Monday, February 6, 2012

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium #3), by Stieg Larsson



Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

Lisbeth Salander—the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels—lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. 

With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge—against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.



I am ridiculously sad that this series is over. I have completely fallen in love with the characters and will miss reading about them. It's a terrible shame that Larsson passed away before he could complete all (proposed) ten books: he was an incredible author.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Paranormal, by Nathan Robert Brown



Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

From any strange experience that can't be defined by science to psychic phenomena to monsters and weird creatures, The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to the Paranormal focuses on the most interesting and bone- chilling aspects of the Paranormal the supernatural including:

* Ghosts and spirits
* Angels, demons, and spellcasters

* Unexplained phenomena



2.5 stars. 

I was expecting more from this, but it mostly consisted of one or two short paragraphs on each subject. I rounded up to three stars because I *did* learn something new, even if it wasn't very thorough. 

Friday, February 3, 2012

The Girl Who Played With Fire (Millennium #2), by Stieg Larsson



Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.

But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander—the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played with Fire.

As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all.



A great sequel to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo! In this book, you learn a lot more about Lisbeth Salander's childhood. And man, was it ever messed up! There's mystery, intrigue, murder, and sex. 5+ stars!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Utopia, by Thomas More



Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

First published in 1516, Thomas More's Utopia is one of the most important works of European humanism. Through the voice of the mysterious traveler Raphael Hythloday, More describes a pagan, communist city-state governed by reason. Addressing such issues as religious pluralism, women's rights, state-sponsored education, colonialism, and justified warfare, Utopia seems remarkably contemporary nearly five centuries after it was written, and it remains a foundational text in philosophy and political theory.


I was so excited about this book. The original Dystopian fiction! It barely held my interest and my mind kept wandering. I think I'll stick with modern Dystopia.