Gear Review: Nike Free 3.0v2

I had a pair of New Balance 550s earlier this year. They were great...until they got worn down and I started having knee pain...and running slower. Two weeks until my first half marathon and I knew I needed new shoes so I headed to a local running store to get a fitting. I hated every pair he brought out for me and he wasn't listening to lightweight and minimal. I left without shoes and headed to Niketown to try on some Frees.

There are a few different kinds of Nike Free running shoes. There are 7.0, 5.0, 3.0, and Run+. (All available in various versions as well.) Essentially, the 7.0s have the most cushioning, the 5.0s have a moderate amount, the 3.0s have the least amount of cushioning, and the Run+ has more cushioning than the 3.0s. (I really can't figure out any difference between the Run+ and the 5.0s, if you find out, let me know!) I tried on the 5.0s, which just felt plain awkward, and the 3.0s. Right away I knew the 3.0s were perfect. I happily left Niketown and couldn't wait to go for a run.

Now, because of the minimalist design of the 3.0s, you are advised to ease into them to avoid your muscles cramping and to avoid overuse. Since I was in my taper period for training all my runs were short, under 5 miles, so I didn't ease into them...and my calves...they HURT. The first week of running I had to stop a lot and stretch out my calves because they were BURNING. I got worried for the half, picturing myself taking 3+ hours to finish because of stretching. Race day came and I spent a good amount of time warming up and stretching my calves and legs out and you know what, I ran all 13.1 miles without feeling a thing in my calves. Score.

Fit:
They run about a half a size small. I wear size 8.5 in normal shoes and got these in a 9. Though my last pair of running shoes were 9 as well. I find the width and toe box perfect for my feet, but I have non-narrow and non-wide feet, so I can see some people having problems with the fit.

Flexibility:
If these shoes were people, they'd be contortionists. The deep grooves in the outsole combined with the mesh body allow your foot the freedom it needs to build up its muscles. Basically, your foot can move like it's not in a shoe, while it's in a shoe. (Note that pebbles and small rocks and twigs can get stuck in the grooves, so make sure you check the bottoms before going inside.)

Comfort:
These babies are comfortable. Super comfortable. I've never gotten a blister, never bled, my black toe nail faded away once I started wearing these.

Weight:
The size 8 women's shoes weigh 6oz each. You can hardly feel them on your feet.

Performance:
I don't know what it is, but once I ran in these shoes I instantly got faster. The first run I did in these was 4 miles, and not counting stoppage time, I finished an entire 3 minutes faster than the last 4 mile run in my old shoes. I can feel that my legs are much stronger and the muscle definition has become more visible since running in them. I almost want to say that these shoes have changed my life...almost...

Overall the ONLY complaint about these amazing shoes is that the shoelaces will NOT stay tied. You have to double knot them...even if just walking in them. I also notice that they are not as comfortable when I wear slightly thick cotton socks. Whenever I run I have to wear the slim Nike socks otherwise I'm just plain uncomfortable. I'm really hoping I get a Nike gift card so I can get a new pair. I'm in looooooove!

2011 Race Schedule

Race Name: I-Challenge
Date: April 29th-April 30th, 2011
Distance: 5k (29th), Half Marathon (30th)
Where: Urbana, IL
Goodies: 2 shirts, one for the 5k and one for the half, 3 medals, one for the 5k, one for the half, and one for the I-Challenge, and bragging rights.
Cost: $65 total

Race Name: Soldier Field 10 Mile
Date: May 28th, 2011
Distance: 10 miles
Where: Chicago, IL
Goodies: shirt, medal, stadium blanket, finishing on the 50 yard line at Soldier Field
Cost: $65

Race Name: RAGNAR Relay Madison to Chicago
Date: June 10th-June 11th, 2011
Distance: 204.1 mile relay
Where: Madison, WI to Chicago, IL
Goodies: ...running a 200 mile relay with 11 friends....? (no information about goodie bags...)
Cost: $90 per person

Race Name: South Shore Multisport Festival
Date: July 24th, 2011
Distance: Duathon, 5k/18k/5k
Where: Chicago, IL
Goodies: cycling jersey (i'm sure other stuff too, but only the jersey is advertised.)
Cost: $99

Race Name: Chicago Half Marathon
Date: September 11th, 2011
Distance: 13.1 miles
Where: Chicago, IL
Goodies: shirt, medal
Cost: $70

How I wish that I can put race entry fees on my Christmas and birthday list. I think that looks like a pretty damn good race schedule to me...now all I need is a bike for the duathlon...and a few pairs of shoes...

