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[fit-intelligence]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, review by dessine-moi (E)

I’m long overdue for a review…

How many stars do you rate the book?  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆ 

How many stars do you rate the author?  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆ 

What is your favorite quote? 

“She went around with the attitude that she would rather be beaten to death than take any shit.”

Do you like the ending? What would you change about it?

Actually, I felt a bit “meh” about the ending. The book really pulls you in with the suspense and drama (I stayed up 24hours straight to finish it) so the ending felt a little anti-climactic. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just say that how the loose ends were tied came across like a cop-out and a bit forced.

Any life lessons learned?

Hmm. I don’t know that this was a “life lessons” kind of book, but if I had to pick something to learn from the main characters it would be to … stick to your convictions and fight for what you think is right. They sure did that.

Final thoughts?

As others pointed out, the book is slow to start. But once you get to, I think, page 150 (200? don’t recall), you’ll be invested in the story. I personally LOVED Salander. She’s definitely not your typical heroine. I think her character development speaks volumes about the author’s skill as a writer. In the wrong hands, her character could come across as one dimensional and yet she turns out to be anything but.

[fit-intelligence]

Looking for Alaska review by shethinksimbeautiful

I was finally able to finish January's book, which gives me no time for February, but hopefully I can jump back in for March! Anyway. On to the review!

How many stars do you rate the book?  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆   (of five)

How many stars do you rate the author?  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆ (of five)

What is your favorite quote? "You can't just make yourself matter and then die, Alaska, because now I am irretrievably different..."

Do you like the ending? What would you change about it? Considering the flow of the novel, I love the ending of the novel. If it had been Pudge's narration, I don't think it would have felt complete somehow. It took Takumi's letter to help Pudge feel like he was not alone, and it took the final paper for his Religion class to come to terms with the events of the story (no spoilers here!).  Closing the novel with Pudge's paper ties everyone together. He is answering Alaska's question, with his own understanding, brought to him by the best friends he'd ever had, while attending his new school so far from home. It expresses in such a short amount of space, how much Miles truly grew as a person during his first year away at boarding school. The final line of the novel, "I don't know where there is, but I believe it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful," impresses a sense of contended uncertainty that the entire novel (and life) is all about. It is beautiful.

Any life lessons learned? Looking for Alaska is a wonderful coming-of-age tale all about life lessons. The novel broaches life, death, the Great Perhaps, the labyrinth of why...

Final thoughts? The book is broken into two parts--"days before" and "days after." The event that marks its separation may as well be as monumental as BC and AD for Pudge. The parallels to his religion class define Alaska as his Jesus. Alaska changed Miles; she saved him, in a way. She brought him out of his comfort zone and really taught him what life is about--living.

[fit-intelligence]

Time to submit books for February's Reading List!

We will stop taking submissions on Sunday the 29th at 11 p.m. CST

Submit your books here!

[fit-intelligence]

Diary of a Provincial Lady by start-her-up (Kate/zombizombi)

This is December read, but I started late and was a slow reader. Sorry! But better late than never, am I right?

How many stars do you rate the book? ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (4 out of five)

How many stars do you rate the author? ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (5 out of five)

What is your favorite quote? “Am sorry to note that abuse and condemnation of a common acquaintance often constitutes very strong bond of union between otherwise uncongenial spirits.”

Do you like the ending? What would you change about it? One of the beauties of the epistolary novel is, in my opinion, that the reader does not come away from the book wishing it were different.

Any life lessons learned? Provincial Lady is not quite a lesson-teaching book. If anything, the only lesson to come away with is that many of us are more alike than we might ever suspect -- even through the ages and passage of time. For its time, it's quite subversive, with the Provincial Lady chafing against the restrictions placed on her by her gender and position. Delafield displays a marvelous ear for dialogue and a deft sense of the social requirements of 1930s Britain.

