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imrehg's reviews
441 reviews
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.0
The morning light is coming and I've just finished the book after the whole night of charging through the second half. Confusing start, exhilarating middle and mild ending.
For a while I couldn't really figure out what was going on, because the story was jumping in all different directions and every character took several hours of (fictional time) to bring everyone new up to speed on some completely different story. When the characters settled into a sort of routine, things started to clear up to me in a very satisfying manner. Though got to say, just as Blomkvist, I still cannot really remember who was who in then Venger clan.
The middle section, mostly the murder mystery, was interesting and well thought out. Not sure if it could have been a little shorter, but that's partly personal taste.
The end, after the mystery is solved and we are back to the "adventure" part of the story, feels a bit lukewarm. It had to finish somehow, but everything was so well established that there wasn't any real surprise. It's a bit like the characters were on auto-pilot, one just had to "get that part done" to consider the book read.
All in all, it was a pretty good book and liked the protagonists a lot. They gave much more food for thought about human nature than the ones who committed the crimes they were investigating. They did surprise me with their reactions, but those were not out of character instead of enriching my views of them. I do have to ponder on Erika, Mikael and Lisbeth for a while.
By the way, this is the English translation, and some of the phrases felt... weird. It's not a bad translation, only minor things but enough to notice.
As an afterthought, with the confuse-excite-duh story evolution and the strong-willed protagonists, and probably because of all those corporations, this book somehow reminds me of [a:Ayn Rand|432|Ayn Rand|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1168729178p2/432.jpg]'s [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157143422s/662.jpg|817219]. Not that the stories has anything in common, but they feel like book cousins.
Ps: I got caffeine poisoning just by reading how many cups they were drinking. But now, after the whole night, I need a cup too.
For a while I couldn't really figure out what was going on, because the story was jumping in all different directions and every character took several hours of (fictional time) to bring everyone new up to speed on some completely different story. When the characters settled into a sort of routine, things started to clear up to me in a very satisfying manner. Though got to say, just as Blomkvist, I still cannot really remember who was who in then Venger clan.
The middle section, mostly the murder mystery, was interesting and well thought out. Not sure if it could have been a little shorter, but that's partly personal taste.
The end, after the mystery is solved and we are back to the "adventure" part of the story, feels a bit lukewarm. It had to finish somehow, but everything was so well established that there wasn't any real surprise. It's a bit like the characters were on auto-pilot, one just had to "get that part done" to consider the book read.
All in all, it was a pretty good book and liked the protagonists a lot. They gave much more food for thought about human nature than the ones who committed the crimes they were investigating. They did surprise me with their reactions, but those were not out of character instead of enriching my views of them. I do have to ponder on Erika, Mikael and Lisbeth for a while.
By the way, this is the English translation, and some of the phrases felt... weird. It's not a bad translation, only minor things but enough to notice.
As an afterthought, with the confuse-excite-duh story evolution and the strong-willed protagonists, and probably because of all those corporations, this book somehow reminds me of [a:Ayn Rand|432|Ayn Rand|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1168729178p2/432.jpg]'s [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157143422s/662.jpg|817219]. Not that the stories has anything in common, but they feel like book cousins.
Ps: I got caffeine poisoning just by reading how many cups they were drinking. But now, after the whole night, I need a cup too.
How to Live on 24 Hours a Day by Arnold Bennett
4.0
I really enjoyed this self-help book from 100 years ago for multiple reasons. It's a jolly good read because of the author's style, though I'm biased towards the British style. Also the author have very good insights into how people really work and can express things very clearly.
There were quite a few expressions that I should still look up (the language changed a lot since 1910) and many of the contemporary authors mentioned are unknown to me, but that does not take away from the message.
It is a very short book, one could get it from its Project Gutenberg page, read it, decide what you want to do with it, then you can revisit the Wikipedia summary to revise it any time you feel the need.
There were quite a few expressions that I should still look up (the language changed a lot since 1910) and many of the contemporary authors mentioned are unknown to me, but that does not take away from the message.
It is a very short book, one could get it from its Project Gutenberg page, read it, decide what you want to do with it, then you can revisit the Wikipedia summary to revise it any time you feel the need.
The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
4.0
The books [a:Isaac Asimov|16667|Isaac Asimov|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1286862859p2/16667.jpg] belong to my high school years, when with a group of friends read and discussed a lot of them. I do think they formed my way of thinking a lot.
