The girl who kicked the hornet's nest, by Stieg Larsson

This book ends the Millenium trilogy, and like the other two was an absolute page turner. The most amazing thing was that the author was a periodist himself, and this incredible well written, well thought, and entertaining trilogy was his first and last attempt at writing fiction. Unfortunately he died before seeing his work published, and thus didn't know the amazing success his books achieved.
In the first book, "The girl with the dragon tattoo", we encounter the apparent protagonist of the trilogy, periodist Mikael Blomkvist. Mikael has fallen in disgrace after a businessman sued him for diffamation, and is threatened with the end of his career and the ruin of his magazine. At this time a mysterious millionaire hires him to resolve a mystery that happened thirty years ago.
Then we are introduced to Lisbeth Salander, an antisocial hacker who helps Mikael with his investigation. Lisbeth is an enigmatic character: withdrawn, highly intelligent, but subjected to a number of abuses throughtout her life.
In the second book Lisbeth is accused of murdering a couple of periodists and her own lawyer/guardian. In the middle of a manhunt we get to know the mysteries of Lisbeth's past and the events who shaped her.
The third book deals with the aftermath of the events that happened in the second book and Lisbeth's trial. Even now she's threatened to be unjustly commited to a mental ward, and it would take all of hers and Mikael's resources to bring the truth to light.
The books are amazing, the plot is thick and convoluted and absolutely perfect to the last detail. My favorite is the second book, because you get to know about Lisbeth's life, and she's in incredible danger all the time, but I couldn't put the third book down. This is a hell of a series, and I highly recommend it.

Black Friday Madness

I'm glad the Black Friday is over. There are so many savings that you feel it's a pity not to buy stuff, but then you realize that you actually don't need any of that and actually ended spending money that you can't afford.
First thing in the morning, I went to JC Penney, but it was already full of people. Of course, I didn't get up at 4 in the morning - or at 3 - like some crazy people. Anyway, I didn't find what I was looking for - they didn't have my size, or the offers had already dissapeared - so I spent the rest of the day going from one department store to another, being tempted and trying to control myself. Uff, I'm exhausted.
However, I found some wonderful gloves, and tomorrow I'm heading to one of the outlets to continue the shopping spread. Wish me luck!

I can see you, Karen Rose

Reading this Karen Rose book was like jumping in the middle of a party where you only know half the people. I missed a Dramatis personae list, like the one you could find at the beginning of an Agatha Christie novel, that would tell me who were all this people that kept popping out from the heroine's past.

Anyway, besides the annoying remarks about characters who undoubtly have their own books, this is a great thriller.

Eve Wilson has been twice the victim of psychos who tried to kill her and who, in the end, damaged her psychologically and scarred her for life. Finally Eve got her life back and became a psychology grad student. She's working on her thesis, a study about the effects on self-esteem of a computer game that allows you to have an alternative personality and interact with people in a virtual world called "Shadowland".

The story starts when Eve discovers that one of her study subjects has been murdered. What's worse, the police discover that several women had been murdered, their death staged as a suicide. All of them were subjects in Eve's study.

Eve starts collaborating with the police and specifically with Detective Noah Webster, a guy who has had the hots for Eve for a long time but who has his own demons to fight.

To make matters worse, a couple of reporters are following the members of the "Hat Squad" - the police section that's in charge of the murders - in order to expose them as incapable fools. Meanwhile, the body count keeps rising, and Eve and Noah are running against the clock to stop a serial killer who's preying on the women of Eve's study.

The thriller was great. It kind of misleads you at the beginning so you start to suspect the wrong guy, but actually you can pinpoint the killer by the middle of the book. However, the author throws a couple of surprises that make you doubt yourself, so it was actually quite fun. I was so intrigued by this virtual world that I ended surveying the "real thing" in the net.

Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

This is one of the best books I've read in my life, and I heartily recommend it not only to anyone who's interested in women's rights or islam or Africa, but to anybody who has an interest in reading first hand about another culture and the journey of an exceptional woman.
Ayaan was born in Somalia to a muslin family. Her father was a political prisoner during most of her childhood, so she, her older brother, and her younger sister were brought up by her mother and her grandmother. When she was a child her father escaped from prison and the family started a diapora that took them to Saudi Arabia and later to Kenya.
Through Ayaan's experiences, the western reader comes to realize the unfairness of the women's situation in islam. It's not only that in the most religious countries a woman can't leave her house without a male escort - not even to buy groceries -, or that a woman's testimony is worth half a man's, or that the Quran condones the physical punishment of women if they're disobedient to their husbands. Violation's of women's rights occur daily - genital mutilation, forced marriages, etc - except that it seems that under muslim law they don't have rights. There seems to be an unhealthy obsession with virginity and purity, as well as a huge pressure on the girls not to tempt men, unless they want to unleash chaos.
Ayaan wasn't always an atheist. In her youth she was a religious muslin, who prayed, covered herself, and tried to understand the Quran. However, she always felt acutely the injustice of the way women were treated and started to question it, only to discover that you can't question or debate the word of God, that has been transmitted unchangedly since the seventh century in the Quran. To criticize their religion - like Christians did in the Reform, with Martin Luther
- is akin to blasphemy and can get you murdered.
She escaped from a forced marriage to a man she barely knew and sought political asilum in Holland. There she was shocked by the events of 9/11, which led her to question her religion and wether or not it approved a jihad. In Holland she also worked with immigrants and kept watching how women and young girls were abused, even though they were living in a western country, because of "religion and cultural tolerance".
Finally, she came to reject islam and to try to get the muslins to revise and criticize their religion, to get a muslin Voltaire. Of course, she only got death threats.
In order to get the muslin community to look at the way their religion treats women, she and Theo van Gogh did a highly controversial short movie, called Submission part 1. In this movie she showed how it's written in the Quran that a woman can get beaten regularly by her husband for no reason at all - unless you think that "possible disobedience" is a good enough reason - a woman can be flagellated for adultery, etc.
Theo van Gogh was murdered for this movie, and Ayaan had to get around-the-clock protection. I believe she's still under death threats, but she still is fighting for the rights of women under islam law.
It's terrible the way that millions of women are treated nowadays. I think that awareness is the first step in order to help them, and Ayaan, through her well written memoirs, achieves that.

Here's a link to the movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGtQvGGY4S4

Love Only Once, by Johanna Lindsey

This book was written in 1985, but it reads as if it were written yesterday. It's a regency, from the time when Regencies weren't 80% of the historical romances, and it also introduces for the first time the famous Malory family.
Regina Ashton is the orphaned niece of the rich and aristocratic Malory family. She has been brought up by her 4 uncles, and even though she loves her uncles dearly, she's desperate because they can never agree on a man good enough to marry her.
Nicholas Eden, viscount Montieth, is a rake who works hard on tarnishing his own reputation and pretends not to care about what Society thinks of him. The truth is that he is a bastard, and he's under the constant threat of having his secret exposed.
By mistake, Nicholas kidnaps Regina during a silly prank. He discovers his error and releases her, becoming immediately enchanted by this dark haired temptress. However, Regina is forbidden fruit and he returns her to her family untouched.
Even though nothing happened between them, soon the malicious gossip has Regina's reputation destroyed, and Nicholas is forced to wed her. Angry with her and her family, and scared of how Regina is going to react when she finds out his secret, Nicholas leaves her for the West Indies.
Meanwhile, the black sheep of the Malory brothers - James Malory, a gentleman pirate - returns to England and through Regina's manipulative skills becomes part of the family once more. Of course, he has to help his beloved niece and sails to get the errant husband home.
By that time, Nicholas has recognized that he behaved like an a** and is about to return to his wife when his old enemy, Captain Hawke - aka James Malory - takes him back to England in chains - figuratively speaking. More than one surprise awaits Nicholas, and even though he's crazy for Regina, he still has to deal with his past before he can find true happiness with her.

