The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown

March 31, 201125 Comments

Finished 3-31-11, rating 4/5, thriller, 639 pages, pub. 2009

“Traditionally, ma’am, it was used as an invitation.”

“An invitation…to what?” she demanded.

Langdon looked down at the symbols on his friend’s severed hand. “For centuries, the Hand of the Mysteries served as a mystical summons. Basically, it’s an invitation to receive secret knowledge-protected wisdom known only to an elite few.”

Sato folded her thin arms and stared up at him with jet-black eyes. “Well, Professor, for someone who claims to have no clue why he’s here…you’re doing quite well so far.”

Chapter 17

Robert Langdon, famous symbologist of the DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons, is back. Langdon has been invited by an old friend, current head of the Smithsonian Institute, to give a lecture in Washington DC that very day. Short on time, but with an old lecture ready to go he boards a private plane and is off. Only when he arrives at the Capitol for his lecture he is not greeted by a welcoming crowd, but a hand. The dismembered hand of his friend was left there to convince Langdon to help a madman in exchange for his friend’s life. So, begins another stressful all-nighter in the Langdon saga.

I appreciated that this one utilized Washington DC and its rich history. I love that city and had fun imagining Langdon racing around on familiar territory. This book was a manual for the Freemasons, their beliefs and influence on the fathers of the country. It was also a nice introduction to the Noetic Sciences, which I knew nothing about, but found very interesting. This was another controversial look at history from Dan Brown and one that may have you looking at the 2012 prophecy about the end of the world in a new light.

Having read the first two Langdon books and liked them both, I confess that this was not as good. There was drama and a badass bad guy, but the situations Langdon found himself in never felt dire. The CIA kept saying finding the bad guy was a matter of national security, but it took way too long to find out why. The bad guy himself painted quite a mental picture since he was covered in tatoos from head to toe and I actually liked that part of the story. Once again, Langdon was all about solving clues and racing against the clock to find the next piece of the puzzle and that was fun. But maybe it was because I didn’t find the Freemason conspiracy story as interesting as Dan Brown did. He included a lot of detail and not all of it really moved the story forward.

I think if you enjoyed the first two that you will also enjoy this one, but for me it is the weakest of the three. And the ending, while not bad, wasn’t really satisfying. I’m assuming Tom Hanks will be back on the big screen as Langdon and I look forward to it, if only because I want to see DC in all of her glory.

Deadly Vows, by Brenda Joyce

March 24, 201111 Comments

Finished 3-17-11, rating 4/5, romance, 379 pages, pub. 2011

Book 9 in the Francesca Cahill series (Book 1) (Book 2) (Book 3) (Book 4) (Book 5) (Book 6) (Book 7) (Book 8)

“You are assuming that our relationship was founded on love.” He stared. “Let me offer some advice-you do not want to have this discussion with me.”

No one could miss the warning in is tone. Her heart with more alarm, more fear. “I never meant to stand you up!”

His gaze finally flickered. “It is for the best.”

She cried out “What? I love you. Missing my wedding was not for the best!”

“Good day, Francesca.” He sat abruptly down, pulling a folder forward.

Chapter 4

Francesca Cahill, blueblood and sleuth, is lured away on her wedding day by someone intent on destroying her relationship with finance, Calder Hart. She was told she’d finally find her portrait, a nude, but she escaped without it and in 1902 New York City society a nude portrait would ruin her and devastate her family. When Calder realizes that she left him at the altar his pride is hurt and he thinks she has had second thoughts. These insecurities feed into his fear that she will always love his brother best and he ends their engagement.

Francesca is a great character, full of smarts and spunk and loyalty. Calder is a great hero, dark, flawed, and dangerous. I love the two of them together although his reaction after being jilted at the altar felt like I’d read it before in the series. A couple can only go back and forth so long before something’s got to give. I was worried that the whole story would feel done already, but the story recovered and took off. Rick, Francesca’s good friend and Calder’s half-brother, is police commissioner and the three of them race to find Francesca’s portrait before it becomes public. It seems like more people know of its existence than should.

