Swept Up in a Bestseller

[Peg Herring]

Everyone agrees that nobody knows what makes a bestseller. Books that were BLOCKBUSTERS often leave me asking, "On whose block?"

Those who know me can guess that I do not care about vampire boyfriends, Glenn Beck's rantings, or the people you meet in heaven. But even in my favorite genre, mystery, I'm puzzled by what others like that I find insipid or overdone or unbelievable. It may be Grouchy Reader Syndrome, which results, I believe, from reading so much that anything average isn't good enough.

So it is with trepidation that I approach Steig Larsen's GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Friends have told me I will like it if I wade through the long initial setup. Friends have said things like that before, sometimes rightly, sometimes not so much.

I want to like it. I want to be swept up in the bestseller that everyone else has already read and formed opinions on, from terrible to terrific.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[Peg Herring]

I'm about thirty pages in...no opinion yet.

[Chris Rhatigan]

Bestsellers tend to be a certain kind of book--almost a genre within themselves. Some of them I've really enjoyed--Janet Evanovich's books come to mind--and some I can barely make it through--such as everything James Patterson has written. I still haven't read Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, somehow, but the premise sounds interesting and I hope to getting around to check it out in the near future.