The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I'd seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson in bookstores for awhile now.  I suppose it was highly profiled because there was a film made of it, and because the third book in the trilogy was being released.   I was interested in it, but didn't really know much about it, so I never gave it a try.

A couple of weeks ago, I was lent a copy of it from a friend's mom. 

OH MY GOD.

WHAT A GOOD BOOK!

I just finished reading it, right now, and am ITCHING to go buy the sequel.  It's a story that takes place in Sweden, and features quite a large cast of characters that at first makes it just a touch confusing until you get to the point where the real plot starts to come into play.  Others have said that they found the book dull at first and tough to get into, however I didn't think the same and enjoyed it right from the beginning.

The main characters are instantly likeable.  Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist who has been sued for libel and found guilty, is hired by a wealthy man (Henrik Vanger) to solve the mystery of his missing niece -- who disappeared forty years ago, in a case that went unsolved but that was suspected to be a murder.  Blomkvist gets wrapped up in the case, which he doesn't expect to solve, and intrigue and suspense carries on from there.

There are twists and turns as you dive deeper into the history of the Vanger family, and into Blomkvist's quest to clear his name following the libel conviction.  He teams up with Lisbeth Salander, a young woman with a troubled past and expert investigative skills, who is a character that I think we'll learn even more about in the sequels to this book.

If you haven't read it yet, and you like some mystery and suspense, I highly recommend The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I'm not sure how the movie is, but I might watch it just to compare it to the book.

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Edited:  Okay, upon some research, I think I understand the movie thing a little more.  Looks like there were Swedish movies made about all three books in this series; but in 2011, a Hollywood version is coming out.  I really didn't know much about this series before being loaned this book two weeks ago, haha... but I knew some movie was already on TMN.  Must be the Swedish version!  I'll give it a try.

26, 27, 28, 29) Four Completely Different Books -- just read this.

Haven't been updating lately, but have done a little reading.  Not nearly enough for the challenge I've set for myself, but considering I read about 7 books over the March Break this year I'm hoping I can catch up over these two summer months off from work (well, off from teaching -- I have a nannying job, but I'll still have plenty of time for reading in between my nannying hours).  Anyway, here are some of the books I read but didn't blog about!

26) Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
This is the fourth book in Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians YA series.  I love this series, A LOT, and really enjoyed reading this installment.  Percy and his friends find themselves on a new quest -- into the Labyrinth, to stop Luke from raising Kronos and taking over Camp Halfblood, and eventually Olympus.  It's got lots of adventure and fun, and it really sets things up for the conclusion of the series (or, what I'm fairly certain is the conclusion -- book five, The Last Olympian, which Scooter and I haven't bought to read yet).  If you haven't given these books a try, but you like books such as Harry Potter, I'd definitely read them.

27) Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse #9) by Charlaine Harris
I am so cheap and refuse to buy these books hardcover, so I only just now finally read the ninth Sookie Stackhouse novel; number ten is already on bookshelves but it's still hardcover itself so I'll be waiting until next spring for that one too.  Book 9 was another great Sookie story, and I'm in love with these characters.  I also watch the television series, "True Blood" (which is probably what helps me be able to wait to read the new books in soft-cover, it sort of bridges the gap by having a TV Sookie in my life).

28) Angels by Marian Keyes
I am a huge fan of Keyes' Walsh family.  I've read these books completely out of order, but have read three of the four books that each feature a different Walsh sister (I read Rachel's Holiday first, then read Is Anybody Out There? which is Anna's story, and then read Angels, which about Maggie Walsh and comes before either of the other two I read -- the only one I haven't read yet is Watermelon, which is Claire's story and is actually the FIRST of the Walsh sister's books).  The good thing is?  It doesn't really matter TOO much if you read them out of order, as I've found.  I'm eagerly waiting for Helen, the youngest of the Walsh sisters, to have a book featured about her soon too (since I'm sure it's inevitable).  My favourite of these books is Anna's story (Is Anybody Out There?), but any of them so far have been great.

29) Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA by Ellen Meister
I picked this up off of the 80%-off shelf at Chapters (a frequent place for my book-buying, since $4.99 is a sweet price for a novel).  It was actually not bad, a good beside-the-pool read.  The characters are all going through some relationship issues, and there are some affairs/potential affairs/weird moments, but it wasn't a bad story and it had nice pacing.  The characters were likeable enough -- if a little sex-obsessed at times.

