2011.07.25 Meeting Notes

We had a slightly smaller group this month, go figure with summer in full swing. Janice did a great job of leading us in the discussion, and was even able to steer us back when we trailed off subject. Kim brought oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and they were awesome! I'm still exercising off the calories, though. That will teach me to eat 5.
I think that most members liked The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. In keeping with our view on life and our need to see justice prevail, a lot of us mentioned our favorite parts of the book, which seemed too center around bad guys getting what was coming to them. Some loved it when Teleborian was ripped apart on the witness stand, others enjoyed a certain scene involving Sally, her half-brother and a nail gun. Those sadistic people shall go unnamed, we know who we are - I mean you know who you are.
We compared the books in the trilogy, and it seemed that there wasn't a clear winner for favorite. I personally liked the 1st because it contained an actual mystery, but a lot of people said it was the most confusing. Others liked the 2nd because we got to know a lot more about Salander and her background. Still others really liked the 3rd because it tied everything up in a neat little bow. I think we would all agree that we wish Stieg was still around to write more in the series.
For those who are interested in the author, his girlfriend, Eva Gabrielsson (they do like their double ss's don't they?), just published a book called There are Things I Want You to Know About Stieg Larsson and Me. You can see an interview with her, led by Gloria Steinam, on youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLbAHC-uDmQ
We discussed the violence against women theme that is in all of Stieg's books and Eva touches on that in her interview. He really seemed to want to expose the issue and address Sweden's treatment of women in both the legal system and society as a whole. We also touched on the fact that Salander is basically a recluse, yet lots of people want to be her friend and help her. An interesting concept given her ability to push others and their help away.
David came up with some good lessons we've learned and I think the 2 most important ones were: 
Don't tick off little people (Sally), and 
Don't tic off big people (Niedermann).
I guess we just shouldn't tick people off then, right David?
Jeff will let us know when he is able to say Blomkvist without getting tongue tied, so stay tuned. Also, the IKEA fieldtrip is TBD. If only we'd read this book later in the year, we could have HELD the meeting at IKEA. Bummer that I just thought of that.
We talked about a movie night, which I would be happy to host (as long as you guys can all drive the LONG way to Platt Park). So far we've got The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and The Lincoln Lawyer (we're reading that in September). Think about which you'd prefer.
Next month we will be discussing John Sandford's Dark of the Moon. I will lead and Ann will bring snacks.....if she remembers. We didn't have enough books, so when you finish and return yours, please send an email.
Thanks everyone,
Kerry
P.S. I have sad news to report, the Denver mystery book store on Pearl Street, Murder by the Book, is closing it's retail doors. It's sad to see another book store go, especially a mystery one. The owner is having a sale to get rid of her stock, so for the next three days she'll be selling everything at huge discounts if you're interested.