I keep Googling Harry Potter stuff. I think it’s the fact that it’s ending and this magnificent piece of literature is something I held so close to my heart. It taught children to read again, and adults to believe in the extraordinary.
I wish my Hogwarts letter comes soon. :)
Oh. :((((
He couldn't be more wrong. Oh, how time flies.
I’m just collating all the other stuff that I will post since it has been quite a packed weekend (and by packed, I mean money flying out of my pocket). So for now, I’m just reiterating the greatness that is Harry Potter. Till now, I do not at all get why Stephnie Meyer is compared to J. K. Rowling. My gehd. Just doesn’t do justice to J. K. Rowling.
Here’s another reason why Harry Potter is better than the shiny thing.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1054" title="Hermione
Argh. I can feel my heart breaking knowing that July 15 is almost around the corner. I will miss this.
I don’t think I can ever exclude fairy tales from my future kids’ lives. I know they completely set the rules for girls to live by. They created Prince Charming, evil stepmothers, cruel stepsisters, epically perfect horses, theme songs and well, ball gowns.
I knew it wasn't always just me!
So I guess there are just some stories that would need to wait till they’re far older to determine which would be a good fairy tale and which would make a great story.
My kids will make their own stories. :)
Oh to sleep with dreams so sweet. :)
I honestly don’t know where I inherited my love for reading. My parents aren’t exactly the book collecting types. Growing up with very limited means, they simply maximized the public library for their schooling… and nothing else. They weren’t the type to go there and just pick up Great Expectations and read to pass the time. So I wonder most of the time why I grew to love reading so much.
I started with Archie comics, of course. I mean, it’s the classic blonde-brunette battle (dibs to be Betty). Then I slowly went to Alcott, Dickinson, Shakespeare (I was soooo dumbfounded to have realized The Rape of Lucrece is a poem!), and then the Sweet Valley years. I’m happy that even though I started with pretty teeny bopper choices, I managed to progress to modern literature and books that give you a good sense of mind fuck, and of course, an occasional Nicholas Sparks here and there.
I was sooo delighted when I logged on to Pinterest for the first time and saw there are a lot of concepts for child libraries and reading nooks. I am so sure I will have my husband make something like these for our kids.
I guess this is what I missed about being a bum. When I was a bum, I never really had to catch up on my reading since I am always up to date. Hahahahaha! Have a great day everyone. :)
By the way, this is post 454. :)
Title: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Author: Stieg Larsson (+)
Setting: Sweden mostly
Major themes: Investigative journalism, women, violence, sexual assaults, thriller, family
No. of pages: 644
Completed in: 3 months
WARNING: This review may contain spoilers.
The novel kicks of with Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist of an independent publication Millennium, being sentenced to months in prison for libel against billionaire Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. Professionally battered and disgraced, Blomkvist steps down as editor and publisher, and was soon contacted by Henrik Vanger to investigate on a cold case. He was soon joined by Lisbeth Salander, an elite hacker with psychological dependencies. Together they unravel the Vanger mystery and restore Blomkvist’s career to greater heights.
First and foremost, Blomkvist is not your typical hero. For one, he maintains an affair with his co-worker Erika Berger, married. It is that same affair that ruined his marriage. Then, of course, there’s the libel case. But Blomkvist has the human factor. It was not easy to warm up to him because his inquisitive mind can be irritating. He had too much questions that almost led to a dead end. In all honesty, I don’t think he could have gotten far without Salander.
Salander makes me imagine Carey Mulligan and all her bad assness. Her pathological need to constantly remain private and be all about the job reminds me of workaholics today, only she’s skinnier and better and of course more technologically equipped than most.
According to a couple of readings, Larsson witnessed a sexual assault when he was 15 and the victim was named Lisbeth. He did not come forward and has since written the Millennium trilogy as an homage to this woman.
There’s a lot of sex in this book and it’s not the kind you like. In reading those scenes, you’ll feel it was hardly pleasurable. Every assault scene was perfectly described and you can feel it for yourself – that you’ve been wronged and abused all in one ball. As the mystery unraveled, it became one of those novels you can’t put down. It was a very very good investment.
Just so you know, you can’t solve this mystery by yourself. It will be a difficult one. It doesn’t even have a Grisham twist to it. It has Larsson’s. It was so good, it made me buy the second installment right away.
Rate: 3.75 out of 5 stars
PS: It took me three months to finish because I was reading it in between classes and work. I will definitely read the second one faster.
the salt of your skin 
