The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

It took me FOREVER to get into this book. I skipped the last half of the first chapter, and chunks of Chapters 2-3. It wasn't until about half way through the 4th chapter that I actually became interested.

The book starts with an elderly man opening his birthday present, and adding it to his collection.   The gift makes his heart ache.

Then, we are introduced to one of the book's main characters, Mikael Blomkvist, and his troubles.  This is where the book bored me to death.  It went on and on about Blomkvist's trial, and went a little to far into what goes on in the corporate world - something that I, personally, have very little interest in.

Once Lisbeth Salander is introduced and Blomkvist is offered a new job, the book becomes much more interesting.  Together, they work to find out what happened to Harriet Vanger, almost 40 years earlier, and what they find is utterly shocking.

If you decide to read this book, be patient.  The first few chapters are uber boring, and a lot of the Swedish pop culture references might fly right over your head (as they did mine), but it is definitely worth it to finish this book.

Up Next:  Under the Tuscan Sun