The First Girl with Fire

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson
Like the first one in the series, I really got caught up in the mystery in the book, and couldn't stop reading it. I definitely devoted a few late nights to this because I just couldn't fall asleep till I got just one more clue of the mystery. It's funny because I really didn't think I'd like these books based on all the brutality I heard they included, and while it is there, I didn't really mind it, since I was so caught up in everything else.

A lot has been said on this book, so rather than repeat the same things as everyone else, I wanted to mention a few minor plot lines that I really appreciate. First a someone big part of the plot (and somewhat of a spoiler), is that an author dies before his book is published leaving others to decide what to do with his work. I think it's a bit of eerie foreshadowing since Steig Larsson died before he could publish all of his books. Supposedly he had written, or at least outlined, 3 or 4 more Millennium books, but if I remember correctly his family and girlfriend have been arguing over what to do with them. I do think based on some of the actions in this book, you have to speculate what Larsson own belief would be.

A second aspect I really loved was the cameo of Fermat's Last Theorem. Having a Masters degree of Mathematics it's something I am familiar with, and while I don't know the intricate outlines of the proof, I do know basic idea of what it involves. So the fact that Lisbeth supposedly solves the theorem by hand really bugs me. And I wasn't a fan of how they somewhat "dumb-ed down" the problem. But I still loved the fact that they choose a real problem for Lisbeth to be fascinated by.

I think a lot of people have read this by now. But if you're avoiding it because you think you won't like it, know that I felt that way too, and instead I'm loving the time I'm spending reading them.

5/5

Today I'm linking up with Blonde Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday!

Good Morning Vietnam

Flesh by Khanh Ha
Based on the cover and the description I thought this would be one that I was glad to have read, but couldn't quite say I enjoyed. Except while there were a few unpleasant parts, overall I loved this book, and think it is quite an enjoyable tale.

Going into this I knew very little of Vietnam's history, and now that I've finished I feel like I know even less. I don't mean this story taught me nothing, but more that it opened me up a world I didn't know, and made me realize just how much I am unaware of. And while this story did teach me about life in Vietnam in the early 1900s, so much of it is timeless and the overall story of growing up and falling in love, really is universal.

There was a pretty big twist at the end that I never expected, and I'm still not to sure how I feel about it. I expected something else, and definitely wish my prediction had been correct. I was a little sad to have this one end, because I wanted to keep reading Tai's story, and am still very curious as to what happened after the book ended.

The book definitely wasn't what I expected, which is a good thing because I loved it so much more than I thought. There were a few scenes that were a bit confusing, but even with that I would whole-heatedly recommend this one.

4.5/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through Virtual Author Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

From Miss to Mrs: Grouping the Girls

The girls arriving to the front of the house meant our couple portaits were over and it was time to start the bridal party photos. My girls and I stood in front of the oak tress for a few group shots.

I also knew I wanted individual shots with each one of my girls. After all these are some of my favorite people and who knows the next time we'll be together to take photos where we each look so pretty. At least until someone else gets married, right?
First we have my MOH, who I've known since birth. Our moms actually met when they were both converting to Judaism, and my parents went to hers' wedding. While neither one of us has as sister by birth, we're the closest thing we each have. And since her father is my godfather, I can even rightfully call her my godsister.
Then there's me and my sister-in-law. She was actually married at Houmas House as well. But unfortunately for me, that wedding was in May 2006, while the boy and I didn't meet till later that year.
The photo above is me and Bridesmaid Chicago. She was actually born in Louisiana, but we met in 2nd grade after she'd moved to California. We were in girl scouts together, traveled to England on an 8th grade trip together, and later moved to Louisiana at the same time after graduating from college. Although considering I'm calling her BM Chicago, you can guess where she lives now.
Finally there's Bridesmaid NYC, who I've mentioned before in a Waiting on Wednesday post. She and I were roommates freshmen year of college, lived next door to each other sophomore year, and again roommates our junior year of college. We have a birthday within a day of each other, which made it fun to celebrate in college.
I can't leave out the littlest girl in our wedding party. Here is me and my niece, the flower girl.
And since this post has almost turned into photos of me with members of our wedding party, here's one of me with my nephew, the ring bearer.
You also may have noticed that I didn't have my flowers in our couple portraits. It's only because I didn't think to bring it to our first look, which probably was the right decision since I'm afraid I would have dropped them on the golf cart ride over. My bridesmaids did bring it out to me for the portraits, which is the first time I was able to take photos with it.
If you're already married (or planning a wedding) was/is taking photos with the individual members of your wedding party something that was/is important to you? Or if you've been in a wedding, is this something you've done before?

