Group Review: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

Summary: In the concluding volume of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, Lisbeth Salander lies in critical condition in a Swedish hospital, a bullet in her head. But she's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll stand trial for three murders. With the help of Mikael Blomkvist, she'll need to identify those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she'll seek revenge--against the man who tried to killer her and against the corrupt government institutions that nearly destroyed her life. ~powells.com  

Alice's Review:  This is going to be a mirror review.  Julie and I both had the same issue.  After reading The Girl Who Played with Fire, I was filled with anticipation for the final book in the series.  My mistake was waiting two years to read it.  By the time I picked it up, I had lost the love I felt for Lisbeth and Blomkvist.  I just wanted to know what happened in the end.  I didn't need to read it to find out. Someone just tell me.  Please.

All joking aside, I tried to read it.  I really did.  I couldn't get past Mr. Larsson's endless explanations of plots and characters and situations.  I threw this novel in my beach bag, figuring it would be a perfect novel to read on the side.  The only thing it succeeded in doing was putting me to sleep every time I picked it up.  I still don't know what happened and it's still in my beach bag even though it's December in New Jersey and I won't be going anywhere near a beach for at least 5 months.  I would like to finish it, see it through to the end but I know what won't happen for a while.  So in the beach bag is where it will stay.  And maybe one day, I'll actually finish it.  But I won't hold my breadth.

Alice's Final Take:  DNF

Julie's Review:  I tried, I really did but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't finish the book. It took way to long to get to the damn point of the novel. Too many characters, too many subplots, too much conspiracy. I mean I love conspiracy novels but this just took it to a whole new level. A ridiculous level.

I just wanted to know what happened to Lisbeth and if she exacted her revenge. I wanted to know that Blomkvist helped her and that they ended up on good terms. I think I can pretty much say yes to both of those without reading the rest of the novel.

I truly loved the first two books in this trilogy with The Girl Who Played with Fire being my favorite. Lisbeth Salander will go down in my books as a truly unique and interesting fictional character.

Julie's Final Take: DNF

Jenn's Review




 

Movie Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Summary: Stieg Larsson's #1 bestselling mystery featuring Lisbeth Salander is now a major motion picture directed by David Fincher, starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, from Columbia Pictures/Sony. In theaters December 2011. The first volume in the Millennium Trilogy, and an international publishing sensation, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel. ~amazon.com  

Book to Movie Review: In one word; Superb. Granted I haven't seen the Swedish versions but I really loved this one. It was pretty much everything that I hoped for when I heard they were making it with David Fincher. I wanted to see the movie alone but my husband decided he wanted to see it. So, I decided that I wouldn't clue him in on the plot to see what he thought of it going in blind.

I love the fact that Rooney Mara, a relative unknown, was cast as Lisbeth Salander. In my opinion, she was simply fantastic. She embodied Lisbeth to her core. I loved watching her on the screen. I've said in my reviews that Lisbeth is one of the most interesting literary characters I've read and watching her on the screen was rewarding. Daniel Craig was perfect as Mikael Bloomkvist. I didn't even know that Robin Wright was playing Erika Berger, so while she wouldn't have been my first choice; she did an excellent job. If Lisbeth's creepy guardian bothered you in the book, then they cast it perfectly for the movie. While I don't feel that Fincher shied away from that, I thought that it was done as best it could without being completely hideous. Now, don't get me wrong it wasn't easy to watch but knowing what comes next for that scumbag made it a tad easier to observe.

Did they change some things from the book for the movie? Yes they did. Were they major changes? Not in my opinion.

I haven't heard if all the same players in line for movies of The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets nest, but I'm praying that they will. You can't start something and not finish it. I would love to see Rooney Mara grow as Lisbeth grows in the trilogy.

If you loved the book or even if you haven't read the book, I think that you will enjoy the movie. My husband who isn't a movie guy said he thought it was excellent. His typical response to movies we see together "It was ok".  