I liked this book very much, and not only because it introduces the hunky Malory brothers, Anthony and James, who will have their own books later on. Nicholas is sexy and naughty, and even though he's extremely hot tempered, he has met his match in Regina. For her part, Reggie is not shrinking violet, and it's nice to have a strong heroine who's proud and who's not afraid of taking control of her own life. She also has the manipulative skills of Machiavello, and although it gets annoying in later books - she's always the one who prevents the scandal with her plans - in her book it's a welcome deviation from the innocent heroine.

I really recommend this series. You can see in my Johanna Lindsey page the reading order.

A Duke of her own, by Eloisa James

This book ends the "Desperate Duchesses" series, by Eloisa James. The protagonist is the previous villain, or "other man", Villiers.

In the previous book, Villiers came close to dying after a dueling wound. This experience brought a change of heart, mostly regarding the upbringing of his 6 bastard children (now he sounds like Captain von Trapp).

In the last book Villiers found out that his steward "misplaced" the children and pocketed the money destined for their needs. He started a hunt for his missing children, but as the new book starts he still haven't found two of them.

However, he has 4 children under his roof and he has come to the conclusion that the children need a mother. But not any mother: his wife should be a lady of impeccable pedigree, with enough social standing that she can launch his illegitimate children into Society and arrange good marriages for them later. This is no easy enterprise, since the nobility is heavily prejudiced against illegitimate offspring.

Thus, there are only 2 possible candidates, both dukes's daughters.

Lady Eleanor is haughty and has declared that she won't accept any marriage proposal from anyone below the rank of duke... since the only man she has ever loved is already married. Lady Lisette is a free spirit - some call her mad - who doesn't care about Society's rules and regulations and has devoted herself to orphan children.

Villiers finds himself attracted to both, but he has to decide wether to follow his heart desire or settle for the woman who appears to be the best "mother" for his children.

Like the rest of Eloisa James' books this novel is well researched and well written, and brings to light some secrets that appeared in the previous books.

Ten things I love about you, by Julia Quinn

The plot in a nutshell: Annabel Winslow is invited by her grandparents to the London Season. Her family has money troubles, so she feels the pressure to marry well, but when her grandfather all but pushes her into the arms of his friend, Lord Newsbury, she's dismayed. Surely she couldn't marry one of her grandfather's friends? But how can she refuse, when her widowed mother is struggling for money?
Resigned to her fate, Annabel decides to enjoy one forbidden kiss with an unknown rogue at a party, little knowing that she's about to find magic in the arms of Lord Newsbury worst enemy: his heir.

I easily can think of 10 things I love about this novel. One it had me smiling from page 1, because Two the hero, Sebastian Grey, is utterly charming and funny, Three Annabel is warm and very nice and Four you can see from the moment they meet that they're perfect for each other.
What's more, Five Sebastian is an author of gothic novels, which is highly unusual and original and Six they discuss opera, which I love. Seven the secondary characters had their own distinct personalities and amusing traits and Eight the villain was despicable. Nine, the counting that went on in the novel wasn't annoying and finally, Ten I closed the book with a grin and a warm feeling inside me.

Dark Hunter Dolls

For the child that lives in all of us...

I knew this was coming since I saw Barbie & Ken as official dolls for "The Raider", Jude Deveraux's novel.
Later, following the international succes of Twilight, official dolls for Bella, Edward and Jacob were manufactured (along with a huge amount of merchandise, from calendars to candy).
And now, you can shop for the official Dark Hunters dolls at Sherrilyn Kenyon's website http://www.darkhunterdolls.com/?gclid=COr5zYXtm6UCFeFN5Qod_19zIw

Do publishers prefer to sell books in paper vs ebooks?

