The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Played with Fire is the second book of the much acclaimed Millennium series by the Swedish author Steig Larsson. I had read the first book of the series - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo last year and ever since had been meaning to read the rest next two novels and finally I laid my hands on this.

The second book is almost a continuation of the first book and the story starts from where it was left. It touches most of the loose threads left in the first novel and leaves some more loose ends which I presume will be addressed in the next book of the series (which I can't wait to read).The suspense and thrill factor is huge and the readers are hooked right from the beginning. The author makes you believe the unbelievable. The computer hacking and internet jargons went above my head and I wondered if such feats are actually possible. The story has all the elements that were there in the first and the plot is even more gripping than the first one.

The story starts with simultaneous stories from Lisbeth Salander i,e the girl with the dragon tattoo and the lead character of the novel and Mikael Blomkvist, the investigative journalist and the publisher of the magazine, Millennium. Lisbeth is taking a tour round the world while indulging in her interest of mathematics. Mikael is working with a young journalist couple, Dag Svensson and his girlfriend who are working on a sensational subject on sex trafficking in Sweden which if published will shake the roots of the so called elite section of the society. Blomkvist plans to run the story on an upcoming issue of Millennium. But things goes absolutely hay ware when the the couple are found dead in their apartment. Things get more complicated when Lisbeth's guardian, Nils Bjurman is found murdered in his apartment with the same weapon. All evidence points at one direction- Lisbeth Salander. With her disturbed past, vengeful and unpredictably violent behavior, she is declared to be a threat to the society. But, the problem is no one can locate her. Hence, begins a search to find and locate her and in the process the story unfolds unraveling the dark secrets that had been long sealed behind closed doors.

This book is just un-put-down-able (if there is a word as such). The author has carved a story so addictive that you keep reading till you have turned the last page. A first rate crime novel, a fast paced page turning story that will be in your thoughts long after you have read it, not just for the story but for the meticulously etched characters and the message the author has tried to convey through the series. A must read!

Stieg Larsson was a Swedish Journalist and one of the world's leading experts on anti democratic, right wing extremist and Nazi Organizations. He had died unexpectedly in 2004 soon after delivering the manuscripts for three crime novels - The Millennium Trilogy to his publisher. All of them have been posthumous best sellers and have been made into movies.

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'Lucky Library Picks'- Come Play Along!

This idea had been brimming in my mind for quite sometime now and finally I decided to give it a go. I depend a lot on my local library for supplies of my books. Well, I do buy books but a large chunk of my reading list comes from the library. Sometimes, when I find a book in the library that I had been longing to read, I feel elated and it makes my day. That is how this idea took shape- Lucky Library Picks.

Pages is going to complete one year in a few days, so I thought it is a good time to start a meme.

Here is what it is - every Alternate Friday, post a list of the books that you picked up from the library and felt it was a lucky pick. Yes, it is that simple. You will have to link it to this page and leave a comment on my lucky library picks post that week with your link, so that I can find out what your lucky library picks are! If you share an picture of the same, it would be great but of course, it is not mandatory. However use of this logo is mandatory as it helps spreading the word.

So, here are my Lucky Library Pick for this week.

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson.

Last Man In Tower by Aravind Adiga.

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer.

Come, play along and share your lucky library picks!

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Eggless Chocolate Microwave Mug Cake ~ For Blog Hop Wednesdays~ From Sin-A-mon

It's Wednesday and it is time for Blog Hop again. I am sure most of you are aware about this bi-monthly event. If not, then check this out.

This week I am assigned Monika's Blog Sin-A-Mon. I have been following her other blog for quite a time. She is a well known name in the blogging world with her interests ranging from food to books to social awareness. I chose a very simple yet indulgent recipe from her blog -Chocolate Mug Cake. I have tweaked the recipe to make it egg less and added vanilla instead of cinnamon. I have halved the original recipe to yield only one serving. The weather hasn't been great of late with grey clouds and cold days and occasional drizzle. The warm chocolate mug cake was perfect to lift spirits in an otherwise depressing climate.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp AP Flour

2 tbsp powdered sugar

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp Nutella

11/2 tbsp milk

11/2 tbsp oil

11/2 tbsp yogurt

1/2 tsp baking powder

A pinch of baking soda

1/2 tsp vanilla essence.

 Process:

1. Mix all the ingredients and pour the batter into a large microwave safe mug. Mine was big and the batter came 1/3rd of its volume. If you choose a smaller one the batter may overflow while cooking.

2. Microwave it for 2 minutes. Let it sit in the microwave for 30 secs before taking it out. Its ready to eat! I had mine with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Note:

1. The texture of the mug cake was brownie like. It is best to have it fresh from microwave.

Time to dig in!

Check what other bloggers are up with! Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

# 20 Teaser Tuesdays ~ The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

"He retreated into a solitude that grew in weight day by day. The solitude became a habit, the habit became the man, and it crushed him into a shadow."


Page:39

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!

By The Water Cooler by Parul Sharma

By the Water Cooler by Parul Sharma is another book I bought during my India visit after my blogger friends recommended it to me for a light read.It was a very enjoyable read.

To give you an idea about the story line I am quoting the blurb from the back of the book.

Synopsis:

  

Restless and discontent at their jobs in an advertising agency, Mini and Tanya quit and make their way to JR Enterprises. Corporate stardom seems to be only a few PowerPoint slides away. This, however is before the HR Manager who hired them gets fired and reveals in a moment of rare honesty that the organization is a madhouse. The CEO, a committed megalomaniac believes that the two girls are perfect examples of recruitment error. With this first impression to her credit, Mini needs to manage a critical project while keeping her paranoid and obnoxious boss at bay. Tanya could have lent her a shoulder to cry on, except that she is serving time in the office boondocks and is slowly giving in to prenuptial madness. 

Join Mini and Tanya on a wild ride full of impossible deadlines, dirty office politics and espionage even as they lock horns with an office full of eccentric characters. A smart, witty tale of messy work, quirky colleagues and the wily attempt to tame both. By The Water Cooler is the hilarious struggle of holding down a job.

 My take:

It was an easy and light read. The story started slowly but picked up the flow as it progressed. The author has sketched the characters in good detail that the readers could easily make up their image in their minds, they seemed so real and relatable. I had an instant liking for Mini for her 'never say die' attitude. I loved the way she got hold of herself and managed to survive in her job against all the odd circumstances and amidst uncooperative  people. There are some hilarious terms used throughout the book like the nicknames used to denote a person of which 'Lardie' is one, I will always remember.I found Tanya a bit more melodramatic than I would have liked. All the other characters in the novel are distinct and add a different hue to the story. As the story progressed, there were twists and turns and the climax was just perfect. 

Overall the story has a perfect balance of spice, humor and thrill. The title is very aptly given as a lot happens by the water cooler in a corporate office. It is meeting spot for the people to take a break from their work and stretch their arms, to get update on the office gossip and politics etc. It is a breezy and hilarious read that will have you reading in anticipation at one moment and laughing out loud in another.It will definitely make you smile, worth picking it up.

 Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!