Final Take: 4.75/5

Julie's List: 2011 Top 10 Books

2011 has probably been one of the best reading years for me, that I can recall. This of course makes it harder to pick 10 of my favorites. What's great is that since I rate my books, it does help me out a bit. I don't think I have had this many "5" ratings in one year!! 9 out of my 10 are "5"'s!!

If I listed all the books that were "4" and above this list would be 40+  books long!!
Without further ado, in the order in which they were read:

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen review
The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers review
The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly review
Sister by Rosamund Lupton review
The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jusi Adler-Olsen review
Children of Paranoia by Trevor Shane review
Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman review
It's a Waverly Lifeby Maria Murnane review
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson review

I am so looking forward to what I have in store for 2012 to read. Can it compete with 2011?! I guess we'll wait and see.

Did you have a really good reading year in 2011? What were your favorites?


 

Jenn's Top Books of 2011

My goal for 2011 was to get back to reading about 60 books a year, the way I had before my daughter was born.  I accomplished 60 plus (still reading or I'd give you an exact count), partly thanks to owning an e-reader, I think.  I'm amazed by the number of really fantastic reads I've had this year.

I was going to do a top 10 list, but quite a few of these are series that deserve to be mentioned in their entirety.  So here goes, in no particular order:

• The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen - she writes amazing books full of food and magical realism; if any of the above sounds good, and you haven't read any of her novels, put one on your 'To be read' list for this year.  You won't be disappointed.
• The Trylle Trilogy by Amanda Hocking - if you're a fan of YA paranormal and you have yet to read anything by this self-publishing queen, check out this series.  Ms. Hocking recently signed with our friends at St. Martin's Press and these are all being re-released with new, gorgeous covers.   I might just have to re-purchase the set just for the fabulous cover art!
• The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson - if you can get past the first 80 pages of plot exposition in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, you won't be able to put this Swedish Noir series down for long.
• The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa - Now that I have the perspective of having finished the series, I will be re-reading these in their entirety the very first chance I get. Ms. Kagawa's fantasy world is fantastic and I will revisit it many times for years to come.
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - I don't usually like historical fiction but this book grabbed me and wouldn't let go.  It's a heart-breaking read that brings life in Nazi Germany to life for YA or adults.
• Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs - This is the 14th book in the Temperance Brennan series and I really felt that it was a return to everything I love about Ms. Reichs' work -even though there was barely a mention about Tempe's love life, which I am seriously invested in...
• Lucy Valentine series by Heather Webber - so far there are three books in this series and I can't bring myself to read the last one because I don't want to come to the end of it. A little paranormal realism, a little romance, and a little mystery make these perfect warm, fuzzy reads.
• Shadow Falls series by C.C. Hunter - I think this YA paranormal series doesn't get the recognition it deserves.  I rarely find a book where I want to know more about every single character, but such is the case with this series.  
• The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate - one of those rare books where you can relate to every character.  I wanted to move into this marvelous food-lit book with it's touch of magical realism.
• Kill Chain by Meg Gardiner - Seriously, you have to read her books!  There are two series, and they really do need to be read in order so either start with China Lake (Evan Delaney) or The Dirty Secrets Club (Jo Beckett) -but start somewhere!

I'm looking at my towering To Be Read pile and I see a few more books from the authors above along with many new ones.  I'm excited for a new year of reading - aren't you?

Julie's Review: The Girl Who Play with Fire

Summary: Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, the two reporters responsible for the article are murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past. ~amazon.com

Review: These books are so intense that I took a long break in between reading the first two of the series. The Girl Who Played with Fire is intense from the get go. While I enjoyed the mystery around The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I loved that this book delved into Lisbeth and her past. I admire Lisbeth for her strength and her perseverance. Do I think she has some issues? Heck yes but most of her reactions have always been because she needs to survive. She's been surviving all her life. She doesn't know how to need someone because she's always relied on herself.

I found the exposition of her life fascinating. Perhaps it's because it's so different than what most of us have known and also because you wonder how someone is still functioning after her childhood. I loved how Mr. Larsson slowly revealed bits and pieces of her life. They were always well timed and always wanted you leaving more.

