Delinquent Reader

I'm afraid that I've really been neglecting both my reading and my blogging. For whatever reason, The Girl Who Played with Fire has been sitting by itself for quite a while now. I really do like it, but there's something about the pacing that strikes me as stagnant. Maybe we're spending too much time in the superior position--the cops don't know Lisbeth or what her motives are, but we do, so spending a bunch of time watching people speculate about things we already know is not exactly a thrill-a-minute reading experience. I'd actually like to know what Lisbeth is doing, and instead I'm just trying to remember everyone's name. I do know that Faste is the jerk, though (he sort of reminds me of Tony from NCIS, except meaner, Swedish and not funny). And Hekstrom is the prosecutor. I think.

We haven't heard anything from our villains in a while now, either, which hasn't done much for the novel's tension. I do like the fact that Blomkvist is committed to helping Lisbeth, as is Armansky. It's nice payoff for their respective relationships.

In non-reading news, I just watched the first episode of Downton Abbey, the period drama everybody's been raving about lately. It was indeed pretty terrific, and it struck me as just about the closest thing to a real televised novel I've seen. Excellent characterizations, fantastic production values, rich dialogue and a nice big story that should unfold in a really interesting way. If I didn't know differently, I would say that the show was a book adaptation; it has that feel to it. Reading will always be my true obsession, but I also love me some TV. I think most high-quality shows are a lot better than movies that were made for quadruple the money. I'm currently about halfway through the second season of Battlestar Galactica (I usually end up watching things well after their popularity has already spiked), and it's unbelievably good. The writing is easily on a par with any sci-fi novel I've ever read and the stoylines, visual effects and acting are jawdropping. I can't wait to see where the show goes. Even though this is a book review blog (and will remain that way), I might write up an entry or two on either Downton or BSG somewhere down the line. 'Cos they're just that good.

Anyway, I will be back with fresh entries as soon as I get reading again in earnest!