Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

6/10

I just finished reading this to Mallory and Trevor last night. I liked it. It was "cute." My kids liked it ok. On most nights I could get a page or two in before they would lose total interest. I think if I read it to Mallory by herself then it would have been better because she would have been able to stay focused longer. But I liked the uplifting story of Charlotte's creative efforts to save an ordinary farm pig. And E.B. White had a fun writing style with this story. I was familiar with the story, obviously, but it was nice to finally read the whole tale.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

8/10

I just finished reading this yesterday. I had heard about this book series for a while and recently purchased the three books in the series from the local library for 50 cents each. Now I can start another book series and fail to finish it. Good times.

This book was pretty good. I enjoyed the detective-style uncovering of a serial killer plot line. The revenge against business tycoon plot line was less enjoyable, but really only took center stage for the final 100 pages-ish. It felt a lot like The Return of the King where the story peaks when the ring is destroyed and it feels like the book should be over but there are 300 pages more to go somehow. In Larsson's book, the serial killer is discovered and handled but the story goes on. The rest of the story was fine and it does tie up any and all loose ends, but it's just slightly anti-climatic.

Also, I had a hard time liking the girl in this book. I was hoping she would be a quirky and anti-social type that is likable, but mostly she was just a straight up weirdo. I didn't dislike her but was hoping she would be a cooler character to root for.

The book is also pretty racy, a bit too much for my delicate sensabilities. But all in all, it was a fun thriller that I enjoyed reading. It was also a nice change of pace for me since I had read nothing but lengthy Victorian novels for at least a year straight.