I might do the Hot Chocolate 15k again, but I'll have to wait and see the course and the limit on participants, etc to decide.

Music Monday

An absolutely beautiful song and video. The Frames are currently on their 20th anniversary tour, my boyfriend and I went to their show here in Chicago last week and it was phenomenal. The crowd was absolutely silent during this song.

High on Fire Pizza

I went to visit my friend Mary over the weekend and we decided to have a pizza contest. We each made 2 pizzas, but mine were the same, except one had cheese and the other didn't. I didn't know what to make so I kept thinking and thinking...then I thought of my favorite burger ever. Kuma's Corner High on Fire. Siracha, sweet chili paste, grilled pineapple, roasted red pepper, and prosciutto. I changed a few things and made it into a pizza. And it was goooooooooood.

High on Fire with cheese

For the crust, we used a recipe that Mary uses all the time. It's your basic flour, salt, water, yeast recipe. 

For the sauce I mixed in sweet chili paste to Contadina tomato sauce. Before cooked, it was pretty spicy but after the pizza came out of the oven, the sauce wasn't really spicy. Next time I'll add more chili paste.

For toppings I used red pepper, pineapple, sweet italian sausage, and basic mozzarella cheese(only one pizza.) I chose not to roast the red pepper because I didn't want to do all that comes along with it. I sautéed them in a little bit of oil until almost done. Then I added them to the pizza along with the other toppings and they finished cooking in the oven. Once done I added cilantro and I meant to add Siracha on top as well, but I forgot. So you can definitely add as much spice as you want.

High on Fire without cheese

When I make this pizza again, I'll chop up the pineapple and peppers to smaller pieces. They were a bit on the large side so you could really only have a bite of one ingredient each. I'll also add a bunch more cheese because it tasted so much better with the cheese.

Music Monday

Sunday Lovin'...

In June 2007 I convinced my mom to let me get a kitten. We already had a cat (Sophie) but I WANTED a kitten...badly! A friend of mine had made a Facebook page for her cat and insisted I made one for mine as well, so I did. There is a whole world of Facebook pages for cats, dogs, racoons, horses, and bunnies and they are all friends. One of Sophie's cat friends had a litter of kittens and the owners were giving away as many as they could, and luckily for me they were only across the state line! My mom agreed and I was looking through the pictures they posted of the kittens and then I saw this little guy...

I knew he was the one for me! What *exactly* drew me to him, I don't know, but whatever it was, it was instantaneous! Look at how cute he is! I contacted the owner and said that I would like to adopt him and we arranged a day to meet. Now, what on earth to name this little guy?! After much deliberation, I decided upon an 'official' name of Rexster Ditka. (Can you tell I was born and raised in Chicago?!) 'Rex' came from Rex Grossman, who was, at the time, the top Chicago Bears player. 'ster' came from Devin Hester, who is still a top Chicago Bears player. Ditka became the middle name, taken from none other than famed Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka.

A few weeks later I drove 2 hours (3 because of traffic) into Indiana to meet them. $20 and a few squeals later we were on the road back to Chicago! Little Rexie spent the majority of the drive back perched on my shoulder, mewing like crazy. (He still meows like crazy in cars.) We finally got back home and he was able to explore, and poop! He was so tiny but had the biggest ears!

He loved sleeping on my clothes...

And sleeping on my chest...

And checking his Facebook page...ok, ok, trying to catch the cursor! (Which he STILL does!)

...and cue a million pictures...

Ok, I could go on all day long posting pictures of Rex, Rexie, Rexie-Pants, Doodlebug, Rexicles, but I'll stop. ..because he wants to cuddle right now.

Saturday Read

You all might be able to take a guess at what this week's Saturday Read is...

Yep! It's the third, and final, novel in the Millennium trilogy The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson. Larsson originally intended for the Millennium series to be a collection of 10 novels, however upon his sudden death in 2004, only 3 were fully written manuscripts.

Now, this book, while still good, is not nearly as intriguing as the first two novels. Though that is largely in part that Lisbeth Salander is in a hospital bed for the majority of it. However, you cannot NOT read this book after reading the last two. You need to find out what happens to Salander, if she is convicted or if she is found innocent. Also, this novel ties up many of the loose ends in the previous ones.

