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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo book review

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I debated whether to give this book a 5 star, but without going into the reasons why (don't want to spoil it), I gave it a 4 star.  The first half of the book is rather methodical and full of a lot of detail. Not saying it was boring. It just took time to set the characters and events into context.  But at the exact halfway point, the story takes off running and I was unable to put it down.  Larsson develops the main character in such a way that I felt like we were friends.  Which is weird because I rarely relate to characters in books.  The suspense is gripping for sure without going over the edge into ridiculous cliched plot lines.  I will definitely go on to read the sequel The Girl Who Played With Fire, and will anticipate part 3 when released.  An interesting (and kind of odd) thing that I took away from this book is that Swedes, if true, tend to drink a boatload of coffee.

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Book Review: Boomsday by Christopher Buckley

Boomsday by Christopher Buckley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was my first Christopher Buckley book, and from what I've read it is not one of his best.  Since I can't compare it to his other books, I'm not biased and can clearly rate this one.  I wish I could give it 3.5 stars since 3 makes it sound mediocre.  If you are a fan of satire, especially political satire, then this is the book for you.  There are truly some outrageous and laugh-out-loud moments in this book.  The writing is crisp and it moves fast, but not so fast that a story doesn't develop.  Buckley does a good job of keeping the book moving but also provides enough detail so that you really get a good picture (or caricature) of many different characters.  The one thing that seemed odd was coming down the home stretch the last few chapters felt kind of rushed, almost as if Buckley snapped out of it and thought, "I have to finish this damn book!"  Maybe he felt like he could go on writing forever (not saying that would have been a bad thing).  For my first Buckley novel, I'd say I found it most enjoyable and a quick, fun read.  If you don't like satire, you probably should not read this book.

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Book Review: The Zero by Jess Walter

The Zero: A Novel by Jess Walter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I will not give away anything about the plot. The main character has all the shortcomings, flaws and apprehensions that we all do, but in the context of post-9/11 you can really see an interesting story develop.  Jess Walter has crisp but deep writing, revealing complex characters without drowning you in meaningless details.  Had to give it a second read to pick up some of the subtle nuances.  This book was my gateway drug to reading all of Jess Walter's novels.  If you do the same, save this one for last.

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