I’m not one of those people that avoids hype….well maybe I used to be…but that was a long time ago, and it was just with Harry Potter, so it was nothing major 
But it seems like lately I have read most of the big hyped up books before there was a hype, so there was nothing to worry about.
Recently there have been some books and authors on my mind. Big hyped up books and very popular authors, so I wanted to ask you: What’s all the fuss about?
I’ve been seeing these books every where! I’ve had numerous people ask me if I have read it in just the last couple of weeks. I lurked around on the Goodreads page a bit and seems to have very mixed reviews. I want to know what you thought of the book?! Is the hype there for a reason? Let me know!
I've been wondering, as well. But I can say that I have a friend who reads almost strictly non-fiction & she loved the first & ran right out to buy the next… so I'll have to pick them up eventually…
Well, I have read this in French about 2 years ago(it became popular way before than the English translation) and I really liked the books. This trilogy is one of the last books I actually enjoyed reading. I think it is hard these days to come acrosss a good read. This does the trick, you just want to know what will happen next or how they will get out of the mess they are in!
Argh. I don't get it. I read the first one and I absolutely hated it but people go nuts over this series. I really liked the Vanger family mystery in the first book but that was it. There were several hundred pages about the main character's company that were insanely boring. It was supposed to be some sort of women empowerment novel but I thought it was the opposite. The main female that everyone loves so much was apparently very skinny and the author had characters describing her as "anorexic" left and right.
Just ugh. The whole book. Ugh.
Haha.
I'm not sure. I've thought about reading them, but they just aren't my sort of thing.
I read 2 of the 3 books, and love them. They are very adult books, and the style is very, very descriptive. But I think it adds to the intensity of the books.
I recently finished the trilogy and I think the best description for it would be "unexpectedly gripping". Each book starts off pretty slow but and it really tries my patience, but then the story kicks off and I just can't stop
I got about half-way through the first one and gave up. My fiance on the other hand tore through it and loved it.
Just wasn't my thing I guess. There were far better books to read at the time.
I only read the first one. The mystery keeps you guessing until the very end. But I could care less for the characters. Unrelatable. They're old.
Seriously, I want to know what's all the fuss about to!
Well, it actually depend on whether you like this type of story or not. Personally I like it, not love it but I read all three books, I love Lisbeth, feeling indifferent and somehow annoyed by Blomkvist and some other things Larsson's had written in this book. Larsson was a feminist but somehow (in my opinion) he can't escape from being a bit chauvinism in his series. It might annoyed some – it annoyed me to some level but it didn't stop me from reading it.
I would say those who love mystery – crime and not afraid of gore and graphic things will enjoy this series.
I'm kind of curious about these too, I haven't read them but I know apparently a lot of people liked them and they're already making a movie out of the first one. =/
Thanks for this post, the question has been on my mind for quite some time. I think I'm still one of those people that avoids overly hyped up books… And it's kind of fun to leave people shocked when I admit to never having read the series.
I read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as one of my Book Club's selections. I didn't like it at all, and I enjoy reading from the mystery genre. But I was in the minority (see: the only one in the group) that didn't find it lived up to the hype. I have no interest at all in reading the other two.
I started reading the first one and gave up after 80 pages because it was boring as hell (it was all politic stuff bables), everyone tells me it picks up after 100-150 pages but I just couldn't stand it anymore lol
I've been wondering as well. I've had a few people ask me if I've read them and they are shocked when I say no cause I guess people think I can read EVERYTHING, or something. But I've considered picking this up and giving it a try. I'm pretty freaking booked on books though and if it's slow in the beginning I probably don't have the patience. However, if I ran across it used somewhere I would definitely get it and try it out when I get the chance.
I read the first book on a friend's recommendation… won't be picking up the next one. I mean, it's well-written and intriguing and I really like Lisabeth, but not so much all the graphic content. I don't think it really deserved ALL the hype it's been getting for, well, forever, but maybe a little hype is more appropriate.
I read them a couple of years ago in my native language and liked them. Well, the first is really good but the second and the third had bits and parts that I didn't like, but still…
You have to like the genre and be patient with the looooooong digressions
I've read the first two, they are just not for me. Did not enjoy.
