Enough said

That's my hubby behind the book. This is significant because he doesn't read. Ever. I'm serious. He made it through college without cracking a textbook. He's a books-on-CD kinda guy, a very auditory learner. Anyhoo - I was reading The Hunger Games aloud to him and got too drowsy to continue. Then I stumbled upon him like this. Now THAT'S a good book!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

It's been awhile since I've had a book in my hand that I COULD.NOT.PUT.DOWN. This is one of those.
North America as we know it has been wiped out. In its stead is the Capitol, its corrupt government, and the 12 districts into which the remainder of the country has been divided. Hunger, oppression, and desperation rule. In order to remind its subjects of the power it holds, the government holds the Hunger Games once a year. Each district must send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in a fight to the death, with one victor who receives prestige and riches for him/herself and his/her district. Katniss Everdeen, in a twist she certainly didn't expect, ends up volunteering to be a part of the games, and what follows this action on her part is a brutal game of survival.
Sounds uplifting, right?
You may be put off by such heavy material, particularly in a young adult work of fiction. However, the author beautifully weaves in such themes as friendship, love, loyalty, courage, honesty, and integrity. The author, herself, admits that she has an ulterior motive beneath the brutality of the subject matter: exploring the effects of war on young people.
http://www.scholastic.com/thehungergames/about-the-author.htm

BOTTOM LINE: It is a stunning read, and I'm anxiously waiting to get my hands on the second installment in the trilogy.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I didn't even know this book existed until the release of the film, which is pretty sad but just the way it goes sometimes. The series has been talked up a great deal by a great many people, so I had high hopes and expectations, but for some reason found myself disappointed by the end. Perhaps it's that wretched first-novel-in-a-series-provides-all-the-set-up drag.
If you're not familiar with the premise of this first book in the trilogy written by Mr. Larsson it centers on journalist Mikael Blomkvist and his failed expose on a Swedish industrialist/billionaire. In disgrace, Mikael must relinquish his position as publisher of his political magazine but in turn is given an unusual assignment by a Swedish CEO to write his family's history. Underlying this assignment is the CEO, Henrik Vanger's, true motive: to solve the mystery of his niece's disappearance/suspected murder 40 years earlier. Blomkvist pairs himself up with an unlikely accomplice: pierced, tatooed, and very mysterious, Lisbeth Salander. Together, at the risk of their lives, they uncover a dark and twisted family past that continues into the present day.
Throughout the book we are given only bits and pieces of Salander's own past and what causes her to be the unusual and mysterious individual that she is. This intrigue, combined with the mystery of the book, certainly makes for a suspenseful novel. However, as I stated, there was a sense of let-down when I reached the end.
BOTTOM LINE: Not one that I couldn't put down.