Category: books

Book 6 is a disappointment: Too much Blomkvist. Not enough Salander.

The newest installment in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Series.

Lisbeth Salander—the fierce, unstoppable girl with the dragon tattoo—is determined to finally face the gravest threat in her life, her twin sister, Camilla. While Camilla lives, no one—including journalist Mikael Blomkvist—will be safe.

The other major plot thread involves intrigue on Mount Everest. I felt that storyline was poorly done. A hodgepodge of true stories from the mountain.

For one thing, the author refers to Freak Street in Kathmandu which hasn’t really been a thing since the 1970s. I assume he’s done his Nepal research on Wikipedia.

Amazon

Click PLAY or watch a ‘book trailer’ on YouTube.

The Moon and Sixpence is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham first published in April 15th, 1919.

It is told in episodic form by a first-person narrator, in a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character Charles Strickland, a middle-aged English stockbroker, who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire to become an artist.

The story is in part based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin.

I’ve long been a fan of Maugham who became the leading British author of his day by mocking traditional old, rich, white Brit literature starting with his first famous novel, Liza of Lambeth (1897).

Maugham is an excellent writer, of course. Very cynical with insights into the worst of humankind.

Strickland is the worst. All he cares about is art. Nothing else matters.

This is a great book which you won’t soon forget.