While in the hospital, Blomkvist puts together a team of trustworthy people to prove that Salander has been a victim of injustice since the age of 12. He also convinces his sister, a women's right lawyer, to represent Salander at her trial and to prove her innocence. Of course there are monkey wrenches thrown into the plot and many of the attacks are of a personal nature. There's really nothing else I can tell, because, again, I can't give away too much otherwise you'll know everything!

Overall the Millennium trilogy is definitely worth your time reading. And it won't take you too long to read because I promise you will be turning the pages one after the other every second you can!

Vacation Recap

This past weekend I hopped on a plane with my boyfriend and we took off for New Orleans, LA! It was my first time and his second, after going to Mardi Gras 10 years ago. It was a fabulous time and we both wish we could have stayed longer.

We arrived to our hotel at about 1pm on Wednesday and she informed us that they upgraded our room, free of cost! Even though we were paying an employee rate (I work for the company that owns the hotel) so we got an amazing deal! Our suite was bigger than my boyfriend's apartment! A little dining area, a full living room, bedroom, and a bathroom with a claw-foot soaking tub! After relaxing in the room and booking a couple's massage for the next morning we headed out for a late lunch and to explore the French Quarter. We took a carriage tour through the Quarter with 2 other couples and had the best tour guide! A retired history teacher from Tulane University! Needless to say we learned a TON of stuff about New Orleans, including that we borrowed $15 million from the British waaaaay back when and never paid it back. We stopped in to the dive bar across the street from our hotel and were told a few places to go for dinner and music. Later that night we went to Jacques-Imo's for fried chicken and jambalaya then a few doors down to Maple Leaf for music. However, it was already 10pm and the band wasn't starting for another hour and we were both tired to we headed back to the hotel.

Thursday was our lazy day, we got our massages, went to Walgreens for bubble bath and a few other things, ate lunch at the bar across the street, and went back to the hotel and stayed there until 7 when we got a cab to The Joint for BBQ dinner and then Vaughan's Lounge for Kermit Ruffins. It was a great night and Kermit is a wonderful musician! Friday we attempted brunch at Cafe Du Monde but the line was long so we stopped in somewhere else, then walked along the Mississippi River and took the Natchez Steamboat tour. We had some time to kill before the tour so we gambled a little bit in Harrah's Casino. The steamboat was 2 hours long and again, we learned a ton about New Orleans. We saw some huge ships, a plantation, the Domino Sugar factory, and an oil refinery too! It looked like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory! Dinner that night was at our dive bar and then we hit up Bourbon Street for some fun! We went to Howl at the Moon and the pianists were great! They have dueling pianos and take suggestions from the audience and it was a great time. Then we left and went to a few other bars before we got back at the hotel at 4am. (!!!)

Saturday we took the streetcar to the Garden District, walked around and found a little place to eat on Magazine Street. We headed back to the hotel for some resting time (both of us were tired!) and then went on our fancy dinner night at a steakhouse in the Quarter. We found a bar that was showing the Pacquiao fight and watched it there, then headed off to our dive bar for a few hours before calling it quits for New Orleans and went back to the hotel to sleep before our flight in the morning.

We got back in to Chicago and were greeted with a cold and windy day but we were also glad to be home. I'm also ready to start running and working out again!

A Small Win!

I'm no cook. In fact, a month ago I learned how to make grilled cheese...I'm nearly 23. My mom doesn't cook either, save for a few dishes. We don't have a whisk, rolling pin, and our can opener disappeared.

Now don't get me wrong, I can make spaghetti sauce and meatballs from scratch. It's an old family recipe I learned how to make from my Aunt. I can make a mean chicken parmesan as well. Recently I started making pizza dough (see post below) and actually thinking of other things I can add in to make different flavors. I really wish I could cook more, part of the reason I don't is because I work until 9pm 4 nights a week, so the last thing I want to do is cook a meal at 10pm!

This morning I woke up, went to the fridge, saw some eggs and decided to make some scrambled eggs. I added in some cheese, banana, and buttered toast too!

Now, it's nothing complex and didn't take very long but I still feel a small win with my accomplishment of MAKING breakfast and not just EATING breakfast. I didn't just pour myself a bowl of cereal or mix granola with yogurt. I MADE something. A small, easy thing to make,  but it's SOMETHING.