It was nice to have the gang all back for this one even if none of them were really a focus like they’ve been in past books. It was nice to see Francesca’s brother, Evan, start to admit his feelings for the poor widow and mother, Maggie and confront his ex-mistress. This was a good contribution to the series, but not my favorite.

This is from my personal library.

After Isaactown, by Ward Jones

March 16, 20117 Comments

Finished 3-14-11, rating 3/5, fiction, 353 pages, pub. 2010

Panic seized him. He wasn’t prepared. He had nothing to suggest.

He hung up.

In the quiet his emotions drifted from disgust to depression. There was, however, no escape from his behavior, his acting like a lovesick teenager, not a person who uses his mind for a living, and he wondered if he had lost through nonuse what others had, the ability to communicate on a personal, even intimate, level.

page 45

Norm Armstein is a very successful corporate lawyer who has always been in love with his sister-in-law, if only his thick-headed brother hadn’t found her first they may have enjoyed a very happy life together. After his last ill-fated trip back home to Isaactown, and Bev, he believes he sees her walking in Manhattan and follows her. Only it’s not her, but a younger woman who befriends him. Norm’s job is like a noose hanging around his neck and Harriet and her daughter are much-needed in his life.

Norm is like many who are lucky enough to have high paying jobs and not enough time to enjoy the fruits of his labor. His attraction to Bev has colored his dating life for over 20 years and he has never truly been in love. So, the story is about Norm finding a life in his middle age and how that life might fit in with a girlfriend and her daughter.

The story itself was good, but it was a slow read. It had a lot of detail that really slowed the whole story down to a crawl, but that may have been purposeful, since the story was introspective. As much as I enjoyed the idea of Norm’s story I found it hard to really care about him and even Harriet. At first I felt for Bev and the life she chose/got stuck in, but in the end I didn’t care for her character either. Solid writing and story, just not the story for me.

This was generously sent to me by the author.

Call Me Irresistible, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

March 10, 2011February 1, 201318 Comments

Finished 3-2-11, rating 4/5, romance, 385 pages, pub. 2011

Lucy, daughter of the former President of the United States, is preparing to walk down the aisle to marry Mr. Perfect, Ted Beaudine ,when her best friend, Meg voices doubts about the marriage. Lucy takes them to heart and walks out on Ted at the church. Meg is blamed by everyone and is asked to stay in the small Texas town for a few days to see if Lucy returns. But not only is Meg completely broke and cut off from her family, she is also stranded in the town when everyone blames her for the heartbreak of their mayor, Ted. Needless to say, life is not easy for Meg as the women of Wynette blacklist her and do everything possible to make her life miserable. But Meg was having problems before getting stuck in town and it forces her to confront her roaming and aimless ways.

I’ve read every Susan Elizabeth Phillips romance. They are fast, fun, sassy, and usually feature spunky heroines and alpha male heroes. This is as good as her best and it features wonderful secondary characters who jump off the page. Meg was born with a silver spoon and yet has done nothing with her life. This is her story of growing up. Ted was also born with a silver spoon and can do no wrong. When these two are forced together they come to recognize the best and worst in each other.

This book will feel like hanging out with old friends, especially if you’ve read any of Phillip’s past books. Ted showed up in two previous novels (Fancy Pants & Lady Be Good), Ted’s parents were the story of Fancy Pants. Meg was in What I Did For Love and her parents story was told in Glitter Baby. Lucy and her parents appeared in First Lady and Lady Be Good had four of the citizens of Wynette. With all of that the book could have seemed crowded with characters, but it wasn’t. They each had their own personalities and because they were fully developed characters it made this story so much richer. You do not need to have read any of the other books to fully enjoy this one.

I don’t read a lot of contemporary romances, but I make the exception for Phillips and am never disappointed.