I thought it was great how Mikael was still involved in the story and spent a lot of his time trying to prove Lisbeth innocent of the crimes she was accused of in the novel. As a reader, you wonder if Lisbeth is guilty but you know that she can't possibly be.

This book never stops. I had to put it down several times to just catch my breath and my thoughts. I finally just had to stay up late to finish it. Luckily, my edition had the first chapter of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest so I can wait until the paperback comes out in early 2012 to read the final novel.

If you haven't read the first book, I highly recommend it. I don't think I've ever read a character as interesting, intriguing and complex as Lisbeth Salander.

Final Take: 5/5

Book to Movie: The Girl Who Played with Fire & Kicked the Hornet's Nest (foreign)

Review:  It really took a while for me to warm up to these movies, but by then end I was enjoying them.  Perhaps, because the third book is by far my favorite, the anticipation for it being on film overtook my lack of enthusiasm for the movies themselves. 

I gave up on watching these with my husband, because if you haven't read at least some part of the books, and he hasn't, they're kind of difficult to follow.  It almost feels like a montage of scenes chosen from the book with the storyline in mind, instead of a plot driven movie.  I know some things have to be cut to make a movie, but these books are so detailed and so intense, that I don't know if any movie will be able to do them justice. I will be interested to see how the American versions will handle this.

I originally said I didn't like what they changed in the climax of the first movie, but not having read further in the series, I couldn't really comment (my review of the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Having read and watched them all, I want to revisit it because it has bearing. The film both pulled from future stories and changed the storyline. It's the storyline change that bothers me. It changes how the audience views Lisbeth Salander. When so much is cut and so much of Lisbeth's background and mindset is lost in the movies, I think that change was unforgivable.  It really tainted how I viewed the rest of the series.

The Girl Who Played with Fire was, in my mind, the biggest offender when it came to montages of scenes.  There were some major cuts to the storyline and loss of context because of that and it suffered for it.  The viewer got little of Salander's life on the run and next to none of the story from Blomkvist's investigation or the internal struggle within the police investigation (which left them looking like bumbling idiots when they were not).  Also so much of the relationships between the characters was sacrificed that it made it hard to connect.

However, I think The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest was the best of all three movies.  There was even some rewriting (without changing the storyline) to make the plot more contiguous with all the cuts that had to be made.  By this time, I'd really begun to warm to the cast too.  I thought the ending of the third movie was a little more ambiguous than Larsson left things in his novel, but it fit with the timbre of the films.

I'll end this review the way I ended my review of the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for I stand by it.  If you've read the series, this is an interesting study in Larsson. If you haven't read the books (and you definitely should!), wait for the American version. 

And The Winner Is...

Congratulations to Jacqueline for winning the first two books in the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson!

Please email me (Jenn) your mailing address so we can send the books off to you as soon as possible. Thanks to all of you for participating.

Girls Just Reading uses Random.org to produce the winner.

Jenn's Review: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Summary:  Two seriously injured people arrive at the emergency ward of the Sahlgrensa hospital in Gothenburg. One is the wanted murderer Lisbeth Salander who has taken a bullet to the head and needs immediate surgery, the other is Alexander Zalachenko, an older man who Lisbeth has attacked with an axe.

In this third novel in the Millennium trilogy, Lisbeth is planning her revenge against the men who tried to kill her, and even more importantly, revenge against the government which nearly destroyed her life. But first she must escape from the intensive care unit and exculpate her name from the charges of murder that hangs over her head.

In order to succeed with the latter, Lisbeth will need the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist. He is writing an exposing article that will shake the Swedish government, the secret service and the whole country by its foundations. Finally there is a chance for Lisbeth Salander to put her past behind her and finally there is a chance for truth and justice to prevail.

Review: This final chapter is the confrontation we've been waiting for.  It's certainly the showdown that Lisbeth's been waiting for, but the question is, by whose rules will they be playing?  The tangled web of conspiracy gets more complex and constricting as it attempts to squeeze the life out of it's participants.