I liked the trilogy ok, the first two are great but just a little slow reading in the beginning to offer background for the story. However the third one is so slow and hard to read. I struggled to finish it because it was so boring. It was the weakest in the trilogy. But overall I thought they were good and interesting.
I have only read the first book thus far, but it is a good mystery with an unique twist and very interesting characters. The plot is complex and bogs down at times, but I really thought the book was exciting. Perhaps some of the hype has to do with the author's untimely death too.
I avoided this one due to the hype until my manager at work wanted to read it together. I only read the first one so far but I enjoyed it. Granted it took about 150 pages before it took off. Those first 150 pages were painful so I can see a lot of people giving up and giving it a negative review. I've been told book 2 is better.
So far I've read only the first one, but I'm planning to read the others, too! I'll tell you what I've told to some of my friends that asked me about it – it's really good, but not an easy read & I guess it's not for everyone. I read around 150 pages before I could get into it, so it starts slow, but I didn't gave up & I'm glad I didn't. I think that if I had already bought the 2nd book when I finished the 1st one, I would've started reading it right away, but then the 2nd book still wasn't published here & although now both the 2nd & the 3rd book are published, I still haven't bought the other 2 books, but I will! As for all the hype, I think one of the reasons for it is that Lisbeth is really complex character (which in the end I liked a lot) and maybe other reasons are all the things that happen in the book, which wasn't easy to read about. It's just not something you read about often in books. Although maybe I'm wrong & the reason for all the hype is in the other 2 books
I guess because the movie is coming out soon.
I too like to steer away from overly-hyped books (I haven't read The Da Vinci Code for the same reason).
But I read the Stieg Larsson trilogy I think before all the hype.. and I'm glad I did because I enjoyed the books very much.
Love reading all the comments on this post! I did read the first one but it took me FOREVER to get into it. I read the second one and thought it was okay. I'm still not sure if I'll read the third. And I'm definitly not interested in the one his widow is trying to get published.
I tried the first one, but couldn’t get past the first few chapters. I’ve heard they get better, but I need to push through the first 150+ pages. No thanks. I’ll just read something I like from the start
With that said, almost all of my friends loved them. Even my friends that rarely read love them. I’m content being the odd man out.
They are very lengthy, but all the books are really good. The story just sucks you in and I had to finish them as fast as possible.
I have read and own all three of the books from the "Millenium Trilogy", and I must say, I love them all. I am an avid reader of mystery/thriller novels, and these definitely attracted me due to that quality – but I didn't actually fall in love with them until after I read them.
First of all, these books are not for you if you are not into mystery/crime/thriller novels. Also, they are not for you if you prefer not to read about any adult-themes and dislike profanity. The (late) author is, in any and all ways, a very descriptive writer – and he is this way about all aspects of the novel, including the adult themes and language. Actually, its the quality of his being excessively descriptive that makes these books such a slow and meticulous read, they are filled with all kinds of detail that most would deem unnecessary, but to me, it adds to the build-up of his characters. Also, I have to STRESS that the author never meant for the books to be "feminist" in any way, but he DID present a strong character in Lisbeth Salanader – because although she may seem "puny", "diminutive" or even be termed "anorexic", she is ultimately presented as a character that always fights back, and is a true survivalist. She is a fine specimen of an independent and strong character, despite all her adversities.
Lastly, what I love BEST about the Millenium Trilogy is that in EACH book, you have more than one mystery present at hand. Lisbeth Salander, the character, is a mystery that slowly reveals itself over the progression of the three books. But also, in each book you will find yourself facing cases of missing people, the inner-workings of the sex trade, politics etc.
All in all, if you think you are someone who would enjoy reading a novel in which a mystery is being solved, all the while the characters are being unwrapped and the mysteries and secrets of their lives are being spilled out to intensify their presence, then these books are definitely for you!
This books have nothing to do with YA. They are typical thriller and they are very cruel.
In every book Lisbeth find out something new about herself and it is very emotional.