Anyone finding it hard to get through?

[Joy H.]

I'm trying, Leslie. I try to fit it in when I can.

[Sasha]

...This book is down right painful to read. Maybe it's just the translation or something - I dunno. But a good book shouldn't be this difficult to get into. A good book sucks you in and doesn't let go; it makes you feel like you're sharing the experiences.

I'm tempted to "toss" my digital copy of this book into the abyss..

[Joy H.]

I'm coming to the end of the book. IMO, it was unnecessarily complicated. It also has too many characters to keep track of. After a while I got tired of all the investigations and technical talk. The story seems to go on and on as if it will never end. Just like _The Da Vinci Code_, the twists and turns get tiresome after a while. Certain parts were compelling but the other parts left me wondering why so many people are raving about it.

As for all the different names, some of them were too similar to other names used (e.g., Malm, Malin, and Dahlman). Also, the author used the first name of a character sometimes and other times he used the last name. That made it difficult to keep track of the characters. These devices sometimes seemed to be a deliberate attempt to make the reading difficult.

The book didn't seem worth the time I put into it. Perhaps it's just not my kind of book.

[Monique]

It's very slow at the beginning, but definitely the whole trilogy is worth reading. There are also movie versions of the books, worth watching!

[Amanda]

I found in a newsletter once that if you sit down with a new book and give it 90 minutes of undivided attention when you start, you pick it up faster. When I sit down to read, I try to do it in 90 minute blocks. I did that with this book and found that it made the duller sections a little easier to bear and the fast paced "thriller" sections had me telling myself that I could read "just five more minutes..."

Another thing to try is that if after two periods of 90 minutes, 50 pages or 10-25% of the book, you find you still can't get into it, set it aside, read two to three other books, and come back to it another time. It took me many years and many tries before I finally conquered Jane Eyre (just this year!), but even if you set it aside ten times, leave a bookmark where you stopped. The goal the next time you start (from the beginning of course) is to read further, if even only one chapter before you give up. Eventually you're either hit a point where it clicks or you'll just bite the bullet and say you're going to read the book for the sake of reading the book. (I have one like that--"A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man--James Joyce" It took two tries and cliff notes and it wasn't for a class either. That's the sad part. Everybody raves about it as such a masterful classic. I see why, but I don't recommend it for light reading.) To you this may be your "Artist" book. One where you've read it, you understand why others love it. It just leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

However long it takes you and however many tries it takes, don't give up on a book. Stick it on a list to come back to at a later date. You never know. You might just need to have read something else in your life and thereby become a different reader before you enjoy that work. Every book you read changes you. So even ones you dislike do you good. Keep reading!

[Kerra]

Amanda wrote: "I found in a newsletter once that if you sit down with a new book and give it 90 minutes of undivided attention when you start, you pick it up faster. When I sit down to read, I try to do it in 90..."

Wow, you said that perfectly! I couldn't have said it better myself :) And I think you gave really good points. I think that it is true that sometimes when you read a certain book in a certain time in your life, it has a lot to do with how well you like it.

I also like the advice you gave too. That is a really good idea. However, I usually don't give up on a book, but I HAD to put The Blind Side down. I couldn't finish reading it. Too much football history talk for me to get into the story. I wanted to know about the kid from the other side of the tracks that beat all odds and became an amazing football start. I didn't want to know how, who, and why the blind side manuver was made and invented in football history ;)Just couldn't read any farther.

Thanks for the great advice though and I hope others listen to it because I know quite a few people who start reading a book and then never finish it. My sister is one of them :D

[Stephanie]

It was hard to get into it, but once it takes off it takes off. Played with Fire is a lot better, but Hornet's nest I am finding difficult to get through, but I am getting through it...slowly.

[Rindya]

I like it more after page 300. Before, it's too long explanation about Swedish financial and I don't know whether its translation or not, the writing was a little bit cold (just like reading nonfiction, no emotion)

[Nina]

Whatever else look what discussion came out of reading or not reading to the end of The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. Seems to me that is what makes reading interesting; either liking or not liking but at least reading. nina

[Lily]

Amanda wrote: "...leave a bookmark where you stopped. The goal the next time you start (from the beginning of course) is to read further, if even only one chapter before you give up. Eventually you're either hit a point where it clicks or you'll just bite the bullet ..."

Love your suggestions, especially the one above. Thx!

I will say, however, that there are enough books (even Twain's "best" books) in this world that it is quite okay to give up on some of them when one "bites the bullet."

