There is something to be said for delayed gratification.

It is with a mixture of smug satisfaction and dark melancholy that I watch all the excitement among literate Americans (a fading sect, treat them nicely) at the arrival of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the final volume in the late Stieg Larsson's masterful trilogy, on these shores.

I ordered mine as soon as the English language version was released in Europe, through Amazon UK and had the satisfaction of finishing the absorbing tale well ahead of most U.S. readers. Thus the smugness. But now I can but recall the pleasure I had months ago and am an onlooker as so many others begin to experience the same pleasure. And that makes me sad.

All in all, I guess I'd do it the same way again. Maybe.