Larsson was a master.  He wove so many layers into this story that it blows me away.  The cast of characters expands with a plethora of names that are sometimes similar if you're reading fast.  When Larsson gets to switching point of views quickly as the story picks up, I know there were a couple of times it was jarring for me just because I had to stop and think who was who.  True, there is still some needless plot exposition (a page and a half on the Random Frequency Tracking System used to pick up and eavesdrop on cell phone calls, comes to mind as a glaring example).   However, the story itself more than makes up for the bits that drag a little.

The only tiny detail that irked me was that the police didn't seem to comb through Zalchenko's assets, which would have changed the outcome somewhat.  Although I suppose, in their defence, their attention was somewhat diverted due to the fact that they were chasing conspiracies.    I don't want to give too much away, but if a certain faction, was a little more skilled, instead of made up of retirees and rank armatures, this may have ended very differently.  It almost did end differently.  But here I am discussing this as if it were actual events again.  Larsson's writing is just that good.

The court room drama is so satisfying, on several levels.  Though the Swedish legal system has some obvious differences from the American system (for example, bench trials are held in a round table format and the concept of discovery seems to be absent), it makes for a far more entertaining read.  I can't wait to see how it translates to the screen.  Just reading it, I was very nearly booing and cheering aloud all the way through it.

Through it all, I think the character of Lisbeth grew.  No, she didn't change drastically, that would have been too much.  But her view of society and her place in it, changed and thus changed her.  It was heartening.

The story is left, slightly open, but in a satisfying place.  I know that there is a fourth unfinished manuscript out there, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.  While I would love to read more, a la Douglas Adams' The Salmon of Doubt, which is an incomplete manuscript published posthumously "as is", I don't want to be left in a precarious place wishing there was a resolution.  Yet I don't think anyone could finish it in Larsson's style, even if he left notes.  I have mixed feelings.

This is a brilliant series and I truly cannot recommend it enough.  If you put down the first book, please consider picking it back up... if you can push through that initial chunk of plot exposition in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and believe me, it's a definite chunk, it is worth every minute of the struggle. I will be watching the last two Swedish films, and I can't wait to see the American ones too.  I just can't get enough Stieg Larsson.

Final Take:  5/5

Giveaway: Stieg Larsson Duo

I am so enthralled with this series that I want to share! I originally bought trade paperbacks of the first two books in the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, my review & The Girl Who Played with Fire, my review) and then I bought them as Nook books and read them that way. My paperbacks are in unopened, pristine condition... and they could be yours.

Just fill out the form below by midnight EST on March 4th for a chance to win them.

This contest is open Internationally.



As always, Girls Just Reading uses Random.org to select winners.

Jenn's Review: The Girl Who Played with Fire

Summary: Lisbeth Salander is wanted for a triple murder. All three victims are connected to a trafficking exposé about to be published in Mikael Blomqvist’s magazine Millenium, and Lisbeth’s fingerprints are on the weapon.

Lisbeth vanishes to avoid capture by the justice. Mikael, not believing the police, is despairingly trying to clear her name, using all his resources and the staff of his magazine. During this process, Mikael discovers Lisbeth’s past, a terrible story of abuse and traumatizing experiences growing up in the Swedish care system.

When he eventually finds her, it’s only to discover that she is far more entangled in his initial investigation of the sex industry than he could ever imagine.

Review:  My first thought, "Oh my geyod, I can't believe Stieg Larsson left it there!" My next thought, "Thank goodness I have The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest!"

The story picks up almost a year after The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Lisbeth has severed all ties with Blomkvist and has been traveling around the world.  As she returns home, now a woman of leisure, she begins to asses her life and what she wants to do with it.  She doesn't want to go back to working at Milton Securities.  She also has come to the realization that she has no friends.  So Lisbeth attempts to reconnect with people in her past that she cares about, everyone but Blomkvist, that is.  But just when she begins to reach out, she is accused of a double homicide.  Now she needs people on her side, but will anyone come to her defense?