Final thoughts? It is evident why Delafield's work, published in the 1930s, has enjoyed an enduring popularity and the prestige of being able to say that it has never been out of print. It is hilariously done, the style is easy to read and vivacious, and the snapshot of 1930s life is irresistible. This is a novel in the epistolary style, which I'll explain because I love to explain things -- this means it's written as a series of documents, traditionally letters. Diary is obviously in a diary format, and as such it falls into the epistolary category. I have a weakness for epistolary novels because I find the inner thoughts of characters deeply interesting and because often the epistolary form lends itself to a greater sense of realism for the reader. Diary is a fictional diary (though largely autobiographical), not an actual one, but the reader might come away from the book feeling as though the Provincial Lady, her husband Robert, her children and neighbors, et al, are real persons.

[fit-intelligence]

It's almost January!

Time to start collecting ideas for next month's reading list. Send in your book recommendations here.

If a book you suggested wasn't chosen to be on the list for December, go ahead and suggest it again! We'll put it on the list. 

[fit-intelligence]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by dobetternow (Vivian)

How many stars do you rate the book?  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆ (four of five) I haven't read a book in a while, but I know a quality plot and character development when I see one. Sometimes the characters seem un-relatable, but sometimes the absurdity of the plot makes their character seem even more plausible.

How many stars do you rate the author?  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆ (four of five) Started off slow. The meaty stuff started happening around Chapter 4, and didn't stop until around Chapter 26. Before and after that point, there's a lot of summarizing and (slightly unnecessary) information. Praise to the author for making everything make sense in the end, though!

What is your favorite quote? " What she had realized was that love was that moment when your heart was about to burst." Near the end of the novel is when I started mentally keeping track of quotes to remember. On my Kindle, there were several quotes that were highlighted by other readers, but I found them more important to the plot than, you know, life in general. This is a quote I can definitely relate to, and I also think it's important in the plot line... :)

Do you like the ending? What would you change about it? It's definitely a cliff hanger! Knowing that there are still two more books to be read definitely makes the ending better. I like the resolution that comes of the various plot developments, and I like the 'humanity' that the main male character shows.

Any life lessons learned? Need to brush up on my sleuthing skills if I'm ever going to get tattoos and a motorcycle. But in all seriousness, it's a good mystery novel, but not very many deep thinking moments. You know, when you put down the book and reflect on your own life.

Final thoughts? I can't wait to watch the movie. Read the next book in the trilogy. I really really really want to know what happens next. It's definitely not a life-changing book, and there are so many plot twists that I probably won't remember them in a month or two. But my sister has a hard copy of the second book on her shelf and I'm going to read it very very very very soon.

Note: Zombizombi (or start-her-up) noted that this book has some triggering scenes of sexual assault. At certain points in the novel, I even had to skim through some passages because I felt a bit uneasy. Skimming those parts gives you an idea of what happened, but doesn't take away from the plot. I think that completely skipping those passages will definitely detract from the essence of one part of the book, which is to convey the horror of sexual assault and rape. Just something to keep in mind.

[fit-intelligence]

dobetternow: heyoooo thanks for the heads up on girl with the dragon tattoo. :) which books are you reading? / have you starting reading yet? :D if you have any comments about the first couple chapters/pages of a book, feel free to leave a comment at fit-intelligence and i'll publish it so more people can be motivated to read!!! :D merry christmas eve!

start-her-up: Yeah, if a book title pops up that’s in a database for triggering works comes up, I’ll continue to point that out just so people know. (:

I will be reading Dawkins’ “God Delusion” and Delafield’s “Diary of a Provincial Lady” — Provincial Lady is an epistolary novel, and I love that style. I’ve been looking forward to it since I read “Henrietta’s War” & its sequel which is a fantastic novel in the epistolary style by Joyce Dennys set in WWII England. Provincial Lady is largely autobiographical though still fiction, and there are quite a few sequels that look just as lovely.

As for The God Delusion, it’s been on my Nook forever and I hadn’t gotten around to reading it, so I’ll consider this my chance! I don’t celebrate Christmas, by the way, so I’ll wish you a belated Winter Solstice and say I hope the holiday of your choice is lovely for you ;) May you be warm and merry!