The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larsson

Brendan called me a few nights ago, hours after arriving home to Chicago from his month in Scotland. It had already been a long day for him, although it was hardly dinnertime, and jet lag was beginning to set in. It was nice of him to call and great to catch up with him, but let's just acknowledge that he was a tiny bit cranky.

I tried. I really, really tried not to mention reading or books or literature or reading logs, but I couldn't help but crack a joke about what he read while on the plane. I really don't recommend making bad jokes at the expense of an improvisational actor, particularly one who has performed for 30 days straight and is exhausted. Here's the PG version of what went down. I didn't take notes, so you'll just have to trust me on this one:

Kerry: So, did you read anything good on the plane?
Brendan: Gee whiz, Kerry. Are we really going to talk about that?
K: (laughter)
B: Gosh darn it, Kerry. I carried all my books back stateside. I didn't read "Bitter is the New Black" or "The Lonely Polygamist". Stop laughing.
K: (laughter)
B: Golly gee wilikers. You're reading the Swedish John Grisham and I'm tackling literary masterpieces like...like...like...(gentle snoring. Fade to abrupt cut off, courtesy of Verizon Wireless).

I'm not celebrating yet, because Brendan has a full 48 hours to load up his log with slim volumes of poetry, plays and manga before the official end of our reading challenge. That is, if he's woken up yet.

Meanwhile...

I did it! I know what happens to Lisbeth! Posthumous kudos to Stieg Larsson for naming every_ single_little_character_in_the_whole_entire_series. I had to grab some paper and pencil for the final book to keep everyone's allegiances straight. There were times when my mind wandered while reading the third and final book in the Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, but I liked how the ending played out. Despite his slanderous comments, I'm sure Brendan will be borrowing/bringing back to Chicago, never to return the series when he is next back in Boston.