Year End Wrap Up

This is a really belated post.  But ... my literary doings for 2009.

Books read: 44
Challenges started: 5
Challenges completed: 3

I read most of the books that I did read in the first half of the year (January - June).  From that point onward, I fell off the bookshelf, so to speak.  I didn't read much of anything in October or November.  But, to my credit, I am having a baby.  And I'm not listing on here all the baby books I've been reading (okay there really aren't that many - but I've been reading some).

I'd like to read more than that in 2010, but ... I imagine the books I'll be reading will be more little one focused.  I'm okay with that.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larson

From Good Reads:
An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.



Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pieced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

I read this book on my kindle.  It was not until I was about 50% in that I got really into it.  There was just so much back story.  So much build up.  So much character explanation (I still don't have all the Vanger family members straight).  Lisbeth Salander is fascinating and my favorite character.  I pretty much knew who-dun-it (or had a good suspicion) by about 50% in.  There were loops that were thrown and clues that were followed and I flew through the last few chapters.

The side story of Blomkvist's libel case and his magazine made for long chapters at the end.  I did not agree with Salander's method of justice, but for her character I do believe it fit and I think more details and more information are going to be introduced in the second and third books.  I wish there had been some closure for the families involved, it's alluded that there is, but I wanted to read it and see it.

I am very interested in the second novel, with the way the first one ended.  Lisbeth's story is very good.  This started off slow but was very, very good at the end.  Dark, twisted and a little scary at times, but very good.