The New Yorker has a fantastic parody of Stieg Larsson's (translated) writing style:
There was a tap at the door at five in the morning. She woke up. Shit. Now what? She’d fallen asleep with her Palm Tungsten T3 in her hand. It would take only a moment to smash it against the wall and shove the battery up the nose of whoever was out there annoying her. She went to the door.
I recently ordered some books - The French Laundry Cookbook, Irreligion and In Defense of Food - and they shipped the other day! How very exciting.
The main bit in this order is The French Laundry Cookbook. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled on The French Laundry At Home blog, specifically the entry on Maine Lobster Pancakes with Pea Shoot Salad and Ginger-Carrot Emulsion and thought to myself, "self, you have to make that." So I finally ordered the cookbook and now need only set aside enough time to make the damned thing.