"The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Eva and John were right. It is better than the first one.

"Losing the Dead" by Lisa Appignanesi"

I had read 2 fiction books by her and enjoyed them, especially the one set in Montreal. It's because of her Montreal roots that I bought this non-fiction book, which recounts her search for her Jewish family's history, especially in wartime Poland. It also mentions her troubled relationship with her rapidly aging mother. I enjoyed the book, because I guess I can relate to both these things. The Poles are not always mentioned in a flattering light, but I do think she tried to be fair.

I recently took a course on a genealogy database at the Ottawa Public Library, and at first I didn't think it had inspired me to pursue my family history, but this book has given me that spark. It was useful to me that it mentioned some of the psychological roadblocks to pursuing a family history that is filled with horrible events.

"The Mayor of Casterbridge" by Thomas Hardy

I decided to finally read this book (which I bought ages ago) after watching the Michael Winterbottom movie 'The Claim', which is loosely based on it. I found the movie very slow, but it had beautiful scenery and the plot was somewhat intriguing. I hate having a book lie around for decades without being read, so I used the movie as the incentive I needed. There is even, believe it or not, a Simon Baker connection, because I know Michael Winterbottom from the movie 'The Killer Inside Me' where Simon Baker starred.

To my surprise, because I think of Thomas Hardy as being gloomy, I actually enjoyed the book. I liked the fact that even though much misery befell Hanchard, it was mostly of his own doing, He was not an innocent victim. It's almost ironically funny.  Hanchard (Job?) was presented with one trial after another, and he always seemed to make the wrong choice. He seemed unable to have a trusting relationship with other people.