style). I know not everyone has the time (or focus) to read 300 pages in a day, but this is a book that benefits from condensed reading, not a chapter a day. (For one thing, the book is over 600 pages, so it would take a long time!) The plot is intricate, filled with characters and names and intrigue.

Plot summary (in case you’ve missed it, as I’d managed to): Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist, is hired by a CEO to write a family history and investigate the disappearance/murder of his niece. The catch? The incident occurred 40 years ago. Blomkvist is eventually aided by Lisbeth Salander, an antisocial, oddball PI. (It’s much more complicated than that, but I love the fun of discovering a plot, so I won’t ruin for you.)

Pros

So many good things! But I will try not to fangirl here.  Continue reading →