Once again, there is a ton of plot exposition before the story takes off.  This time, however, it's not tedious as we know the main players so well.  It isn't until the homicides, that the story elevates, and then it stalls a few times with several back stories on policemen and people at Milton security.  Larsson is a fanatic for details, though, and they do add much to the story, it's just, at times, I wish he could find a way to give them to us in smaller doses.  There is a bevy of new names to keep track of and it gets complicated, but it's worth it.

It's a heavy topic, but again Larsson treats it it with a clinical view so that it isn't overwhelming to the reader.  Larsson switches points of view more often in this book  However we get insight into the police investigation of Lisbeth which is kind of interesting.  The police go from assuming it's an open and shut case to being completely baffled.  We also finally get a look at Lisbeth's past, not what is stated in the reports, but what truly is, and may I say, it's no wonder that girl is the way she is.

I must warn you, where some complained that there was too much denouement in the last book, here there is next to none.  We reach a major climax resolution but the story is far from over.  I suggest you have the next book ready, because you're going to be dying to know what happens.  I know I am.

Final Take:   4.75/5

Book to Movie: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (foreign)

If someone asked me my opinion of the film in passing, I'd tell them, "It was okay," because truly I had higher expectations for it.

The cast, save for Henrik Vanger, was really nothing like I imagined the characters to be in my head, so that took some adjustment right out of the gate. The film was more graphic than an American film but not so vivid as to be hard to watch. It also runs longer than two and a half hours.

The story skipped right into the 'meat' of the Vanger family mystery, skipping over most of the plot exposition of Blomkvist and Lisbeth that made the beginning of the book drag. However, my husband, who hadn't read the book, thought that the lack of exposition made the story difficult to follow. The cuts they made to the rest of the plot made sense, skipping most of Blomkvist's financial story but keeping the Lisbeth sub-plot. Although, I'm not sure it was clear why Lisbeth was a ward of the state or what exactly her issues are.

The changes made to the climax of the Vanger story, though minor, bothered me. Perhaps the script writers drew from information in later books, I don't know, but it really changed the way you viewed the character of Lisbeth, in my opinion. I don't think it added anything to the plot, and it left me feeling uneasy about Lisbeth, a character we are supposed to take an interest in so that we want to follow her story in the next book/movie.

All in all, it was an interesting take on the story. I look forward to seeing the American film to see how it compares. My recommendation is if you've read the books, check it out, if you haven't (you definitely should!), I'd wait for the American version.

Jenn's Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Summary: Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist is hired by Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of Vanger’s great-niece Harriet. Henrik suspects that someone in his family, the powerful Vanger clan, murdered Harriet over forty years ago.

 Starting his investigation, Mikael realizes that Harriet’s disappearance is not a single event, but rather linked to series of gruesome murders in the past. He now crosses paths with Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker, an asocial punk and most importantly, a young woman driven by her vindictiveness.

Together they form an unlikely couple as they dive deeper into the violent past of the secretive Vanger family.

Review: Many of reviewers will tell you, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a slow start. To be honest, it's downright sluggish. The translation is cumbersome in the beginning, full of names, places, and plot exposition for three seemingly unrelated stories -- in the beginning. Then, just when it seems impossible to continue, the three stories begin to weave together into an intricate and engrossing tale.

Blomkvist is a bit of a paradox to me. He has high journalism ethics, which he touts to anyone and everyone, but low morals. He's not an unlikeable character, but he's certainly flawed. Lisbeth, on the other hand is fascinating, though we only get a peek into her life because this is, after all, Blomkvist's story.

There is a decent amount of violence and abuse, something I often have trouble reading about, but Larsson approaches it in a clinical, detached manner that doesn't minimize it, but makes it bearable to read.  I'll have to see how it translates to screen (I may have to cover my eyes for some of it).

