The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
by Stieg Larsson
Keeping with our recent run of thrillers (and back to back Sticky Books whose title begins “The Girl”), the opening book of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Series is fantastic. You may have seen or heard about either the Swedish movie adaption or the U.S. adaption, but if you haven’t read this book, forget what you have previously seen or heard about this book.
Larsson does any amazing job with this book. It’s suspenseful, horrifying, and exciting. You’re left guessing what will happen next from the very first page. If you’re in need of a new thriller series and haven’t read this yet, it’s time to pick it up. I read it about a decade ago and it still pops into my head from time to time, which is everything we could ask for from a Sticky Book. (The ongoing fight regarding book rights between his family and his longtime partner of 32 years is a fascinating side lesson in intellectual property rights, inheritance laws, and common law marriage too.)
“Friendship- my definition- is built on two things. Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for someone, but if you don’t have trust, the friendship will crumble.”
“It did no good to cry, she had learned that early on. She had also learned that every time she tried to make someone aware of something in her life, the situation just got worse. Consequently it was up to her to solve her problems by herself, using whatever methods she deemed necessary.”
“The media have the ability to attract the craziest people to call in perfectly absurd tips. Every newsroom in the world gets updates from UFOlogists, graphologists, scientologists, paranoiacs, and every sort of conspiracy theorist.”
“There’s always someone willing to believe malicious rumours.”
“It doesn’t matter how good the enemy’s weapons are. If he can’t see you, he can’t hit you. Cover, cover, cover. Make sure you’re never exposed.”
“Everyone has secrets. It’s just a matter of finding out what they are.”
“No, I don’t believe in God, but I respect the fact that you do. Everyone has to have something to believe in.”
Sticky Books are those that you just can’t get out of your head. They stick with you long after you have put the book down and have moved on to something else. These are some of my Sticky Books. I don’t enjoy reviewing books myself. I find I am either full of far too much praise for the book because I know how difficult it can be to write a book, or I am far too negative about a book because, well, I guess I was just in a bad mood. So instead of reviews, I have pulled some of my favorite quotes from each Sticky Book.
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