(I allude to a quotation from Mark Twain: "Don't read good books. There isn't enough time for that. Read only the best." Of course, the conundrum is always what IS best.)

[Nina]

As to The Blind Side, I didn't read the book but did like the movie. I read that the main character didn't like the idea that the movie focused more on the family than it did on him. I really didn't think that was the case. Perhaps the book was different. nina

[Andre Jute]

Nina wrote: "Whatever else look what discussion came out of reading or not reading to the end of The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. Seems to me that is what makes reading interesting; either liking or not liking b..."

Couldn't agree more. I've always taken the view that it doesn't matter what the child reads, as long as it reads, and the same applies to adults. I suspect that a large percentage of people who are Larsson fans haven't read another book since they left school. We might not see them here on Goodreads, which is self-selecting for constant readers, but they're out there, probably in their millions. That can't be a bad thing, because sooner or later they start looking at other books.

THE LARSSON SCANDAL the unauthorized guerilla critique of Stieg Larsson

[Iliana]

I found that only the first 30 pages were hard to get through. The rest of the book is so amazing that I finished it in two days. Same thing happened with the 2nd and 3rd book. Don't stop reading it because it really is an amazing book series.

[Kerra]

Nina wrote: "As to The Blind Side, I didn't read the book but did like the movie. I read that the main character didn't like the idea that the movie focused more on the family than it did on him. I really didn'..."

Yes, I liked the movie as well, which is the main reason that I bought the book. There was just too much football history and I wanted to know more about the kid, than I did about football history. I like watching football, but as far as keeping up with names and why the do certain plays, that is really boring to me :) Basketball is more my thing. I really did like the movie though.

[Cindy]

Joy H. wrote: "I'm coming to the end of the book. IMO, it was unnecessarily complicated. It also has too many characters to keep track of.

I have just finished Girl Who Played with Fire and thought it was MUCH better. His writing improved and now that we know the characters they are easier to follow.

[Joy H.]

Thanks, Cindy. That's good to know.

[M]

That's because in the beginning you have to sift through a lot of material that's given to you. There's a lot of names and facts no one really cares to remember and it's hard to get excited over new information when you don't even know who that person is.

But, for the most part just focus, it gets pretty good once you get over the first third of the book.

[Joy H.]

The first part of the book was very dry.

The mystery in the middle of the book was very absorbing.

Near the end of the book, it got boring again.

By the end of the book I had had enough of the twists and turns.

IMO, the story needed editing.

[Amanda]

Kerra and Lily, thank you! I'm currently working on seeing if I can read every book on the list a local college gives out where they say "Incoming Freshman should have read several of these books coming into school..." as I had a major life change about a year ago and needed a goal to focus on. Happily I'm scattering amongst those whatever else my eye falls on. :) I figure when I get done with MU's list, I'll contact another college and keep going. (That was where I found that awful Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. His Ulysses is on there too, and I just found that used, but it's going to be a while until I get inspired to read it. It's quite a behemoth! You know, I never minded reading the books for English class... I just didn't like writing the papers. So... Can anyone tell me why I let myself get talked into a book club at the local library where I have to give (orally) written presentations on selected material? Anyone appreciate irony? :P [What's worse, I got put on the the planning committee for next years book list. If anyone is curious, ask. :P ]

[Kerra]

Amanda wrote: "Kerra and Lily, thank you! I'm currently working on seeing if I can read every book on the list a local college gives out where they say "Incoming Freshman should have read several of these books ..."

Lol, oh my goodness what did you get yourself into. Having to write papers on books you have read "In A Book CLUB" that is crazy. To me that doesn't sound like fun, and I even enjoy writting. Well when you are done with the library book club, you are more than welcome to join mine :D I don't require you to write any papers or stay on certain chapters, you read at your own pace and then come on my show to talk about it once a week. Not too bad. Well I think everyone needs hobbies to keep them from going insane :D So, it is good that you got your self out there and tried something new. However, I am a little courious as to how you will be making that new list and is there any rules to suggesting books for you? As in are you allowed to suggest ones that you like or are you only allowed to pick out of a certain set of novels? Just curious :D

I am trying to stay up with the book chanllege that I took part in on GR, lol, and so far I finished a book two nights ago and I am still 1 book and 4% behind :) I don't know how that works, but I will either acomplish it or I won't. I am not going to bust my butt anymore, lol, because I don't think I could handle it and plus I think when you speed read to get a book read faster, you don't enjoy the book as much.