All three story lines had intriguing resolutions although, one was slightly more spectacular than the others.  However, Larsson doesn't try to resolve all the story lines at once, letting them unfold as they might naturally. As a matter of fact, I had to remind myself on several occasions that this is a work of fiction not a factual account of real happenings. Although I was pretty sure I solved the mystery of Harriet early on, Larsson made me doubt myself, and in the end I was only partially right.

The ending was a bit open as far as the personal stories go, but it segues nicely into The Girl Who Played with Fire, which is Lisabeth's story.  I can't wait to know more about her. (As you can imagine, that just floated it's way to the top of my To Be Read pile.)  If you've tried this and put it down, I urge you to give it another chance.  I thought it was superb.

Final Take:  4.5/5

Julie's Review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Lisa's Review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Part of Jenn's 2011 TBR Challenge

Lisa's Review: What I Read on my Winter Vacation

I don't remember ever being as busy as I was in 2010. I literally for the first time in my life read about three books all year. So you can imagine my excitement for a planned weeklong vacation to Mexico at the beginning of this year. Was I excited to go lay out in the sun on the beach, not doing anything all day? Sure I was but honestly I was even more excited to catch up on my non work-related reading material. Seriously! I had a ton of books to choose from, so it was difficult to decide which ones to bring with me. I didn't want to spend my little free time reading crap, so I focused on recommendations from friends. I brought along The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, borrowed from a friend who all but assured me that it was a great book and I already had Game Change CD: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime loaded on my iPad. In addition to my planned magazine reading, I felt I was ready to go.

The Reviews

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

I finally fell for the hype. I resisted for as long as I could, but sometimes the hype is real,  for example Harry Potter. I resisted there as well and by the end I was one of the people in line at midnight.  Anyway, this book started slowly and the translation was clunky and I felt like I really had to slug through it, but I am glad I did.  Even though the book is titled The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I think Lisbeth was simply introduced and this book is more about Mikael Blomkvist. He gets invited to investigate a family tragedy after being found guilty for libel and being "fired" from his magazine. Lisbeth shows up in the beginning and we visit her throughout and you can't help but be fascinated by her. She's a bad-ass.  She joins Blomkvist in his investigation about halfway through and they finish it up together. It's a fascinating mystery too. Julie has a great in-depth review and I agree with her assessment. I felt like I didn't really know who Lisbeth was at the end, I really wanted that. Just a great read. Final Take: 4/5

 

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE

Technically, I didn't read this on my winter vacation, but I had a short trip planned just after I got back from vacation, that I immediately borrowed The Girl Who Played with Fire as soon I got back. I read this on the very long flights to and from and was able to finish it. I gotta say, I love this one even better than I did the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  For one the translation got much better in this version. Thank goodness for that. This time the mystery was all about Lisbeth Salander. As I mentioned, I left Dragon Tattoo feeling like Lisbeth was still a bit of a mystery. This book told her story  and fleshed her character out more. You understand how and why she became this fascinating person. This one took a while to get going as well and once it did, we were off to the races once again. All in all, just another fantastic read. It's clear based on the ending Steig Larsson clearly had a plan in mind about how he wanted to tell these stories. I can't wait to find a spare moment to get into the final novel, it's going to be a while before that happens.  Final Take: 4.5/5



GAME CHANGE

Even though, I followed the 2008 presidential election with much interest, I'm not a big fan of non-fiction reads nor do I care much for political reads. However, more than one friend encouraged me to read this book, so I downloaded and figured I'd get to it when I get to it. I started this the day before I left and finished on the flight back and I immediatly wished I'd read this sooner. Talk about an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at all the drama. It was great. The things that were reported aren't nearly the half of it. I was was concerned that the writing would be tedious and technical, but it was such an easy read, that I needn't have been concerned. Besides, the details are so juicy, it was almost like reading a gossip magazine. Wait it was exactly like reading a gossip magazine.  I laughed out loud in places and was even more appalled in some. And Sarah Palin.... There are just no words.  If you were the least bit fascinated by that election, then you must read this book. Doesn't matter who you voted for - it's just too fascinating. Final Take: 4/5