Alrighty, 29 down and ... oh.. hmm.. you know, only 71 books left to read this year.  HA. HA HA HA. /crying on the inside.

19) Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

A few weeks ago I finally finished catching up on all of the Stephanie Plum novels released so far by Janet Evanovich!  Plum Spooky, one of those "between-the-numbers" novels was the last one I had to read.  I enjoyed it much better than all of the other between-the-numbers books, but my favourite stories in this series are mostly just the regular numbered Stephanie Plum mysteries.  Book 16 comes out this year, so I'll take it out from the library as soon as I can.  I plan on staying caught up with each new release, and I'm certainly very glad Janet is continuing to write more stories in this series.  I love these characters A LOT.

I'm still reading, just slowly!  Ugh!

19 down, 81 to go!

16) Finger-Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

I skipped over one of the "between the numbers" books because they didn't have it at my library at the time, but other than that one book, I'm completely caught up on my Stephanie Plum stories!  Fortunately the sixteenth book comes out this summer!  I love these novels and I'm so glad I read them, and I'll miss spending so much time with Stephanie Plum and her crazy friends and family.

Finger-Lickin' Fifteen was a great story, like all the others.  I can't get enough of this series, seriously!

16 down, 84 to go!

15) Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

Another Stephanie Plum, I'm nearly caught up on the series.  I finished Fearless Fourteen last weekend, but didn't have the time to write it up yet.  It was really good, I liked this story a lot and it made me laugh out loud.

Katherine Hiegl is apparently signed on to play Stephanie Plum in the first feature film of these books (so, a film version of the first book "One for the Money").  Not sure how I feel about it, but she's already dyed her hair brown to try to win over fans -- her showing a bit of dedication to the role made me feel a little better about her being cast.  I'm just not sure she's who I was picturing as Stephanie.

15 down!  85 to go!

13) Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich

*giggle* *snort* *hardy-har-har*

Sorry, excuse me, I'm just having a little laugh over the fact that my 13th book of 2010 was one called Plum Lucky.  I didn't connect those two things before writing my post title.  *giggles again*

Oh! AND, I'm adding it to my blog ON St. Patrick's Day, and it's a St. Patrick's Day related novel!

Ahem.

So!  13 down!  This was another Stephanie Plum "between-the-numbers" novel, and it was probably my favourite of the between-the-numbers that I've read so far.  It had less of the silly supernatural to it, and more of an interesting case.  I'm heading off to the library today to pick up the next three books in the series, which should completely catch me up until new Stephanie Plum books are written by the ever-so-great Janet Evanovich (and I do think 16 is coming out this year, very soon, in fact!).

13 down, 87 to go!  This "March Break" thing has been great for my reading challenge... I'm going to keep pushing myself this week, see how far I can get!  It is only Wednesday after all!

11) Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

Oh, Stephanie Plum.  I will be so sad when I catch up completely and don't have any new adventures of yours to read.  Fortunately, Janet Evanovich is still actively writing this series.

Lean Mean Thirteen -- more Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter awesomeness.  Read this series if you don't already.  It. Is. Candy.

11 down, 89 to go!

10) Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich

I'm still on my Stephanie Plum kick.  I've just finished Plum Lovin', which is one of the "Between-the-Numbers" novels, and follows book 12.  The Between-the-Numbers books are very short little stories that all seem to be about a particular holiday (the first one was a Christmas story, this one was at Valentine's Day).  They seem to follow the theme of a strange guy named Diesel showing up, needing Stephanie's help on a case -- hilarity and trouble ensues.

I don't like them quite as much as the regular Stephanie Plum mysteries (which are all the 'numbered' titles -- "One for the Money", "Two for the Dough", "Three to Get Deadly", etc etc up to "Finger Lickin' Fifteen" so far).  They have a supernatural element to them which I think is supposed to be jokey, but it sort of takes away from the fact that the Stephanie Plum books aren't usually quite so silly as to have any supernatural elements. So, I don't know.  That part sort of bothers me, but if you just take them for some mindless entertainment and a little extra time with Stephanie Plum, then they're okay.

10 books in 2010 so far!  This is my 'March Break' from school, I'm hoping to be a reading machine, otherwise I'll never make it to 100 in a year!  90 more to go!

8) Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich

Oh hai -- that's right, I'm back already!  I actually finished this book between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon -- like I just said, these books are like candy.

