The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Jan 02, 2010 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2010

I almost didn't get into this book...it was such a slow start and filled (at first) with details about the financial industry that bored me to tears, even though I sensed it was a setup for the rest of the book. I abhor info dumps in books so I was mildly annoyed by this. However, I stuck through it and when the book brought all the pieces together and it got interesting, I was hooked. I can't wait to see the movie now! ...more

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Jun 22, 2010 Rebecca rated it liked it · review of another edition

I normally wouldn’t read a book with this kind of graphic violence against women, but I forgot that an earlier friend’s review warned about this when I was at our local independently owned bookstore spending a gift card. All the ladies in the shop said this book was so good and couldn’t believe I hadn’t read it yet. Thankfully, I reread my friend’s review after buying the book and knew to start skimming when the explicit parts began. It’s a bit of a shock because nothing disturbing happens for t ...more

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Aug 05, 2010 Melissa rated it liked it

Yes, the book is disturbing. Yes, it's violent. That didn't actually bother me. The biggest problem I had with the book was how slow it was to start. The last half moved along quickly, and I found myself reading it in longer and longer stretches, but considering that the book is supposed be about these two main characters and how they work together to solve a case, and they don't even meet until somewhere around page 300....it was too much backstory for me. I'm hoping that this is ameliorated in ...more

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Dec 11, 2009 Jaspreet rated it liked it · review of another edition

I began The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson for a book club meeting that was held in January. One of the members recommended the book; I had not heard much about it. As soon as I got my copy, I felt like the book was everywhere. Almost all of my reading was conducted on the commuter rail going to and from Boston. On every ride, I saw at least three other people reading it. Unfortunately, I did not finish the book in time for our book club discussion. With limited spoilers from the m I began The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson for a book club meeting that was held in January. One of the members recommended the book; I had not heard much about it. As soon as I got my copy, I felt like the book was everywhere. Almost all of my reading was conducted on the commuter rail going to and from Boston. On every ride, I saw at least three other people reading it. Unfortunately, I did not finish the book in time for our book club discussion. With limited spoilers from the meeting, I found myself eager to finish. After the first 100 pages, the book started to get scarier and became more of a page turner.

From the internet, I learned that the Swedish title of the book is "Men Who Hate Women." While the title sounds unsavory, I think it is a more accurate description of the mistreatment of women in the book. At several points, I was startled and disturbed by the amount of and graphic detail of sexually violent scenes. I was also bothered by the treatment of marriage in the book. At the risk of sounding like a prude, I was troubled that none of the marriages were monogamous. I also found myself confused with why so many women were throwing themselves at one of the characters.

Lisbeth, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was the character that tugged at my heart strings the most. It is clear that she has a troubled past, but we did not find out much about her history. I also thought that her character did not have much resolution. There was such a contrast between her professional brilliance and her inability to have healthy real life relationships. Maybe there is more resolution in the other books in the series. As an aspiring esquire (please please send good thoughts my way on February 24th and 25th that I pass the bar), I was especially sad to learn that she felt that the legal system had failed her. From her previous experiences, I can understand why. However, I wish that she had had at least one experience to renew her faith in the legal system. On a positive and very selfish note, it made me feel more motivated to work towards passing the bar, so that I can try to help people like Lisbeth's character.

The book was an odd, but strangely satisfying way to start off my reading in 2010.
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Apr 26, 2010 Lindsay rated it really liked it

3.75. :) I haven't read many mysteries since my middle-school Mary Higgins Clark phase, and the ones I've read have mostly annoyed me--they tended to be formulaic and plot- rather than character-driven. I think that was why this was such a pleasant surprise. While the plot was complex and satisfying I found both of the main characters very compelling, especially the amoral Lisbeth. The only thing I like less than genre fiction is series, but I've already got a copy of the next book in the trilog ...more

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May 11, 2010 Lalitha rated it really liked it

Enjoyed reading this book immensely, but it wasn't the page turner that I expected. Moved a little slowly in some parts, but overall, this was a great read. I have to say that I probably would've have liked it better if I had read it before seeing the movie (which was a pretty decent adaptation).

-L. ...more

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Mar 01, 2010 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, 2010-spring-challenge, march-2010

This was a very difficult book for me to start. In fact, I checked it out from the library and started it twice. I just couldn't get into it-seemed boring and some the translation was a little weird. Then I read another member's review and he had the same issues I had, until he read until about page 45. So I went out and bought my own copy so I could read at my own speed, and low and behold, that reviewer was right! I don't normally write reviews, as usually I don't agree with what most people l ...more

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Aug 04, 2009 Martha rated it really liked it

So far so good. It's interesting and I want to know what happens next and how these people will connect to make a story.

Upon finishing this, I have to say that I really liked it. There was a lot of story in this plot.

If you start it you really have to push though to about the half way point to get over the hump of getting all the back story and character development.

Good read. I will read #2 for sure. ...more

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Oct 06, 2009 Shannon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I absolutely loved this. So much that I bought The Girl Who Played With Fire in the airport for the ride home. I thought it was well-written & suspenseful up until the very end, with well-intertwined plot lines. Can't wait for the third! ...more

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