Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The Bloggerhood of the Traveling Book Spotaneously Combusts...

No, not really.  Hang on.  There will be more about that in a moment.

I hope you have recovered from your New Year's celebrations and have completed your list of SMART goals and have already given up on at least one of them.

Kidding.  Kidding.

I do believe that the Hot Place has frozen over.  That's right.  This geek has finally finished the traveling book.  Remember the traveling book?

 The Girl Who Played With Fire
by Stieg Larsson
Graphic by 00dozo

Yeah, that one.   It's the second in the series and follows The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This great idea started with Unfinished.  Ironically, he finished the book and shipped it to Quirky.  One of her zombies tried to snack on it but she managed to read it before there was too much damage. Then it went to Boom-Boom who did not drop it in the lake or leave it on a camping trip.  She delivered it to Dufus.  Then it went for a swim and ended up on an island with 00dozo.  All of these folks finished the book in practically one sitting and have even posted a book review. 

I got a bit behind over Christmas but kicked it into high gear last week and whizzed right through it!  YEEHAW!

Overall, I liked it.  The book got off to a slow start but it picked up in the second half.  I was a bit disappointed that it didn't totally finish the story, though. Now I must go out and get the next book.

Oh, I get it.   That's an EXCELLENT marketing technique.

Evil Twin has fallen in love with Lisbeth Salander and wants to learn some of her methods of dealing with immoral jerks.  She was particularly interested in that "hanging" escapade.  YIKES! That Salander Girl/Woman/Batgirl is seriously volatile.  I love the way she operates effectively in a controlled simmer.

I think the author did a good job balancing good and evil.  It's engaging and I was able to relate to the characters as they seem to fit the balance of people we encounter in our daily lives.  Wait.  Let's hope we don't ever encounter as much evil as what's presented in the book.  Once the story picked up, it was hard to put down.  In the beginning, there were a few too many details of Lisbeth re-establishing herself in Sweden.

Once they finally revealed "All That Evil", I was a bit disappointed.  Yeah, the character was truly evil but after knowing what they were talking about, it seemed a bit lame.

Ok.  That's enough.  I hope I didn't give too much away for those of you that have not read the book.

It's time to send the book to the next blogger.  If you're interested let me know in the comment section.

Also, Hubby and I will be taking a little mini-vacation in a cold place.  I hope to check in while we are away, possibly from a hot tub....

20 comments:

00dozo said...

I figured Evil Twin would like Lisbeth ... they are so much alike.
;-)

A great review, Reffie!

Anonymous said...

Woo hoo. The bloggerhood continues! I can't take credit for it, though. It was all Quirky. She begged and begged for it (she's like that, I hear ;), and then I finally gave in and gave the book to her, then the bloggerhood took on a life of its own. It's like the book is possessed. ;) Glad you sort of enjoyed it, at least, to pass it on to the next unsuspecting blogger. :)

Anonymous said...

"I love the way she operates effectively in a controlled simmer."

I love this sentence! So true! I want to operate at controlled simmer level.

I think it's what helped make her likable.

Nicely done, Reffers! Nice!

villa calpe said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReformingGeek said...

@0dozo - Thanks. Yeah, I caught her trying to draw a picture of her yesterday.

@unfinished - It was touch and go for awhile. Yay Quirky!

@Quirky - Thanks. This means a lot from the Queen of traveling books and reviews!

Jean Knee said...

I don't make resolutions but if I did they would all have been broken by now.


failure is so so sad

MrsBlogAlot said...

A hot tub? Really?

soooo jealous!!!

I'm so glad you didn't really mean that stuff about the Smart goals. Whew! had me worried there for a minute (-:

Enjoy the soak!!

Mama-Face said...

ooooh goody. I wanna book.


I read the first one and had mixed feelings. It was definitely compelling, but sometimes felt a little 'lifetime movie'ish. Not much though.

Lisbeth is a compelling character.

Don't you love that my first comment after so long is when you are offering up a book? Oh, you don't, do you?

:)

Deb said...

Twice I picked up that book. Twice I just couldn't get through the beginning - waaaay too long and drawn out about a flower.

I do not want to wait until page 250 for the killing and maiming to start. Apparently I am in the minority since every human being that reads has read that entire series.

Anything Fits A Naked Man said...

My girlfriend lent me that book several months ago and I've yet to crack it! You make me want to, though! Cold place? Hot tub? Sounds DIVINE!!! Enjoy!

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

I often operate effectively in a slow simmer. Yeah... that's me all over! It's been awhile since I went all postal over anyone, though.

Marissa said...

I recently watched both Tattoo and Fire movies on Netflix. Can't wait for the 3rd one! (Reading makes me too sleepy...)

Unknown said...

No smart goals here. Just smart asses. I haven't read the book yet. Lately, books seem like really long blog posts. My attention span has devolved from a twenty-minute focus window before a commercial break to a 400 word or less blog post. Have a great vacation!

ReformingGeek said...

@Jean - Set lower standards.

@Mrsblogalot - The hot tub still awaits. Forget the goals. Eat chocolate.

@mama-face - Yay! You are the next contestant on The Book is Right.

@Deb - Ah, come on, Deb. Start on page 250 and you'll be fine.

@Joan - It's not as cold here in Santa Fe as we thought it would be. Crack that book!

@Boom Boom - Please keep it to a gentle rolling boil.

@Marissa - Netflix, here I come!

@Lauren - I read books a blog post at a time. Sorry about the smartasses. The world is full of them.

Anything Fits A Naked Man said...

Hello, my sweet! I just wanted to let you know I've passed an award along to you on my blog. Feel free to ignore it if awards aren't really your thing you won't hurt my feelings in the LEAST! I just wanted you to know I think you ROCK!! Cheers!

MikeWJ at Too Many Mornings said...

Hey, I just got back from a cold place myself. Uhmm, just in case, I wouldn't sit in the hot tub I used until you're sure they bleached it first.

You're welcome.

ReformingGeek said...

@Joan - Thanks for the award! You are so kind.

@Mike - It's better than a permanent trip to the hot place, right?

Ivy said...

What a very cool idea to pass along good reads. Very cool! This sounds like a good one too! Thanks for sharing!

Diane J. said...

Okay, I've just added it to my "To Read List" (I love lists, I really do, it's so sad, LOL)

The Constant Complainer said...

I live in Cleveland and the last time I got in a hot tub in Dec/Jan, I spent six weeks being sick. LOL. I'd rather have your weather!


"1.00s, 1.50s, 1.75s for the short arms. If you know what I'm talking about, you're probably old, too."

"Boomer brain fog: What was the last, middle, and first part of what you just said to me?"