But that is just my opinion :)

[Linda]

I really enjoyed all three books but I can understand how some would find them a hard go.

Here is a little something that I follow about starting and getting into a book:

If you are under age 50, read 50 pages and if you can't get into it, put the book down. Now, for those over 50 (myself) subtract your age from 100 and that is the number of pages to read. If not interested by then put the book down. There are zillions of books out there and why struggle with something. If you are 100 you can literally judge a book by its cover, hahahaha.

Don't struggle with a book just because the rest of us thought it was good. Be yourself and reading is so personal, read what you like. Whatever it is, so be it, it is your read and your life.

[Ivy]

Thank you everyone for sharing. Knowing I am not alone makes me feel better. I truly thought I was the only person in the WORLD who felt this way. So it has been a while and I am going to try once again to pick up the book. Wish me luck!

[Lori]

I rarely give up on a book, but the was one I just could not plow through....disapointing as I had heard such goods things about it.

[Olga]

I've got through it and now I think it was time wasted.
Specially the end as all disappointment and dull.

[Joy H.]

IMO, the plot about the missing girl was the best part of the book. It was an absorbing mystery. I liked the way it ended.

If they had left out the entire subplot about the Wennerstrom financial fraud, it could have been a very satisfying story. The Wennerstrom subplot made the book dull and boring. It ruined the beginning and the ending of the book which was overly drawn out. The investigations never seemed to end. They were unnecessarily complicated. I grew tired of the tedious financial talk and the dull computer tech talk. Also, there were too many character-names, some thrown in who didn't matter much at all.

Furthermore, IMO, Lisbeth Salander is not a believable character. She's about as believable as Wonder Woman was in the old comic books.

[Olga]

Furthermore, IMO, Lisbeth Salander is not a believable character. She's about as believable as Wonder Woman was in the old comic books.

LOL Only I found nothing wonderful about her :)
The only thing in that book I liked was that house were the narrator lived and worked. Back then I'd like to live hidden somewhere far away reading stuff and getting lot of money just like him.

[Kerra]

Ivy wrote: "Thank you everyone for sharing. Knowing I am not alone makes me feel better. I truly thought I was the only person in the WORLD who felt this way. So it has been a while and I am going to try once ..."

Much luck wished :) I think you will like it once the story picks up.

[Emma]

The translation is HORRIBLE. Some of the worst sentences I've ever read... unless the original text is that badly written, in which case, like, wow, how did it even get published.

[Laurie]

I'm sooo glad to find out that I'm not the only one who struggled through those first few chapters. The book became immensely better once all the business details were explained.(although I still have NO idea what it all meant)I'm reading the second book now and it is sooo much better, especially if you enjoy detailed police investigations. Hang in there! I think you will be glad you did.

[???!!!]

Lulu wrote: "In all honesty, I think Larsson is a huge phenomenon but somewhat of an unjustified one. I find Salander difficult to like and unrealistic (who can hack that well?!?). In any case, there are so m..."

O I'm so glad I found you! I'm a Hanning Mankell fan myself. Way before "The Girl" explosion I read several Swedish novel and found my niche. I would strongly recommend Arnuldur Indridason (hard to spell his name), but the title of the book is "Silence of the Grave".

[???!!!]

Anybody read Val McDermid's "A Place of Execution?" For me the "Girl with Dragon Tatto" bears quite a similarity. But still, what a story. Yes, the beginning is strenuous, especially with so many characters. But imagine it would be 10 times more difficult for the author to concoct such a grandeur scale of names and interwoven plots.

[Amber Dawn]

Cici wrote: "lol! Yes, I loved the girl with the dragon tattoo and the girl who played with fire, but it took me forever to read them. Now, I'm on the last one and yet again it's difficult to get through. Once ..."

Dragon Tattoo takes a while to get into. I loved Fire. I am currently reading Hornet's Nest and am about to give up...

[Andre Jute]

Emma wrote: "The translation is HORRIBLE. Some of the worst sentences I've ever read... unless the original text is that badly written, in which case, like, wow, how did it even get published."

Eva Gedin, Larsson's Swedish editor, described his "style" as "efficient". That's about as near as she can come to saying "crude" without saying it. Nothing wrong with the translation; Larsson is just not a literary stylist. His editors are to blame for not fixing some of those sentences, and for not cutting the huge and worthless digressions, but in the first instance Larsson, a journalist, should have known better than to turn in manuscripts in that appalling state.