This is from my personal library.

The Sugar Queen, by Sarah Addison Allen

March 9, 201120 Comments

Finished 2-28-11, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2008

Unabridged audio is 8 hours, 2 minutes. Narrated by Karen White.

Josey Cirrini is a 27-year-old who hides sweets and romance novels in her closet so her perfect southern belle mother doesn’t see them. She lives in servitude of her mother with no life of her own until a local woman shows up in her closet to hide out for a while, seemingly to escape a boyfriend. She draws Josey out of her shell and she starts to develop relationships that her mother doesn’t approve of. Chloe and Adam both give Josey the confidence she needs to take a look at life in the small North Carolina town where everyone remembers her as a mean child.

I sympathized with Josey, but only so far. I understand about living in a small town, but her knee jerk reaction to her father’s death (this happened before the book began) and her choices because of it seemed extreme. I was much more interested in Chloe’s mysterious book ability. When Chloe had a need in her life the perfect book would appear in front of her. How awesome would this be? I totally loved Chloe’s story and her transformation. I think this is why I liked but didn’t love the book, I wanted Chloe to be the main character, not Josey. I wanted to give Josey a little tough love pep talk.

Lots of people told me I would like this one better that Allen’s first book, Garden Spells, but I didn’t. Maybe I was expecting too much. It was good, but I didn’t love it like I did Garden Spells. I wanted a little more magic.

I checked this audio out of the library.

Hush, by Kate White

March 2, 201110 Comments

Finished 2-25-11, rating 4/5, mystery, 341 pages, pub. 2010

She had to get out. She realized that the hum of the motor must be from the freezer she’d seen earlier, which meant the power was back on. She twisted her head back and forth and commanded the rest of her body to move. Her legs still felt leaden, like metal drums filled to the brim, but she was able to move one of her arms-the right one. She flexed her right hand slowly open and closed.

Then there was another noise-from far above this time. Footsteps. And next a door opening. Terror flooded her body, like a warm liquid oozing through her.

The killer was coming to get her

Prologue

Lake is waist deep in a nasty custody battle for her kids who are away at camp for the summer when she decides to have a little fun for the first time since her divorce and have a one night stand. The only problem is that while Lake dozed on his terrace someone came into the apartment and murdered him. Since he was a doctor at the fertility clinic she was working at the police asked a lot of questions. And this was before the late night phone calls and her suspicions about the fertility clinic came up.

This was fast paced and had so many angles that is was a fun thrill ride for me. There was more than one crime Lake was in the middle of with suspects to spare. I will say the one part that was hard for me to read was when Smokey the cat was targeted. It was very upsetting for me and for Lake! Lake was a good character and I liked her, but the other characters could have been more fully flushed out.

This was a great book if you want a fast and entertaining read, especially one that brings New York City to life. The allegations involving the fertility clinic are timely and scary. If you are currently involved with fertility clinics you may want to skip this one for now.

I love Kate White’s Bailey Weggins series and this was a great first stand alone thriller. She really captures living and working in NYC as well as anyone. The end did feel a bit rushed, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

This book was from my personal library and I read this for the TLC Book Tour. Other stops on the tour…

Tuesday, February 1st: Colloquium
Wednesday, February 2nd: It’s All About Books
Monday, February 7th: Reviews from the Heart
Tuesday, February 8th: Teresa’s Reading Corner
Monday, February 14th: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Wednesday, February 16th: Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Monday, February 21st: Life In Review
Tuesday, February 22nd: Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books
Wednesday, February 23rd: After ‘I Do’
Thursday, February 24th: Rundpinne
Monday, February 28th: Life in the Thumb
Tuesday, March 1st: Alison’s Book Marks

