Elinor’s Bookshelf

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson My rating: In this suspenseful sequel to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo , Stieg Larsson nails it again! Lisbeth Salander, the girl who hates men who hates women, has made a discrete return to Sweden. Shortly after, her gardian and two young promising writer/journalists working for Millenium get murdered on the same night with the same weapon. It has Lisbeth’s fingerprints on it... Yet the police struggle to find a motive for her crimes. Meanwhile Mikael Blomkvist tries to understand what happened to his friends from Millenium. He gets pulled into a sordid journalistic investigation whilst Salander ends up diving back into her hidden past. Will she survive confronting “All the Evil” that made her who she is today? This was an excellent read, cleverly paced and engaging - it kept me up all hours. Can’t wait to read the third book by Stieg Larsson! View all my reviews

My rating: This book was a chance to get to know Michelle Obama, graciously voicing her opinions in this memoir from birth up until the end of her second term as First Lady. This book is insightful on so many levels it’s difficult to describe. It is a timeline deftly peppered with sometimes amusing, sometimes heart-breaking stories. It’s about « Miche » and all she has come to represent: an African American woman, a successful student from a working-class background, a feminist who believes in the young and understands that Hope is the key to continuous progress – that you just have to trudge through the downs to enjoy the ups. Written with heart, authenticity, feeling, and tons of open-mindedness, Becoming shed light on the Obama’s up until the moment they handed over the White House to the Trump administration. If anything this book comforted me in my respect and awe of the Obama’s who not only served America during their terms, but the whole world. We need more of these kind,