The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larrson

This is the second in the series of 3 by Stieg Larrson. The first book took me a while to get into, but I was really enjoying by the end. This book, I was into right from the beginning. For all the neurosis and problems that the character of Lisbeth Salandar has, you can't help but cheer for her and wonder if there isn't more to be found to her. This book has a slightly different theme than the first one, which I enjoyed too. I don't want to give too much away. It's a pretty big book, but the reading isn't hard and it won't take you that long because you won't want to put it down.

Verdict: Very enjoyable. Better than the first - read it.

I'll be back when I finish the third and final book of this series - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

The Secret of the Nagas - Amish Tripathi

This is the second book of Amish Tripathi's series. I enjoyed it more than the first one, my husband did not. The writing is basically the same style, but the plot thickens. My husband couldn't get over the bollywood style writing and the unreal interpersonal relationships between people, but my opinion is that since this is meant to be like a mythological story, the language will be different. I really enjoyed a little deeper delving into the mechanics of right, wrong, stereotypes and enforcing your morality on others. To be honest, most of the morals int he story are a bit obvious, but the author did manage to throw in a few curve balls. I enjoyed it and am planning to read the third book whenever Mr. Tripathi is finished writing it.

Verdict: I still think it's a worthwhile read if you can look past the hyperbole.

The Immortals of Mehlua - Amish Tripathi

Daddy G and I decided to read this book and the next together with our Justbooks membership. I'll get into some of the problems with Justbooks in another post.

This book is a novel by an Indian author that weaves together a story with some religious folklore. It starts out a bit slow - it took me a while to get into it - and slowly reels you in and gets deeper. It is also curiously absent of all the pathos that I usually notice from Indian authors. It's a pretty light read unless you pause to contemplate some of the good vs. evil themes that become apparent later in the book, which I totally recommend. That's part of the fun. I'll have a review for the second book, The Secret of the Nagas, when I finish it also.

Verdict: I'm recommending this one. It's a good time pass and an interesting way to look at religion, morality, and good vs. evil. Read it and contemplate.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

I'm not going to post a review for this book either. It's popular enough and has been around long enough that I'm sure there are more than enough for you to find if you want one.

I enjoyed reading this. It's not spectacularly deep or complicated to read, but it is a nice fiction time pass. My husband read the next one in the series - The Girl Who Played with Fire - and liked it a lot more. I'll give you my reaction after I read that one. I like the occasional murder mystery and this one was nicely written. I felt too much attention was spent developing the supporting actor's character and not enough on the main character, but maybe that will happen in the next book. Since this book was written about Swedish people, I spent most of the book seeing Kurt Nilsson, although I don't think he's even Swedish. Weird. Perhaps because both Kurt and Nilsson were used in the book.

Verdict: If you have time to pass, read it.