*pats myself on the back*

Pumpkin Pizza Dough!

I saw a recipe for pumpkin pizza dough a bit ago on (never home)maker and I couldn't wait to try it. I kept forgetting about it until pumpkin season came and I realized that all I really needed was canned pumpkin and flour! It's super easy to make and tastes great. It's also a vegan recipe, so for you vegans out there, dig in! I made the second batch on Monday and modified it a little bit to get more pumpkin flavor.

Recipe:
1 cup warm water
1 pouch yeast (I used some sort of fast-acting yeast)
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons pumpkin (Using too much pumpkin will give the dough too much moisture. Ashley recommends only using 1/2 cup.)
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used corn oil because it was in the cabinet)
1.5 teaspoons salt (I didn't really measure it just poured it in and eyeballed it.)
3.5 cups unbleached bread flour (I used Jewel brand)
a few dashes of Cloves (optional)

To Make:
1. Pour the warm water into a bowl and whisk in the yeast. Let stand about 10 minutes until frothy. (Mine never got frothy but I let it stand anyways.)
2. Once your water/yeast has had a few minutes of standing time add in the pumpkin and oil and whisk until smooth. (Note that you do not need a whisk to whisk, a fork works just fine!)
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Then punch a hole in the flour using your fist, then pour your wet ingredients in there. (Make sure it's a big hole, there is more liquid than you think!)
4. Using a spatula, start at the edge of the bowl and bring the flour into the wet ingredients and keep moving the bowl around. Do this until you can no longer mix. Then knead it, adding flour as needed, until you have one big ball of pumpkin dough. It should be elastic without being sticky. (It only takes a few minutes of kneading.)
5. In another bowl, pour in a tiny amount of oil to lightly coat your dough. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours. (I used a fast acting yeast that only takes an hour to rise.)
6. Once risen, divide the dough into two and put one half in a plastic bag in the freezer to use at another time. (Or use it if you wish! The dough keeps in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.) Preheat your own to 425 degrees F and roll out some dough to make a pizza! Add some sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you like. Cook until the cheese is melted. Or you can do what I like to do and just cook the dough for 10 minutes and slather on butter and eat just the dough...

Ashley at never(home)maker also includes a few steps on how to make pumpkin garlic knots, which I haven't done yet but I think I've got some minced garlic at home to try out!

Hot Chocolate 15k: Race Gear

Bra: lululemon athletica All Sport Bra in Black
Top: lululemon athletica Cool Racerback in Citron
Pullover: SUGOI Speedster2 in Laguna (this is not what I have but it's pretty close, there is only 1 pocket and the seams are all the same color)
Bottoms: lululemon athletica Run:Dash Crop in Teal Zeal
Socks: Nike Women's Running Socks
Shoes: Nike Free 3.0v2
Hat: lululemon athletica Brisk Running Cap in Senorita Pink
Watch: Garmin Forerunner 305

Overall I was very comfortable and WARM for the race. The All Sport Bra is phenomenal and hands down the best bra in the world. The CRB was a great piece for layering. The fleece lining in the Speedster2 was exactly what I needed for the cold and I even got a bit warm near the end of the run! And the cuffins were perfect for my cold hands. The Run:Dash Crops, which are a long crop, were awesome. Very supportive, stayed put so I didn't have to pull them up, and cute on top of it all! The socks are great, as they always are! As are my Frees, I love them! The Running Cap was great except it did keep sliding off so I had to keep pulling it down. The Forerunner was trusty as always, except for the extra mileage do to running in the garage, but that was expected.

Hot Chocolate 15k: Race Review

Race: Hot Chocolate 15k/5k
Distance: 15k (9.3 miles)
Number of runners: 15,000 (30,000 combined with the 5k)
Course: South, starting at Columbus and Balbo, turning around at about 45th Street
Weather: 32* at start, sunny, no wind
Overall Grade: C

I woke up on Saturday morning ready to run! I ate a peanut butter and banana sandwich, drank 2 big glasses of water, got dressed, stretched, and headed out the door. I did a jog to the start line only a few blocks from my condo to the biggest mass of people ever. The 5k runners were already in the start corrals...well, what seemed like all of them...many were still trying to get thru when us 15k runners were allowed in the corrals. I waited patiently for the start of the 5k and for all of the 5k runners to get over the start line. Twenty minutes after the horn blew they finally cleared out and the gates were opened up for the 15k runners to line up. There were plenty of people finishing the 5k before some crossed the start line!

