Buzzworthy?

You’re familiar with this cover, I presume? It started as a low hum, then a kind of insistent buzzing, and then it had descended on Boston like some kind of fever. That ubiquitous yellow cover–one night after work every single other person reading a book on the train was reading a Steig Larsson book (it was rush hour, so that was nearly ten people, in my train car alone).

Clearly, these books have sparked a virtual storm of interest and hype–this NY Times article sums up the frenzy, saying that publishers are scrambling for more Nordic Noir, ransacking Sweden’s resources for the next big thing (Larsson tragically passed away in 2004, shortly after the publication of the second book in the series).

I usually find myself eschewing whatever hyped series the masses are devouring: I HATED The DaVinci Code (I quit about 100 pages in because I couldn’t tolerate it anymore) and was only mildly entertained by the first Harry Potter book, so I’ve all but given up on the trendy books. However, this time around,  I found myself drawn to the idea of reading this massively popular novel, if only just to find out what all the buzz is about. It’s July, and I want to lose myself in an old-fashioned page-turner–the kind of book I could stay up all night reading just to find out what happens.

Using my powers of persuasion, I convinced my book club that this would be the perfect summer pick. We are meeting on Thursday, and I’m only about 150 pages in (the book is 590 pages long), and…I still don’t get it. What is the big deal about this book? People keep telling me it will get better, and maybe I need to be patient, but I don’t wanna be patient! I want it to be good now!

Have you guys read it? What do you think? Without any spoilers, what do you think is the attraction of this series?

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