5 Books I Enjoyed in 2010: Janene Ferrara

Fantastic Reads of 2010 (Top 6)

1, 2, 3.

 

The Millennium Trilogy written by the late Stieg Larsson which include The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.  Generally I am not a fan of crime novels but these books kept me spellbound.  The story features
journalist Mikael Blomkvist and “the girl” Lisbeth Salander.  Through three books, you learn the history of Lisbeth and the atrocities she endured as a result of male violence.  For me it was the combination of learning about Swedish political and criminal history mixed with murder mystery and female empowerment that made it so compelling.  I’ve heard that people have a tough time getting through the first part of book one but once they are in… the series becomes addictive.  I would also recommend writing a little cheat sheet of names as you go
along because the Swedish surnames can be confusing. The trilogy makes a great Christmas present.

4, 5, 6.

The next three books I enjoyed reading this year were My Hollywood by Mona Simpson, The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende.  While all three books take place in different times and settings (present day Los Angeles, 1962 Mississippi and 1770s Haiti, respectively) they all explore the relationships between servants and the children of their employers.  I hadn’t read them intentionally together (or even in chronological order) but I was struck by how little has changed between the centuries.  It’s striking how complex the relationships are between the parents and the people who step in to raise their children.    I found myself making mental comparisons throughout.  If you do choose to read it I would start with Allende, followed by Stockett and then Simpson to gain some historical perspective and see how much has (or hasn’t really) changed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janene Ferrara is a Senior Vice President at EURO RSCG Worldwide PR in New York City.

Posted in: 5 Books I Enjoyed in 2010, The Year's Notably Best