Book Reviews

This book was a recommendation from Matthew who originally sent me a P.G. Wodehouse skit that contained an Irish Wolfhound-so this kind of relates to Remus...sort of. That was my first introduction to this lighthearted, quirky english humor. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion, earning me the occasional puzzled glance from my partner on the ambulance. While some of the plot twists you can see from a mile away, others are pleasently surprising. The writing was straightforward without being tedious and irony was caked on pretty thick. I'm sure I missed some of the more subtle parodies and inuendos, but the ones I caught were plenty to keep me entertained and sometimes I felt the need to laugh at things that on retrospect I really couldn't explain how or why they were funny. I give this book a solid two thumbs up, five stars, a hearty handshake and I'd offer it a cup of tea. source

 This book was hilarious. It dealt with far more serious topics than Piccadilly Jim, but I think thats what also makes it more funny (funnier?) in places. Again, I earned several weird looks from my partner, but she had learned by now that asking me "What's so funny?" would result in a bunch of garbled nonsense and then "You'll just have to read it, I can't explain." And that is exactly what I'm recommending everybody to do; read this book. If you have even the slightest inkling at ever being a professor, or teacher, or administrator, or anything in Academia (Capital A) this novel is a must. Or if you just like to laugh.
I give this book an A+, or promote it to Dean of any English Department. I truly enjoyed reading this book. source


The last 3 books I didn't bother finding pictures for because their current popularity renders it uneccessay. That and my computer is currently scanning for viruses and it's a pain to try and get google to work when the computer is this slow. I read the three Stieg Larsson books: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl Who Played with Fire." and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest". These were recommended to me by Brian who liked them so much he bought the collector's hardcover editions and also put them on his Kindle. After hearing for weeks about how great these books were I gave in and read them. These books were definitely intriguing. They're very gritty and graphic in places but the author doesn't dwell on the nasty parts incessently, nor is it rampant throughout the entire book. The characters are very human, and the situations are crazy, but some how believable.

Brian got a little snarly when I mentioned the first book was a little slow to get into, but I stand by my assertion. Perhaps it was the plethora of unfamiliar Swedish names plus the list of financial scams I only partially understood that made the first 30 pages slow, but I submit, then, that only a Swedish banker could truly appreciate that part of the book. I do understand, and appreciate, the need for setting a stage and introducing everything that needs introducing in order for a story to take off, but that doesn't make me feel like the beginning was any less tedious. Nevertheless, there were threads of plot forming that captured my interest from the beginning, and if it took a little extra line to reel in the meat of the plotline, it was worth the wait. I very much enjoyed these books. A little bit of conspiracy theories, a little bit of one man against a big bad coorporation, a few psycho's tossed in, plus a Darth Vadar moment and a rebel with a good cause. This was a grimy, greasy series that actually had a happy ending. I can't really say much more than that without giving out too many plot spoilers. I wish I could read it in the original Swedish because I'm sure much of the writing is lost in translation, but overall I recommend these books to anyone who likes a good underdog/murder mystery story. Hint: You can read just the first one, but if you read the second you HAVE to read the third. The second ends on a cliff hanger.

Thats all for now!

I have to visit Matthew again soon and steal more books...