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Archive for December, 2009

New York Times Bestsellers: December 13, 2009

December 13, 2009 By: Rebeca Category: Bestsellers

Hardcover Fiction

1. U IS FOR UNDERTOW, by Sue Grafton
2. THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown
3. I, ALEX CROSS, by James Patterson
4. UNDER THE DOME, by Stephen King
5. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett

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Hardcover Nonfiction

1. GOING ROGUE, by Sarah Palin
2. STONES INTO SCHOOLS, by Greg Mortenson
3. HAVE A LITTLE FAITH, by Mitch Albom
4. OPEN, by Andre Agassi
5. TRUE COMPASS, by Edward M. Kennedy

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Paperback Trade Fiction

1. PUSH, by Sapphire
2. THE SHACK, by William P. Young
3. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson
4. THE PIANO TEACHER, by Janice Y.K. Lee
5. THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN, by Garth Stein

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Paperback Mass-Market Fiction

1. BORN OF ICE, by Sherrilyn Kenyon
2. DEAR JOHN, by Nicholas Sparks
3. THE ASSOCIATE, by John Grisham
4. ARCTIC DRIFT, by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler
5. 7TH HEAVEN, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

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Paperback Nonfiction

1. THE BLIND SIDE, by Michael Lewis
2. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
3. FREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
4. THE GLASS CASTLE, by Jeannette Walls
5. GLENN BECK’S ‘COMMON SENSE’, by Glenn Beck

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Hardcover Advice

1. GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2010, edited by Craig Glenday
2. THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS, by Ree Drummond
3. IT’S YOUR TIME, by Joel Osteen
4. DIVINE SOUL MIND BODY HEALING AND TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, by Zhi Gang Sha
5. GOOD EATS, by Alton Brown

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Paperback Advice

1. MORE DINERS, DRIVE-INS AND DIVES, by Guy Fieri with Ann Volkwein
2. NEW MOON, by Mark Cotta Vaz
3. DINERS, DRIVE-INS AND DIVES, by Guy Fieri with Ann Volkwein
4. THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES, by Gary Chapman
5. RACHAEL RAY’S BOOK OF 10, by Rachael Ray

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Children’s Books

1. SPLENDIFEROUS CHRISTMAS, by Jane O’Connor
2. THE CHRISTMAS SWEATER, adapted by Chris Schoebinger from the story by Glenn Beck
3. LEGO STAR WARS, by Simon Beecroft
4. SKIPPYJON JONES, LOST IN SPICE, by Judy Schachner
5. NUBS, by Brian Dennis, Mary Nethery and Kirby Larson

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Graphic Books

1. THE BOOK OF GENESIS: ILLUSTRATED, by R. Crumb
2. BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL, by Tony Daniel
3. WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN, by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
4. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, by Nancy Butler and Hugo Petrus
5. THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ, by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young

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The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest

December 08, 2009 By: Rebeca Category: Book Reviews

The Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, by Steig LarssonThe Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest (Millennium Trilogy, 3)
By Stieg Larsson
Quercus
602 pages

Note: American release of the book is scheduled for May 2010.

Lisbeth Salander fans who can’t wait for the American publication of the final installment of the Steig Larsson’s Millennium trilogy can order the book via Amazon.uk or the Book Depository, and for a few dollars more readers can find out what happens to her and Millennium’s publisher Mikael Blomkvist.

In the second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire, Larsson played a cruel joke on readers, leaving them with a horrible cliff hanger that some (including this reviewer) thought a page was missing. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest immediately follows up with Salander and the evil Alexander Zalachenko flown in by helicopter to the hospital. Salander, with bullets in her hip, shoulder, and head, is barely alive and is rushed into surgery. From there the story evolves more of Blomkvist’s attempts to proves Salander’s innocence, who is  still suspected of the murders of two Millennium journalists.

However, this story is more about a covert operation run by Säpo, the Swedish secret police, and how Salander inadvertently  became a victim of the Swedish welfare system in order to hide and protect Säpo’s secrets. In this last tome, Larsson spends more time with the inner workings of Säpo and its bureaucrats—characters who seem to be stuck in an antiquated cold war mode. It’s in these sections that slows book’s pace, but to speed up the story, Larsson includes a subplot concerning Erika Berger, the editor-in-chief of Millennium and Blomkvist’s occasional lover. In the second volume, Berger has accepted the editor-in-chief job at Svenska Morgon-Posten. Right from the very start, she is seen as the enemy by many of the old-time staffers, who make life difficult for the forward thinking editor, but as days go by Berger begins to question about having left  Millennium for this new job. Life becomes even more complicated for her when she starts receiving sexually explicit emails.