I think "Twelve Sharp" is one of my favourites in the entire series.  It had a great storyline, and just enough of the love triangle (which is a love triangle I actually really enjoy and don't find 'frustrating' like in other novels).

Again: read these novels!  They are laugh-out-loud funny, and so quick to read!

8 down, 92 to go!

7) Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich

Book Seven of "The Insane Reading Goal of 2010" was my next book to read in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, "Eleven on Top".  I am loving these novels.  I practically read each one in one sitting -- and I'm determined to catch up to book 15, the most current book in the series, over the next few weeks.  You'll notice the next few books on my list may all include Stephanie Plum, the unlikely awesome bounty hunter.

Since I'm quite far in the series, I don't want to write a synopsis lest I give you spoilers!  All I can say is: read these books!  They're like candy, so fun and so funny!

7 down, 93 to go!

3) Three Bedrooms, One Corpse by Charlaine Harris

I know exactly what you're thinking -- BOOK THREE!  ALREADY?! SHE'S AMAZING!

You'd be right. I am amazing.  In so very many ways. 

However, I did not quickly whip through an entire book in one night (not that I've never done that before, because I HAVE)(See above -- I can be amazing).  In truth, I was already reading this book on the side when I was reading The Lost Symbol and Swapping Lives.  Also, it's a small novel.

Book three of my "100 Books in 2010" Challenge is Charlaine Harris' Three Bedrooms, One Corpse.  This is the third book in her Aurora Teagarden Mystery series.  I've read all of the Sookie Stackhouse books (save for book 9, the newest one, as I'm waiting for it to be in paperback), so I thought I'd give some of Charlaine's other books a go.  The first Aurora Teagarden book (Real Murders) was at my local bookstore, so I bought it.  Quite liked it, so I moved on to book two (A Bone to Pick).  Liked that as well, so I decided to continue with the series.

I have to say though, this particular book was more dull than the first two.  The mystery was a good one, yet the middle section of the book dragged on without the mystery really being too prominent.  A few more twists and turns would have improved the storyline.  I do like the main character, however, and am starting to get into this world, so I am definitely going to continue with the series.  I'm just not in that much of a hurry with it, and probably won't read book four for a little while.

If you're looking for light reads with a touch of mystery and murder, I do recommend the Aurora Teagarden series by Charlaine Harris -- although personally I like the Sookie Stackhouse series better (I'm a vampire fiction fan, and I like the TV series "True Blood" which is based off of the Sookie series).

3 down, 97 to go!

What I'm Reading Next (Yes, Two at a Time Again):

Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell -- another book borrowed from Melanie; I've never read any Candace Bushnell books before, but was a fan of the Sex and the City TV series of course.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan -- I gave this to my 11-year-old brother for Christmas, he LOVED IT, so now I'm reading it so that I can take him to the movie when it comes out in February (he said, "Estie!" that's what he's called me from when he was a baby, lol "Estie! Read this book, you'll really like it!", so I'm reading it!)

1) The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

I did it!  I've finished ONE BOOK in 2010!  Onward to the next 99!  (OY VEY).

Funny/cute story -- Martin's adorable Polish 'Babcia' (grandmother) constantly said, "Oy yay! Oy yay!" in like, a really sad sort of tone when she was waxing poetic about the great sadnesses and such (all in Polish, Martin had to translate and sometimes he just looked at me and shrugged).  Anyway!  So now Martin and I are always like, "Oy yay, oy yay" when we're feeling 'great sadness' OR when we're reminiscing about visiting Babcia. 

100 books in a year!  OY YAY!, OY YAY!

The first book I read was The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.  I'm a Dan Brown fan, I am.  However, my favourite books of his are his more stand-alone novels - Digital Fortress and Deception Point.  Angels & Demons is still my favourite Robert Langdon story.  With The Lost Symbol, I found myself feeling how I did when I was reading The Da Vinci Code.  It took me a long time to get into it, some of the way-too-many-details-about-this-and-that-and-this-person distracted me too much from feeling any suspense, and I just didn't get so into it (his other books I'd gobble up in a couple days, flat, however and felt much more captivated and shocked by the twists and turns).

Was it a good book?  Yes.  He's a great writer, there's no doubt.  However, even with a fairly alright twist near the end, it still doesn't rank as my favourite of his stories.  Also, it's very religion-based as most of his Robert Langdon books are, and I just wasn't feeling it.  The big ending was very anti-climactic in my, very humble, opinion.