Another 15-20 minutes later the sun was getting up in the sky and the 15k was officially started! I started my Garmin right when crossing the start line, but silly me forgot to look at the race clock to see how much later I was starting. Within 200 yards of starting there were walkers...and not just 1 or 2, groups of walkers. Not a good sign. There was also a guy finishing the 5k yelling "Be careful at mile 3! Be careful at mile 3!" I ran south on Columbus, entering onto Lake Shore Drive wondering what was at mile 3 that would be dangerous. I came upon the first mile marker at about 10:06 or so which was great for my warm up mile. In mile two there were some bad turns where people were running into each other and we ran thru the McCormick Place garage which succeeded in throwing off nearly every Garmin, including my own. Right before the 2 mile mark the first aid station appeared and I ran right thru it since I was still warming up and because, well, I don't think water is needed not even 2 miles into a run. However, we are all different so I understand some people need some fluid!

 (At the finish line, getting ready to raise my arms up but it looks more like I'm doing the chicken dance. The guy on the left has Down Syndrome and was an inspiration to me.)

Now, I was still wondering about what that guy was yelling about and a few tenths of a mile before mile 3 I found out. Quickly. We were going to be running down an exit ramp onto Lake Shore Drive (again), however, there was only 1 lane available. Construction was taking up the normally 2 lane ramp and on the right side were trees and bushes and dirt. Here I am running along and all of a sudden I'm nearly tripping over a curb and shoulder to shoulder with the other runners. Many of us said "F*ck it" and ran in the dirt with the trees and a few holes in the ground. Yikes. Talk about a bottleneck! Little did we know there were a few more in store for us!

Just before mile 4 was the next aid station and I ran thru the first half since I didn't want Gatorade. I got to the water section and stopped and walked, drinking 2 cups of water. I tossed them in the garbage can and took off, now on a trail on the lakefront. We get to the turn around, which was just in the middle of grass, no trail or concrete turn around. This didn't bother me but many people on the Hot Chocolate 15k Facebook page complained about it. What did bother me was the trail we were forced to run for the next mile or so. It was rocks. Not little rocks like pebbles, but big rocks. I nearly fell and twisted my ankle a few times, but it wasn't until I read the numerous comments about people who did twist their ankles and 1 or 2 who actually broke their ankles falling along this part of the course, that I realized I was lucky. Going back north was all along the lake front path, which was packed with so many runners. I, along with several others, ran along side the path on the grass and dirt with the trees. I took some Gatorade and water at the next water station (which was only 1.5 miles after the last one) and I just kept on running. The water station was LONG...it slowed me down a lot and I knew I wanted to make up for it. I decided to skip the last water station and pick up the pace a little bit.

(Near the end right before we went under the last tunnel. We all started cheering!)

A few bottlenecks later we were nearing the end! I quick run around the Shedd Aquarium (another massive bottleneck) and we hit the 9 mile mark! Up ahead were some photographers atop a crane and we all cheered as we got ready for a small hill and then the straight away to the finish! I crossed the finish and stopped my Garmin, which said my time was 1:31:31 but also said I ran 9.45 miles instead of 9.3. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed to take my finishers photo and then to the fondue tent! They handed out plastic trays with some apple slices, marshmellows, a square of rice krispy, a square of pound cake, a pretzel rod, and something else and at the end of the line you got a big ol' scoop of melted chocolate to dip it all in! I got to dipping right away while I walked around the post-race party and enjoyed every second of eating. Too bad that it was so chilly out because the chocolate cooled off really fast. I ditched my tray into a garbage can and went home.

(This is the best picture of me...and I'm half covered up by the person in front of me!)

I went online for my race results and they weren't posted. Checked a few hours later...nothing. Race results weren't posted until the next day. Now, I know that this race is still new but RAM RACING sponsors many other races in Chicago/Chicagoland so they know what they are doing. I couldn't believe that the results took so long to post! Overall, I had a great run, but there needs to be many changes made if I'm going to run it again next year. The 15k should start before the 5k (as many other races do when there is a long and a short run) and there needs to be a "WALKERS" corral and the corrals need to be seeded and started at different times. 8 minute mile runners start at 8, 9 minute mile runners start at 8:05, etc etc because the bottlenecks and the course overall cannot accommodate everybody starting at the exact same time. I also saw 2 people running with strollers! It was clearly stated that strollers were not allowed but obviously not enforced. It was a bit disappointing for the money I spent on the race and I would love to do the race again but I will definitely be going back and forth if I should actually do it or not.