There is more meat to the story and Berger has an out thanks to a story that Millennium plans to publish concerning the newspaper’s chairman of the board, but overall this secondary story seems gratuitous and really doesn’t add much to the overall plot of proving Salander innocent.

And that’s Blomkvist’s mission—to prove that his friend is not a murderer and to show that she’s been a victim of an illegal government conspiracy. Blomkvist convinces his sister–a woman’s rights lawyer with little trial experience under her belt–to help Salander with her defense. It’s in these scenes that feature Lisbeth that Larsson’s writing shines and  keeps readers turning the pages. Once again, he outdoes himself into bringing this fabulous character to life.

Although this final installment of the Millennium trilogy has sections that seem unnecessarily long, and some readers might be confused with the who’s who of Säpo’s cast of characters, it’s the ending that’s important. Larsson, before he died suddenly, had started a fourth volume and originally had planned a ten book series about Millennium. The question for most readers was whether Larsson would satisfactorily resolve the Salander and Blomkvist broken relationship. Without offering any spoilers, readers will be pleased with it how it concludes and it will leave them more than satisfied and  perhaps smiling.

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New York Times Bestsellers: December 6, 2009

December 06, 2009 By: Rebeca Category: Bestsellers

Hardcover Fiction

1. I, ALEX CROSS, by James Patterson
2. PIRATE LATITUDES, by Michael Crichton
3. THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown
4. UNDER THE DOME, by Stephen King
5. BREATHLESS, by Dean Koontz

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Hardcover Nonfiction

1. GOING ROGUE, by Sarah Palin
2. HAVE A LITTLE FAITH, by Mitch Albom
3. OPEN, by Andre Agassi
4. SUPERFREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
5. ARGUING WITH IDIOTS, written and edited by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and others

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Paperback Trade Fiction

1. PUSH, by Sapphire
2. THE PIANO TEACHER, by Janice Y.K. Lee
3. THE SHACK, by William P. Young
4. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson
5. BED OF ROSES, by Nora Roberts

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Paperback Mass-Market Fiction

1. DEAR JOHN, by Nicholas Sparks
2. LAVENDER MORNING, by Jude Deveraux
3. THE ASSOCIATE, by John Grisham
4. THE LOST, by J.D. Robb, Patricia Gaffney, Mary Blayney and Ruth Ryan Langan
5. CRUEL INTENT, by J.A. Jance

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Paperback Nonfiction

1. THE BLIND SIDE, by Michael Lewis
2. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
3. FREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
4. THE GLASS CASTLE, by Jeannette Walls
5. I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL, by Tucker Max

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Hardcover Advice

1. GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2010, edited by Craig Glenday
2. IT’S YOUR TIME, by Joel Osteen
3. DIVINE SOUL MIND BODY HEALING AND TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, by Zhi Gang Sha
4. THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS, by Ree Drummond
5. GOOD EATS, by Alton Brown

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paperback Advice

1. NEW MOON, by Mark Cotta Vaz
2. MORE DINERS, DRIVE-INS AND DIVES, by Guy Fieri with Ann Volkwein
3. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING, by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel
4. THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES, by Gary Chapman
5. THE LOVE DARE, by Stephen and Alex Kendrick with Lawrence Kimbrough

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Children’s Books

1. SPLENDIFEROUS CHRISTMAS, by Jane O’Connor
2. LEGO STAR WARS, by Simon Beecroft
3. NUBS, by Brian Dennis, Mary Nethery and Kirby Larson
4. THE CHRISTMAS SWEATER, adapted by Chris Schoebinger from the story by Glenn Beck
5. THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, by Clement C. Moore

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Graphic Books

1. THE BOOK OF GENESIS: ILLUSTRATED, by R. Crumb
2. BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL, by Tony Daniel
3. GREEN LANTERN CORPS: EMERALD ECLIPSE, by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
4. WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN, by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
5. GREEN LANTERN: AGENT ORANGE, by Geoff Johns and Philip Tan

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