Currently Reading...

Yes! I'm finally reading the new Dan Brown and I'm so excited. I've been looking forward to Origin for months. I had originally planned to read it as soon as it came out, but I wound up reading the new book by King and his son, Owen, first.  Let me just say, that book (Sleeping Beauties) took way longer than I had anticipated.  Anyhow, I'm currently catching up with Robert Langdon and enjoying every minute of it - woo hoo!!

Happy reading!!

Three Quick Reviews

I have been reading like crazy lately and I have been loving every minute of it!  Summer is nigh and I've started craving quick, easy, and fun reads.  Here are three that I've recently devoured:

A fun and quick read that I gobbled up in two days.  I probably could have read it in one day, but I didn't want the book to end.  So, what's this new Dan Brown about? Well, I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just write this - Robert Langdon is back!  Woo hoo! Our favorite professor is once again swept away in a mysterious and dangerous mission to save humanity from possible destruction.  This time round he's missing his favorite Mickey Mouse watch and his memory - yikes!  Plus, he has no idea who to trust - his own government appears to be out to get him. What? Oh, and all of this is happening in Italy and time is running out!  Suffice it to say, I was on the edge of my seat the whole through with this book and I loved every minute of it!  Brown's latest made for the perfect weekend read - a fun adventure to get lost in. I would definitely urge all Dan Brown fans to check this one out!!

Chick lit at its best!  A fun, sexy romp filled with miscommunications, sisterly (mis)advice, rash decisions, and no sex (well, almost).  Talk about a laugh out loud read!  I absolutely loved Kinsella's latest novel involving two sisters named Lottie and Fliss.  Lottie has just found out her boyfriend of 100 years does not want to get married - and to think she bought him an engagement ring to match the one she had assumed he had bought her - and she is beyond heartbroken.  Fliss, a harried single mother, whose never-ending divorce battle with her ex, and super busy job are all put on hold when she receives her sister, Lottie's latest phone call. She's married!! Say what?  Days after the big breakup and Lottie is married to an ex-boyfriend who showed up out of the blue - WTF!!  Fliss is overcome with worry about her younger sister and decides to do what she can to end this marriage ASAP - and believe me, she does everything and anything she can think of to end this marriage!  Its pretty crazy and funny all the drama that ensues.  I laughed so much that I teared up.  And in the end, I got my happily ever after - a must have for me when it comes to chick lit.  This is one book that I would happily recommend to fans of Kinsella and the chick lit genre - you will love this book!!

Sequels are not always a good idea.  Especially, when the story has been told and there is nothing left to tell.  After reading The Devil Wears Prada and watching the film version, I thought Andy's story was over - she was free from Miranda!!  What else was there to know?  Well, I guess I was wrong.   And, I'm so glad I was wrong, because this sequel was terrific!  I loved reuniting with Andy and finding out what had happened to her post-Runway.  She's launched a successful magazine with her new BFF, Emily - remember her, Miranda's cruel assistant that starved herself to go to Paris but didn't make it?  Crazy to believe, but Andy and Emily became besties and partners in business!  As far as her romantic life goes, Andy is about to marry the love of her life, Max.  Life couldn't get any better, except for those pesky nightmares involving Miranda; and the letter she found in her husband-to-be's gym bag; and the nausea that won't go away; plus a call from Miranda's attorney; and so many other crazy issues that just seem to pop up out of nowhere.  Suffice it to say, Weisberger has done an excellent job of bringing Andy and all of her Runway drama back to life.  I loved the book!  It was a quick, fun, and familiar read.  It made for the perfect rainy day read.  I would definitely recommend this book to fans of The Devil Wears Prada and fans of chick lit - you will enjoy getting lost in Andy's world all over again.

And there you have it - the three last books I just finished reading.  They were the perfect chasers after all of the historical fiction I've recently read.  Plus, they helped remind me that soon the sun will be blazing hot and iced cold glasses of lemonade will be my drink of choice, because summer is almost here!  What about you?  What fun books have you recently found yourself lost in?  Any recommendations for me? 

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Dan Brown has done it again. He has written another suspense filled novel starring, famed symbologist and Harvard professor, Robert Langdon. Except this time, the novel is not set in Europe, but in America - D.C. to be exact.  And, that is the only exception.  True to form, Brown has focused his novel on another secret society whose secrets, if revealed, will rock the nation's core.  We have the usual morning call/fax regarding the request of Langdon's presence; there is the horrific realization that things are not what they seem; the predictable reveal at the end that is supposed to shock the reader, but merely disappoints; and the usual romantic tinged relationship between Langdon and the female version of himself.  Overall, another one of Brown's light reads.  Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy reading this book, because it allowed me the freedom to dip in and out at intervals (the fact that the chapters were 2-3 pages long helped).  What I liked was the familiarity of the character and tone of the novel, but I do wish that Brown had jazzed up his plot devices a bit more instead of relying on the usual ones that he has utilized in each of his novels. In the beginning I found myself getting involved in the story and excited at the prospect of a new adventure for Langdon, but soon enough  I became bored when I realized what direction the book was going and who the true culprit really was.  At the end of the day, it was a good escape from watching reruns on t.v.. 

As far as what the book was about, well, here's the text from the book jacket's flap:
           ...Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building.  Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn.  A disturbing object- artfully encoded with five symbols - is discovered in the Capitol Building.  Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation...one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.
          When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon - a prominent Mason and philanthropist - is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him.  Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations - all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

Wow! That does sound like an exciting story - too bad it wasn't. I wouldn't recommend that anyone rush out to buy this book, but at the same time I wouldn't say, don't read it. I think it would make for a good vacation read - fun, light and easy to read.  Something that you could take with you and wouldn't mind if you forgot it at your hotel.  The type of book that you lend a friend and aren't even bothered if they never give it back. All in all, another typical Dan Brown creation - overly hyped and too much of nothing.