Music Monday

Packet Pick Up&Expo Review: Hot Chocolate 15k

This past Saturday I participated in the Hot Chocolate 15k, presented by Running Away Multisport and RAM RACING. It was only the third year of this race, but RAM RACING presents many other races in the Chicagoland area. The number of participants grew from under 10,000 to 30,000 people since it's inaugural run in 2007 so they had to move packet pick up to a larger location as well as changing the course to accommodate the large number of participants.

Packet Pick Up and the Expo was held in the Great Hall in Union Station. The location was perfect as it is located in the biggest train station in downtown Chicago. Even if you live/work in the suburbs it would be super easy to get to, hop on the train, get your packet, hop on a train home! The Great Hall isn't that huge, but it's not super small either and I thought that space-wise it was good, but any smaller and it would have been too small. I went right at 10:30am on Thursday when it opened...and so did hundreds of others. There was a line to get in, but it moved pretty quickly. Then it became wait wait wait wait wait.

Once you got in, there were tables with bibs on your right and left, with signs above stating the bibs numbers and '5k'. That was confusing because you are standing there, looking for '15k' but only see those tables with bibs so you just go to where your bib is located and hope it's there. Yep! It was there. So you get your bib, grab some pins from the boxes on the tables and go wait in line for your goodie bag. Standing there for a few minutes volunteers/workers inform you that you have to go to Chip Check to ensure you have the right timing chip on your bib. Get out of line, check your chip, then get back into line. Then after standing for a few more minutes the same volunteer who told us about Chip Check snidely says "Women are you reading? This is the MEN'S goodie bag line, the ladies' is over there!!!" So I, along with other grumbling women, end up waiting in line amongst The North Face clothing since the line was so long we pushed back into the booths. The line didn't move for a good 10 minutes. Finally I get to the front and get "The Best Goodie Bag in the Country!"...except the goodie bag is a crappy and ill-fitting non technical running jacket and a few flyers and a $10 off coupon for Running Away Multisport. I heard that last year and the year before the goodie bags were actually pretty decent and the jackets were a lot better.

The saving grace of it all was the Sugoi booth. I needed to get a warm running pullover since it was going to be a whopping 30* at the start of the race. I quickly found the perfect pullover! It had cuffins, a hood with pony tail hole, a beautiful blue, and fleece lined! I grabbed it, chatted with the reps, and headed off to the registers...where lines were in abundance. Half the registers weren't open and one of the was cash only which had a tiny hand written sign being covered by people in line. I got in the next line over and watched as the other 2 lines moved and I stayed in the same spot. (grumble grumble)

Overall, it wasn't that bad, but did need some major reorganizing as it wasn't set up very fluidly.

Music Monday

Saturday Read

This week's Saturday Read is The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. This is the second novel in the trilogy by Larsson. (Last week I told you about the first book.)

Before I was done with the first novel I went to Border's and picked this up. I knew I would want to open it up once I closed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Picking up over a year where Dragon Tattoo left off, we find that Lisbeth Salander has been traveling around the world. She's also gotten breast implants. After surviving a hurricane in the Caribbean, she heads home to Sweden and reconnects with a few people from her past. We also learn that a journalist named Dag Svensson approaches Millennium to help publish his novel about sex trafficking in Sweden. His book stems from his girlfriend's, Mia Johannson, dissertation. Salander, using her computer hacking skills, finds out this information and is soon the prime suspect in their murders. Blomkvist is convinced that Salander is innocent and sets out to prove just that, enlisting help along the way. However, there are many twists and turns and shocking discoveries about Salander's past that pop up along the way.

This book had me on the very edge of my seat and my boyfriend had to practically rip it from my hands a few times. This novel is even better than the first! And there is no sadistic sex this time around. The action started right away, rather than a slow build up to it in the first novel, and the overall pacing is much faster. The ending definitely leaves you wanting more...right away!

-Nina

Music Monday