Now re-reading after about 15 years. I think I look at it now with completely different ises. I cannot remember any of the storylines, really, or many almost any details for that. But things still feel familiar. Also, this time I'm not reading it in translation but in original language. And with the times have passed, now I have more knowledge and experience to put the book more into context.
When I first read this book, it was "just" a great story. Now I put it more in the context of how the world looked in the 1950s when it was written, and also look at how far we have came. The world of 2011 in some ways more futuristic than this book. In some other ways it is just as "modern", with the wrongs sides of modernity.
Many accuse Asimov of being too simple, for me the world in this novel invited that simplicity, with the complexity lurking just below the surface just like in the story. One can read it literally as a murder mystery, or as an almost pure utopia. I think, in a way The Caves of Steel is on par with [b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165517734s/5129.jpg|3204877], and will definitely go to re-read that one after this.
Now re-reading after about 15 years. I think I look at it now with completely different ises. I cannot remember any of the storylines, really, or many almost any details for that. But things still feel familiar. Also, this time I'm not reading it in translation but in original language. And with the times have passed, now I have more knowledge and experience to put the book more into context.
When I first read this book, it was "just" a great story. Now I put it more in the context of how the world looked in the 1950s when it was written, and also look at how far we have came. The world of 2011 in some ways more futuristic than this book. In some other ways it is just as "modern", with the wrongs sides of modernity.
Many accuse Asimov of being too simple, for me the world in this novel invited that simplicity, with the complexity lurking just below the surface just like in the story. One can read it literally as a murder mystery, or as an almost pure utopia. I think, in a way The Caves of Steel is on par with [b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165517734s/5129.jpg|3204877], and will definitely go to re-read that one after this.
The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov
5.0
I'm rereading Asimov's robot series now, after about 12 years, and now in original version, not translation. I remembered I liked this book a lot but I forgot how many details are to this book. Or maybe, being much younger and less experienced, I couldn't appreciate the intricacies of the story? Also appreciated all the little forward-references to stories later (according to Asimov's chronology) in the Foundation series (since those were written before this book).
One unmistakable aspect of the style is the completely analytical inspection of everyone's actions and thoughts. This is no doubt big part because it is indeed a mystery book, even if in a sci-fi setting. But it is quite amazing to go into that much detail that one can follow the characters train of thought - even when they are unsure, have wrong guesses, change their mind, make accusations too hastily... One can really look into their own mind and see: yeah, I do think like that too! Of course, for some, this much detail can be a bore, overly verbose writing. Nevertheless it is worth diving in and giving it time.
One unmistakable aspect of the style is the completely analytical inspection of everyone's actions and thoughts. This is no doubt big part because it is indeed a mystery book, even if in a sci-fi setting. But it is quite amazing to go into that much detail that one can follow the characters train of thought - even when they are unsure, have wrong guesses, change their mind, make accusations too hastily... One can really look into their own mind and see: yeah, I do think like that too! Of course, for some, this much detail can be a bore, overly verbose writing. Nevertheless it is worth diving in and giving it time.
The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov
4.0
Following up on [b:The Caves of Steel|41811|The Caves of Steel (Robot, #2)|Isaac Asimov|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169757911s/41811.jpg|140376], [a:Isaac Asimov|16667|Isaac Asimov|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1286862859p2/16667.jpg] changes the setting completely, to throw his detective into a difficult situation. If you have ever visited a country that you didn't know at all, I'm sure you'll find the description of the detective's experience most familiar.
Besides the mystery that is interesting on its own right, this book also opens the discussion to what is the direction humanity is changing? What are the disadvantages of certain changes. If The Caves of Steel show's one face of Earth future, The Naked Sun explores an alternative almost diagonal to that. It is indeed an utopia, not just a puzzle. Asimov does pass a judgement through his characters, but does not claim that there is one truth, but more that everyone (including the reader) have to make up their own minds about the right way "we" are going. He also says, I feel, that people should dare to dissent, and that personal preferences differ, people should strive to find their right place but don't impose their opinions on others.
Besides the mystery that is interesting on its own right, this book also opens the discussion to what is the direction humanity is changing? What are the disadvantages of certain changes. If The Caves of Steel show's one face of Earth future, The Naked Sun explores an alternative almost diagonal to that. It is indeed an utopia, not just a puzzle. Asimov does pass a judgement through his characters, but does not claim that there is one truth, but more that everyone (including the reader) have to make up their own minds about the right way "we" are going. He also says, I feel, that people should dare to dissent, and that personal preferences differ, people should strive to find their right place but don't impose their opinions on others.