The Syndicate

Marmot wrote:

Ricochet wrote:Haruki Murakami - Kafka on the Shore ★★★★★

Great one! I've got IQ84 and Wind-Up Bird Chronicle at home to read at some point.

Halfway through 1Q84, after loving Kafka, and I'm honestly surprised at how well Murakami's idiosyncratic writing style works over the course of a 1000+ page behemoth.

that photo is appropriately large and imposing

help me im scared

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

I'm about 3/4 of the way through, so spoilers up to that point.

Oh boy. At the end of Dragon Tattoo, Blomkvist was one of the characters I liked the most, but over the course of the second and third book, I slowly began to despise him. He's a blatant Marty Stu who can do no wrong, bangs every single female character, and has this air about him, not really arrogance, or cockiness, but pure smug superiority. Don't get me fucking started on Erika Berger. Not even Robin Wright could save that character. Luckily Lisbeth hasn't changed very much, though there's only so much she can do trapped in a hospital room, Palm or no Palm. Her wrestler buddy, who I imagined as Mike Tyson, led to some of the most ludicrous moments in the series. The only character who isn't a strict black or white, good or bad guy, is Lisbeth. This can lead to some insufferably bland characters such as the couple working on the sex trafficking story, and Figuerola. Figuerola takes the cake for most boring bland character. She's apparently a super strong, smart, sexy, Sapo agent, with the character dimensions of a playing card. And her and Blomkvist bang for no discernible reason, most likely for Steig Larrson to masturbate to. I do get the sense her character is leading somewhere, most likely a third act death. If nothing fucking happens with her character, I'm going to be very angry! I may post things on the Internet!

The reason I'm still reading other than Lisbeth is the plot, which is still quite good, I have to admit. The parts are in place for some kind of climax, the only thing is, I don't know if I care about those who are involved.

Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson.