Reading Rainbow

I don't know if anyone has read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series, but I have, and although I have finished all three books, it wasn't without a lot of effort.  I had The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by my bed for about 6 months before I even got the nerve up to start it.  I took it with me three times down to North Carolina and my mom made fun of me each time for not finishing it.  Finish it?  I hadn't even started!  I finally did start on the third trip down towards the end of July.  I just finished it last weekend.

For anyone who has ever read Stieg Larsson knows how difficult it is to get through these books.  I find that a lot of characters have similar names (that are in fact Swedish) making it difficult for me to differentiate between who is who.  He also has so many characters and uses nicknames for some, so I rarely know who any of the non-dominant characters are.  Additionally, he writes a lot of smaller plot lines that could be left out of the book.  When I first started reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo I was paying close attention to the beginning, only to find out it really had nothing to do with the main plot line.  The same could be said of a lot of the information in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  He could be a fine proponent of "Less is more."  

I have become invested in Lisbeth and Blomkvist and unfortunately Stieg Larsson passed away so there seems there will never be a conclusion to their twisted lives.  I have read that Larsson's girlfriend has the workings of a fourth book, but his family will not relinquish the rights to her in order for her to complete the work.  It is a shame that we won't get to see how it wrapped up, but I don't feel like someone else completing another's work will produce the conclusion many people are looking for.

It takes a lot of dedication for me to read these books.  They are not the quick, light reads I am used to.  In fact after completing The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, I began to read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.  That book was a breeze!  I read that in only a couple of days.  It was easy, yet entertaining.  I like the way that he, as well as another one of my favorite authors Jodi Piccoult, writes from different characters perspectives.  Each chapter represents a different character, but it conveys the story fluidly and allows you to really connect with the characters.  In typical Nicholas Sparks fashion, it was sad, but ended on a high note.

I could probably read 25 Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Piccoult or Emily Giffen books in place of one of Stieg Larsson's.  I do think he is a talented writer, but like I said I get confused too easily.  I'm sure others have a different opinion, but I'll stick to my light, airy, girly books :-)