It wasn't horrible, so if you've previously liked Dan Brown's novels, then definitely give it a read and see for yourself how you feel.  I'm filing this one under "Library It", because that's sort of my middle-of-the-road option (otherwise I just 'recommend' a book or say 'avoid').  I just wasn't personally gripped by this one.  I'd love some more stand-alone thrillers like Digital Fortress or Deception Point from Dan Brown in the future.

One down, ninety-nine to go!

Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner

I had never read a Jennifer Weiner book before, but I was hearing her name come up on the Interwebz, so when I was at the library recently I decided to give her a try.  The book I chose was called Goodnight Nobody, and I chose it because I liked the synopsis.

Without giving away major spoilers, the story is about a woman named Kate who moves to the suburbs with her husband after having been born and raised a New York City gal.  She's a mother of three, and doesn't fit in with the upper-class neighbourhood Mommies.  After one of these mothers is murdered, Kate dives in to solving the seemingly unsolveable mystery.

This book was really enjoyable to read.  I liked the mystery, it wasn't predictable.  The characters, Kate's best friend Janie in particular, are enjoyable and well-developed.  It mixes Kate's earlier life in with her current predicament well too.

After reading this, I will definitely be giving Jennifer Weiner another shot.  I recommend you check out Goodnight Nobody if you're looking for something to read next.

The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich

I have finished up to Book Seven in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I am LOVING this series, and cannot believe I hadn't heard of them until last winter. Janet has written FOURTEEN (* I apologize, last summer the FIFTEENTH book came out actually!) stories so far in the "numbers" series, and a few other Stephanie Plum books called "between the numbers" stories - so I still have a long way to go to catch up on everything she's written.

Stephanie Plum (who has a lovely first name, don't you think?) is a girl from New Jersey who loses her job and turns to her shady cousin Vinnie for help. In "One For the Money" (book one; the book titles have numbers in them which definitely helps you remember the order of the series!), Stephanie goes to Vinnie's office to ask about a filing job, but finds out the job has been filled. Instead she finds herself accepting a job as a Bounty Hunter to look for vice cop Joe Morelli, a guy she has a history with since childhood. The stories unfold from there, Stephanie ends up sticking to her job as a Bounty Hunter (or, Apprehension Agent for "FTA's" or "Failure to Appears"), but she's not particularly great at her job. She gets lucky a lot, and she has a whole slew of sidekicks from ho-turned-friend-and-coworker Lula, to her energetic and sassy Grandma Mazur. She has love affairs with hunky Joe Morelli, but also with Ranger -- the elusive, sexy, and actually-good-at-being-a-Bounty-Hunter Bounty Hunter who also works for Vinnie.

Each book finds Stephanie chasing after a new FTA, and she usually winds up in some pretty crazy situations. It has humour, a touch of romance, a touch of mystery and mostly it's just a good read.

I highly recommend checking out the Stephanie Plum series, I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I have been. I'm really looking forward to diving into Book Eight, which I just checked out of the library today!

Murder Unleashed: A Dead-End Job Mystery - Elaine Viets

Thanks to GoodReads.com I am discovering so many book series' that I had never heard about before! Also thanks to GoodReads.com I've started up a "want to read" list that's nearly 100 books long.

It's a good thing I read at least two novels a week, three when I'm really in my prime.

A book series I wanted to check out was the "Dead-End Job Mystery" series by Elaine Viets. At my local library, where I've been trying to take out some books in an effort to conserve my precious few dollars, they did not have the first book in the series. I decided to go ahead and take out a later book, because I read on Elaine's website that you didn't necessarily need to read the books in order.

The series follows a woman named Helen Hawthorne who is on the run from her ex-husband and St. Louis police. She's forced to take dead-end jobs that pay her cash under the table so that she can pay her living expenses. Each book follows Helen working in a different dead-end job, and includes some sort of mystery that she gets wrapped up in. The book I took out was called Murder Unleashed, in which Helen was working at a dog grooming/pampered pet boutique, and gets involved in a murder investigation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Helen is a great character. I agree, judging by this book (which is the fifth book in the dead-end job series, I believe) I don't think they have to necessarily be read in order. I do hope to go back though and read the first four in order, just to get the full effect of Helen's backstory... but each novel has it's unique case in it, and I didn't truly feel "lost" while reading this book having not read the others.

This was a fun change to my typical chick-lit romance fare (although Helen does have a love interest, so it's still there), and I definitely can't wait to read the others. Now if only my local library would have the whole set!