I thought that the ebook publishing was flourishing. After all, there are at least 5 or more different kinds of ereaders, major bookstores support them - Barnes&Noble has the Nook; Borders support Kobo and the Sony eReader -, Apple has lots of different ereaders apps for the iPod and iPad, and even libraries lend ebooks. Everyday I see people in the subway reading on their Kindles, Sonys, Nooks, etc.
I still have a soft spot for the paper books, but I love ebooks. They're so practical! You don't have to deal with the space problem - and avid readers can collect hundreds or thousands of books... try to find a place to store them in your house -, finding yourself stranded with absolutely nothing to read, or having to carry around a bag full of books when you go on vacation. They're all stored in your device! What's more, with the new WiFi technology, you can browse and download books in seconds.
For me, there's an extra reason to love ebooks. When I lived in Chile, there was a very limited number of romance availables, or sometimes there were none! It also happened with less known fiction authors. I had to wait until I travelled to the U.S. to buy books, or buy them in Amazon and wait forever for them to arrive.
My experience with ebooks has been great, so far. Because of that, I discovered with surprise that some readers have had problems with the publishing houses, and sometimes find themselves discriminated - regarding prices, discounts, or availability of ebooks.
There is even a webpage where readers can post why they couldn't buy the ebook they wanted:
http://lostbooksales.com/
Are the publishers favoring the sale of paper books instead of ebooks? And if that is the case, why would they do that? Isn't it cheaper to publish an ebook? Keeping in mind the cost of the ereader device, and the lower cost of ebooks, shouldn't they be cheaper that their paper versions?
I think there's still a market for paper books. First of all, not everyone can afford an ereader device. Second, there still are people who prefer the paper format.
I think it's still cozier to cuddle in your bed with a paper book instead of an ebook, but I love the freedom the ebooks give you. For me, both formats are perfectly valid, and each one has its good and bad things. It's up to the reader to decide in which format he or she wants to read.

Lisa Kleypas' free short story

Lisa Kleypas has a free short story at her publisher's website!
If you want to check it out, follow the link (you'll have to suscribe to their newsletter).

http://us.macmillan.com/BookCustomPage.aspx?isbn=9780312949822&m_type=4&m_contentid=16337

Happy reading!

The Mystery of the disapearing cat, by Enid Blyton

Enid Blyton is one of the most prolific children's author, with close to 1000 published works.

The most amazong thing is that a lot of her books are pretty good, specially when they're early in the series.

This book is the second in the "5 Find outers and dog" series, a charming collection of mysteries for children, solved by Fatty, Larry, Daisy, Pip, Bets and Fatty's dog, Buster.

This time, a prize-winning cat has been stolen from the house next door, and the children's friend Luke is being accused of the theft.

They will do everything they can to solve the mystery before the town's odious policeman can imprison Luke.

World without end, by Ken Follet

This book is the sequel of "The Pillars of the Earth", although they can be read in any order.

In "TPotE" we read how Kingsbridge cathedral was constructed, thanks to the work of Prior Philip, the builders Tom and Jack, and Lady Aliena.

Now it's 200 years after the cathedral was finished, and once again we return to the Kingsbridge village.

This time, the story revolves around 4 characters:

- Merthin: is the son of an impovireshed knight, and set as a carpenter's apprentice. His ambition is to build the highest tower in England, and to marry his childhood friend, Caris.

- Caris Wooler: the favorite daughter of the richest merchant in town, she's fiercely independant and inquisitive. She's interested in healing and in helping the village.

- Gwenda: Caris' poor friend, she was forced by her father to become a thief. Her life is hard and difficult and shows the injustices serfs were submitted to.

- Ralph: Merthin's younger brother, he becomes a knight in the service of the Earl of Shiring. His ambition is to regain his parent's social position. He's also a bully and the villain in the story.

The book is very similar to "TPofE". It also has several narrative lines, a bully who makes life difficult for all the rest of the characters, and a builder/carpenter who has to travel far away from his village. This time the prior is one of the bad guys, too arrogant and conservative to do what's best for the village, and capable of anything to get rid of his enemies.

However, this book is not so enjoyable as "TPotE". Ralph is not so bad as the other villain, and the story wasn't so compelling as the ther one. It read like a copy of the previous book, only with different names.

New York Marathon

Today is the New York Marathon. I'm watching it on the TV, and some of the marathonists are like the Roadrunner.

The Girl who played with fire, by Stieg Larsson

The second installment in Lisbeth Salander's trilogy is an incredible thriller. I was so hooked up I could hardly put it down. I found the story much more interesting that the first book, because this time it reveals bit by bit pieces of Lisbeth's background, and you get to know - and understand - why she's the way she is.

