Book Clubs and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

It's a bit of an obligation now to belong to a book club. Books are being published with book club discussion questions at the end. It's mainly a thing that women of a certain age and status join up to.

I've never been to a book club and no one has ever asked me to join one. However, I have listened to friends and relations complain about the awful, boring, impossibly long book they have to read by next week. And how could that woman have chosen this book, it's so expensive/out of publication/only available in hard back/impenetrable etc.

I have also heard of people going to extraordinary lengths to get into certain book clubs because they want to hang out with the club, nothing to do with the love of reading.

I'm sure it's good for the brain to read critically and have lively argumentative discussions afterwards. I'm also sure that sometimes the book club is a forum for a good old gossip and a few glasses of wine.

Reading is one of life's ultimate pleasures. A good book will guard you against boredom, make you laugh, cry, marvel at the insights and skill of the writer. Ending a wonderful book may make you sad or send you on a search for more by that particular writer.

I'm not sure that enforced reading followed by discussion would add to my pleasure but for many it is a harmless addiction and a great way to keep in touch with friends.

A book I read recently that brought me a lot of pleasure on a beach was "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," by Steig Larson.

It's set in Sweden and translated from Swedish. Steig Larson (1954-2004)was a well known Swedish journalist who fought against racism and right wing extremism. He was Chief Editor of Expo. He completed a trilogy of extremely entertaining detective novels in his spare time and died suddenly of a heart attack shortly after he completed them.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was the first in the series and I am awaiting the translation of the other two impatiently.

The two main characters in the novel are complicated and attractive. The plot is well woven with interesting subplots and lots of information on technology and private investigation techniques.

There are various unorthodox romantic and abusive relationships between the male and female characters. There are unexpected, exploitative, unrequited and very modern moments throughout the book.

It's easy to imagine the book being turned into a great movie. It has that cinematic pace and quality. The word is that the book is being turned into a movie so if you want to enjoy it as a novel buy it now before it becomes over exposed.

COMMENT:

cakegirl said...
do you feel like lending that book to a girl with a LOT of free time at work!!! happy blogging x