THE LARSSON SCANDAL the unauthorized guerilla critique of Stieg Larsson

[Dee]

don't give up on Hornet's Nest...it does take a bit of time, but I loved the ended when Lisbeth's world turns out right (if that is even the right word to describe it)

Amber Dawn wrote: "Cici wrote: "lol! Yes, I loved the girl with the dragon tattoo and the girl who played with fire, but it took me forever to read them. Now, I'm on the last one and yet again it's difficult to get t..."

[Quinn]

UGH! I have a newborn and a 2 year old and keep picking this book up over and over again.....not sure I have it in me to power through...I want to like it so much since it was a very sweet present from my husband, but its SOOOOO boring thus far (keep reading the same 28 pages again and again....Booooo)

[Kerra]

Quinn wrote: "UGH! I have a newborn and a 2 year old and keep picking this book up over and over again.....not sure I have it in me to power through...I want to like it so much since it was a very sweet present ..."

Lol, can completely understand that. Well, all I can say is god bless book marks :) and if you can get past the first 100 pages the story gets so much better and you will be able to remember and follow it a lot better :)

[Kerra]

David wrote: "I read all three - which surprised me because I thought the GWTDT was frankly - pretty awful! It seemed so massively popular that I thought I must be missing something - so I read the 2nd - which w..."

I think you did a good job at describing why you didn't like TGWTDT, and you actually had reasons. I really liked the books, but there are a few things that you pointed out that I didn't really notice until you said something. Especially with the food thing :) That is true that they drank a lot of coffee and never really ate home cooked meals at all. I think they maybe did when they ate with Henrick Vanger, but that is about it.

Thanks for pointing so much out!

[Joy H.]

David wrote: "I read all three - which surprised me because I thought the GWTDT was frankly - pretty awful! It seemed so massively popular that I thought I must be missing something - so I read the 2nd - which w..."

Yes, David, I agree with all the annoying things you pointed out. I noticed them too (in TGWTDT). As I said in a previous post here, the book needed some serious editing.

[Kerra]

Just wanted to let you guys know that I just bough The Girl who Played with Fire today! Can't wait to read it :) And then watch the movie of course.

[Samantha]

It was a little hard to get through, I think. Too many details and too little editing, I agree. But if you enjoy Scandinavian mystery you should try out T.P.Boje. She is a Danish writer that has written several books but only one is in English. I just read it and I LOVED it. It is called "One,Two...He is coming for you." Check it out.

[Luke]

I bought this book on a trip i took with my fam so i read in the car it was hard to get through the first idk hundred pages but that also could have been my annoying sisters after that i was absorbed i read the book in i think ten hours total it was amazing and i immediately went to the library and checked out the other two.

[Michelle]

I also thought it was terribly difficult to get through. The only reason I was able to do it, I think, was because I had watched the movie first (before I even knew it was a book). The second one is much easier to get through.

[Amber]

Yes, the first 100 or so pages were quite boring... I felt like they contained a side story to the real plot (and then it appeared briefly again in the end of the book). I would have much preferred the side story to have not been included... LOL!

[Tina]

I didn't find it hard to get through, but I thank it ran it's course by the end of the book. I don't think I want to read the remaining books.

[Manugw]

Better are the other two books of the trilogy. All of them are compelling and gripping, the only shortcomings are the contrived coincidences, the difficult to believe movie actions scenes and the references to the same issues over and over again from different angles in the last two

[Lorie]

I listened to the first two books and the reader was fantastic. I read the last book because I had to order it from Amazon.uk because it was going to be too long for me to wait. :-)

I love foreign location detective novels so I wasn't put off by all the background information.

[Manugw]

Me too, in fact in many actions scenes in Stockholm, I left the book, turned my computer and used the Google Street View feature from Google Earth to view the streets where the action was taking place (i.e Lundagatan, Gotgatan)

[Teresa]

Once I got through the first 2 chapters of Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, I could not put it down and immediately began The Girl Who Played with Fire. I could not put that one down either. I am looking forward to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, but have to read my book club book first.

[Jay]

I loved the story and had no trouble getting into reading any of the three books; I had a hard time putting them down. I did see the first film before I read the first book.

[Michael]

Delicious Dee Challenge Addict wrote: "maybe a recommendation if you are struggling reading, I listened to the audiobooks of all three in the series because it was easier for me to visualize it...i found myself at times, taking the long..."

I second this recommendation. The reader for the audiobooks is very, VERY good. He made "Dragon Tattoo" an absolutely compelling book for me. I was able to pick up the CDs at my local library.