All photos in this post courtesy of Sabree Hill Photography.
Miss a Recap Post?
From Miss to Mrs: The Calm Before the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: There's a Hurricane Coming?
From Miss to Mrs: Here Comes Isaac
From Miss to Mrs: Weathering the Cane
From Miss to Mrs: After the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: Trials and Tribulations
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Errands
From Miss to Mrs: A Night on the Town
From Miss to Mrs: The Hangover
From Miss to Mrs: Rehearsing in the Heat
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Supper
From Miss to Mrs: Gifting the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Night
From Miss to Mrs: Oh What a Beautiful Morning
From Miss to Mrs: Getting Prettified
From Miss to Mrs: Prepping the Plantation
From Miss to Mrs: Turtle Time
From Miss to Mrs: The Photographer Has Arrived
From Miss to Mrs: Becoming the Bride
From Miss to Mrs: Dress Details
From Miss to Mrs: Ou Est le Groom?
From Miss to Mrs: A Bridge-y First Look
From Miss to Mrs: Couple Time
From Miss to Mrs: Just the Two of Us

Hibachi Happenings

One of the items on my 101 in 1001 list is to visit 10 new Baton Rouge area restaurants. This isn't to say the boy and I don't go out to eat, because we definitely do. We just tend to go to the same ones over and over. Part of this is due to the fact we live outside of town, and there aren't a lot of restaurants that close to us. As it is it's a pain to drive in town every weekday for work, so we try to avoid the extra driving on the weekends. And there's also the fact that you may hate a new place, and if instead it's an old favorite you already know you like it.

But even though I just listed all the reasons we go to the same places, I still get bored with them, and complain to the boy that I want to try something new. This isn't to say we won't be spending time at our old favorite, but I want to change it up more often than we have.

After that long introduction, the point of this post is that I have a new restaurant to share! I actually wasn't the one to pick it out since it was for a friend's birthday, but I wound up being a fan.

Making Fried RiceThe restaurant was Ichiban Japanese Grill & Sushi Bar, and in case you couldn't reason from the photo. It was kind of at an interesting location, in the back of parking lot that's partial under construction, but even so it was packed, and with a wide range of patrons (lot of family, couples on date night, and high school-ers dressed up for winter formal).

Steak, Fried Rice, and Vegetables I wound up splitting the steak hibachi meal which was still a ton of food. In addition to the plate above I had soup, salad, and 2 extra shrimp off the grill. I also had a lychee martini was delicious and strong. (I would have loved a second one, if I felt more sober after the first. Ha!)

A Friend and Me at Dinner
Photo "borrowed" from facebookI don't think it will be taking the place of ourfavorite sushi restaurant, since it is kind of pricey. But for the experience and the food, it's well worth visiting every once in a while.

How often do you wind up visiting new restaurants? And are you a fan of hibachi grills

Monday Movie Review

Silver Linings Playbook
I'm not really sure what to say about this one. It was somewhat of a quirky and interesting movie, but still one I enjoyed. I am a little surprised that it's getting so much Oscar talk, not necessarily that it doesn't deserve it, but it isn't the type I normally picture as "Oscar Winner."

I did like Jennifer Lawrence it in, and would be happy it she won an Oscar for this. How crazy would it be if suddenly The Hunger Games started an Oscar winning actress? I don't see that happening for any of the Twilight kids anytime soon.

Also with a fun cameo in this was Julia Stiles. I can't say I loved her character, but was happy to see her in a movie again.

I don't necessarily think this is a movie that has to be seen in the theaters. But if you're looking to see the Oscar movies before the award show, you may want to see this sooner rather than later.

GG - 2013

Long time readers of the blog will know that I'm a little obsessed with the big award shows. Every year on my blog I've posted my Oscar predictions, and until last year, I'd posted Golden Globe predictions as well. This year I have't forget, so here are my predictions for tonight! And just to add, these are my predictions, not necessarily the ones I want to win. Feel free to post your own in the comments.

Television
Best TV Series - Drama: Homeland
Best Actress - Drama: Connie Britton, Nashville
Best Actor - Drama: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Best TV Series - Comedy or Musical: Modern Family
Best Actress - Comedy or Drama: Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Best Actor - Comedy or Drama: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Best Mini-Series of TV Movie: Game Change
Best Actress - Mini-Seres or TV Movie: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum
Best Actor - Mini-Seres or TV Movie: Woody Harrelson, Game Change
Best Supporting Actress: Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Best Supporting Actor: Mandy Patinkin, Homeland

Film
Best Motion Picture - Drama: Lincoln
Best Actress - Drama: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor - Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Drama: Les Misérables
Best Actress - Comedy or Drama: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actor - Comedy or Drama: Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Best Animated Film: Frankenweenie
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour (Austria)
Best Director: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Best Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Original Score: Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, 
Reinhold Heil, Cloud Atlas
Best Original Song: "Skyfall" Adele, Paul Epworth, Skyfall

Edit: For those curious I finished 12/25, which in my opinion is a little disappointing. But if you restrict it to just the movies I'm at 9/14, which is much more respectable.

Mailbox Monday (19)

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. Mailbox Monday is a traveling meme, with a new host every month. Which means if you want to join in on the fun in January, head over to Lori's Reading Corner!
For Review from TLC Book Tours
All That I Am by Anna Funder
The House Girl by Tara Conklin
Both of these are books that I've been wanting to read for a while and I'm so excited to have the chance to review! (I think I added All That I Am onto my to-read list on goodreads over a year ago.) Both are historical fiction (one of my favorite genres), with the first taking place during the Holocaust and the second during the 1850s in Virginia. I have really high hopes for both, so hopefully they're able to live up to my expectations!

What did you find in your mailbox this week? And do you find that too often your expectations for books are too high, or does all the hype only make you love them more?