The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I heard from quite a few people how great this book once so I was very disappointed that it took me over 250 pages to finally get into it. There's A LOT of information in the beginning which of course is good to have this knowledge for later in the book. But in the beginning I kept thinking, when is it going to get better. Luckily it improved a lot. The book is about a journalist named Mikael Bloomvist (another think that took some getting use to is almost everyone is referred to by their last name) who just got done with a scandal when he's asked to look into finding out what happened to Harriet Vanger, who went missing several years ago. Lisabeth Salander eventually comes to assist him in this search. I would definitely stick with it, there were a few surprises and it definitely made up for the first 250 pages. Looking forward to seeing what will happen in the next two books, since this is the first of a three book series.

Rating: B+

The Girls by Lori Lansens

A friend of mine lent me this book. It's about twin sisters who are conjoined at the head. Some people might find that wierd but the story was definitely interesting. I like the way both sisters, Rose and Ruby told their side of the story. I couldn't even image been conjoined with my sister. I had said to my husband I couldn't image not being able to just roll over at night when sleeping but he said how would you know what you're missing if you've never had it. It was a pretty easy read. I especially liked the different stories about their Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash. I'm glad I read it but wouldn't say you HAD to read it.

Rating: B

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I'm in a book club with some of my girlfriends. We meet every other month and we each get a chance to pick a book. My one friend picked this book for our club. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. Just from reading the inside of the book, I wasn't sure if I would have ever picked it up. All I can say is I'm so glad I did and thank goodness for Toni for picking it. Just to warn you the book is written in a very different way, kind of choppy. At first it's a little hard to get use to. Don't give up, trust me you'll adjust to the writing style. The story is about a little girl Liesel who lives in Germany with her foster parents. It goes on to describe her life as she learns to read and falls in love with books, her relationship with her best friend Rudy, her foster dad Hans and Max, the Jew they're hiding in there basement as well as her days of stealing books. This book is over 500 pages and I read it in three nights. My sister is always amazed I can read that fast, especially since I work and have my husband and two kids. I read everyday at lunch and at night before bed. I must say I couldn't wait to see where the story was going to go. I felt like I lived in Liesel's neighborhood and got very attached to the characters. This normally happens to me when the book is good. Some books stick with you after you read them and I felt this way about The Book Thief. Looking forward to hearing what you thought.

Rating: A

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

I stayed up last night until 11pm finishing this book. I'm a big Jodi Picoult fan. If you haven't ever read a book by her, you should! She always picks very interesting subjects and shows different sides of the story. In House Rules it's about a boy named Jacob who has Asperger's Syndrome. He is very interested in forensic science. Then he's accused of murder. I know two people who have Asperger's and found it very interesting to read this book. It made me understand how they might feel and process thoughts. The only thing that sometimes bothers me about her books is she doesn't always wrap the book up. I sometimes still have questions. Unfortunately I feel this way about this book. Don't get me wrong, it was really good. I love Jacob's character... felt like giving him a hug sometimes. Check it out and let me know if you felt the same about the ending. Other books by her I've enjoyed.... Salem Falls (read before Nineteen Minutes), The Pact and Picture Pefect. Happy Reading!!!