At the start of the book we learn that Lisbeth has spent the last year travelling the world, while Mikael Blomkvist is once more a famous and respected journalist, editor of the magazine Millenium. A freelancer comes to him with a surprising proposal: publish his story and his book about trafficking in Sweden. There's a ring that deals in russian prostitutes and the journalist has enough information to back his story. However, a shady character starts to pop out...

Lisbeth returns to Sweden, still not wanting to renew her relationship with Blomkvist. Her sudden reaperance shakes her former Advokat, who is obsessed with revenge, and sets in motion events that will turn Lisbeth in Sweden's Public Enemy Number 1, and the object of a cruel chase.

Can Lisbeth, the girl who played with gasoline, outwit her tormentors and have justice done?

Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See

This month both my best friend and my mother in law went to China (different trips, obviously).
Both went to the same cities and saw the typical tourists attractions: the ancient china wall, Shanghai, Beijing, Pekin, and the city that used to be called Canton. My friend also went to the countryside and Hong Kong.
My friend told me how impressed she was with China, and how little we, in the occidental world, know about it. She also told me of the punishing working hours almost all chinese seem to follow. It seems that, though China went through a couple of revolutions and later opened its market to Occident, most of its people are still little better than slaves.
(This is my subjective opinion, I haven't been to China, haven't heard my mother in law's take on it, and I only know a little about China through the books of Pearl S. Buck, Anchee Min, Amy Tan and - of course - Lisa See).
It was purely coincidental that I read this book now, although I wanted to read it for a couple of months now. Like all the books of Lisa See that I've had the good luck to read, it's perfectly well researched and manages to discuss complicated issues while being entertaining and easy to read.

Here goes the story:
Pearl and May are 2 chinese sisters living in Shanghai in the 1930's. They were lucky enough to be born after the first revolution and had a quite modern upbringing at her parents house, a properous merchant. So, no footbinding for them. They even work as "beautiful girls" -models for posters- in the occidentalized Shanghai.
However, their destiny takes a turn for the worse when her father loses his fortune and sells them as wifes to chinese men living in America.
The girls manage to be left behind in Shanghai, but then war erups and they're forced to flee for their lifes. Their only escape is to go to America and to their husbands, but when they thought they had found a safe heaven, they only discover prejudice and captivity in the traditional chinatown. Each one would have to use her wits to survive and find happines in their constricted society, facing racism and witch hunts. And even though they're sisters and best friends, they're also rivals. A secret binds them, and if it is discovered, it will shatter their lifes.

I loved this book. It's fast paced and well ploted. Each sister has her own distinct personality - Pearl is a Dragon, May a Sheep - but none of them is a perfect heroine. Each one has her faults and her virtues, but they loved each other fiercely and it shows in the book.
The book also deals with a lot of complicated issues: starting with the occidentalization of Shanghai, the appaling way Immigration treated the chinese, and the communists witch hunts that were directed at the chinese community in America after Mao's rise to power, among other things.

Mini Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella

I was waiting impatiently to read this book, but now I have to confess I feel kind of dissapointed. Have you ever feel that a series goes on and on far too long? After a number of books the formula starts to repeat itself, and you have the sensation you already read this very same plot.
This was what happened with Mini-Shopaholic.
The plot will be familiar to any fan of the Shopaholic Series:
Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) now has a 2 year old daughter, Minnie, who is a little shopaholic in training and impossible to control... at least for Becky. They're still living at her parent's house (after 2 years) because the hunt for a new house has yield disaster after disaster. There's also an economic crisis, but Becky decides to throw her husband the most fab secret birthday party (Shopaholic ties the knot, anyone?), while she develops a new selling technique at the store where she's a personal shopper.
Minnie's antics are cute, and it's obvious that she's a little spoiled because Becky can't set her boundaries. Their interaction is the only thing that fresh and funny.
Obviously, Becky gets in a mess while organizing Luke's party, she fights with her friends and family, and is only rescued at the last moment by a most inconceivable ally.
Typical ending follows.
I've become tired of Becky's antics and immaturity. I mean, she was funny in the first book, but now?
Not so much.