Week 7 and 8

And, as I've yet to actually purchase the third book in the Millennium tirlogy, we'll be moving on to one of my favorite authors.
Now, this is a heavier book. So it'll actually be a Tweeker. [A two weeker.] 

Book the pervious: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Book the next: Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Steig Larsson has done it again. With the second installment of the Millennium trilogy, Lisbeth Salander is back as the bad girl hacker that no one wants to be friends with.

There is a wonderful story that Larsson has woven. Filled with mystery, intrigue and everything you'd wish from a James Patterson novel, mixed with computers. Larsson even throws in a few big surprises towards the end, with a tidy finish on the last two pages.

There is not much I can say other than that Larsson is a gifted story teller, with an even better story. While, at times vulgar, it's always depicting a scene so perfectly that it plays out in your mind.

Larsson is a storyteller equivalent to a glass of salt water; Wets your whistle, but you need another drink.

On this one, I give Larsson a 4 out of 5 and frankly, I'm sleeping with my stuffed dinosaur tonight.

Unbearable Lightness

Most t.v. stars that try to write, write badly. They simply state things that happened, and expect people to like it.
Portia de Rossi did not do that. She told us a story about coming from an average family in Melbourne, to becoming a cast member on a widely loved t.v. show.

In Unbearable Lightness, de Rossi discusses her battle with food. How she dealt with the need to be thinner and more beautiful. Going from the normal 1400 calorie diet down to under 300. And how she felt with being a closeted homosexual in Hollywood, and not wanting anyone to find out.
And then she met Ellen. 

De Rossi is in no short terms, a poet. Her whole story is well crafted, and thought out. She flourishes in the raw pain she discusses.

Wonderfully written, at times witty, and always real. Real with her readers, and with herself, de Rossi gets a 4 out of 5.

The Book Thief

"'Do you still play the accordion?' Of course, the question really was, 'Will you still help me?'"- Markus Zusak.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is honestly one of the most poignant, raw, and simply phenomenal representations of the 1940's Nazi Germany.

A story about a young German girl, a Jewish fist fighter, Death himself, and all her books, The Book Thief offers a new perspective on what the limit to curiosity is, and it is the epitome of how we should strive for language.

One thing about The Book Thief, is that it sits on the in between of adult fiction, and young adult. While the title character, Liesel Memminger, known as the Book Thief is a young girl, the book itself is set in a time when no one is immune to bloodshed, thievery and the occasional curse word from the girls foster care mother.

And as the girl steals, some would argue that there are themes that are not appropriate for children. And yet, Death is apologetic of all that he does. He takes notice of the sky every time he collects a new soul. At one point and time we see him moving in to quickly and then being fought off by someone who isn't quite ready. And, the thievery is explained.

Liesel steals to settle the score. She was robbed of a brother, doesn't know her father, and her mother has disappeared. Liesel steals to, pardon my wording, flip the man the bird.

Liesel is portrayed as a fine heroine, who is stuck with her circumstances, and yet does the best she can with what she's got.
She learns to read by candle light with her step father, and builds a snowman in her basement for a Jew in hiding.

Mr. Zusak offers a wonderful look on what is worth living and what is not. Should we fight? Should we read? Should we play accordion, smoke cigarettes, and paint?

Mr. Zusak gets a 5/5 on this one.

Week 2

So, for my second week I'm going to switch gears on books.
From Politics to Young Adult fiction.

Book the previous: Lies The Government Told You By Judge Napolitano
Book the next: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.