Testimony, by Anita Shreve

February 23, 201115 Comments

Finished 2-19-11, rating 3.5/5, fiction, 305 pages, pub. 2008

It was a small cassette, not much bigger than the palm of his hand, and when Mike thought about the terrible license and risk exhibited on the tape, as well as its resultant destructive power, it was as though the two-by-three plastic package had been radioactive. Which it may as well have been, since it had produced something very like radiation sickness throughout the school, reducing the value of an Avery education, destroying at least two marriages that he knew of, ruining the futures of three students, and, most horrifying of all, resulting in a death.

first lines of book

There is a video that has hit YouTube and come to the attention of the headmaster of a private school in Vermont. In it there are three boys and a fourteen year old girl, all students of the school, performing sex acts while drunk. The headmaster tries to keep it quiet, but that is not going to happen and the media descends on the school to pass judgement. No one is left unscathed.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints, from the headmaster to the students to small players like the man who sold the kids the alcohol. Not only were there too many perspectives to keep track of but the timeline jumped around quite a but making it a bit confusing. I didn’t think it was too confusing, I actually thought it was fresh and interesting for the most part, but for me the story didn’t exactly hold up. There was a good mix of characters, some sympathetic, some not, which made the story seem real.

It is very timely in the fact that so many kids are using media, like YouTube or Facebook, to put bad behavior on display. It is an interesting topic, but I wish it had been dealt with a little more depth. Kids are behaving badly and broadcasting it, some hoping it will get them attention or make them famous (hello, Kim Kardashian) so the fallout from it didn’t seem to fit the crime in my opinion. I liked the twist at the end. Even though I saw it coming, it was still powerful and a solid end to this cautionary tale.

I have loved the other Shreve books I’ve read, but this was one was a bit of a disappointment to me. It actually took me quite awhile to finish it even though it read fairly fast.

This is from my personal library and was chosen by Marce, Alessandra, and Mystica. Here’s what Alessandra had to say… “A sex scandal at a prestigious boarding school in New England has dire consequences on a whole community.”

This Book is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson

February 10, 201114 Comments

Finished 2-9-11, rating 4/5, non-fiction, 261 pages, pub. 2010

In tight economic times, with libraries sliding farther and farther down the list of priorities, we risk the loss if their ideals, intelligence, and knowledge, not to mention their commitment to access for all-librarians consider free access to information the foundation od democracy, and they’re right. Librarians are essential players in the information revolution because they level that field. They enable those without money or education to read and learn the same things as the billionaire and the Ph.D. In prosperous libraries, they loan out laptops; in strapped ones, they dole out half hours of computer time, They are the little “d” democrats of the computer age who keep the rest of us wired.

Chapter 1

This book pays homage to librarian hot shots, like Judith King who launched Banned Book Week, to everyday librarian bloggers. It’s all about how the role of the librarian is changing but just as important in this new digital world. Libraries themselves are changing. Johnson mentioned one library in particular that checked out laptops and GPS systems. How cool is that?

The most inspirational chapter to me was the one about the four librarians who stood up to the FBI and the Patriot Act (Relevent since today the House failed to extend it. Score one for the librarians). These librarians were bullied by the government and could have easily caved and gave them the information they wanted, but patron rights were important to them. The FBI wanted to know the name of the patron who was using a specific computer at a certain time but they did not have a warrant. I applaud these librarians who represent the best ideal of librarians. My local library now forces us to use our library card to log into internet time which makes me mad. Can there really be no privacy any more, anywhere? And the name the FBI wanted? Someone who had sent an anonymous tip that was no longer relevent. And yet they still wasted years of these librarian’s time and the court’s time.

Anyway, I also loved the behind the scenes look at the New York Public Library. It’s amazing what is there and how they face the same budget crunch as every other library. It almost seemed a little sad at how much it is changing to try to draw new patrons, but that is the future.

I worked for a year at the reference desk of a local library, so this book was preaching to the choir. I love libraries and do think they serve an important purpose in a free society. I think they are too often given cuts in poor economic times when people need their services the most. I briefly flirted with the idea of going back to school and getting a Library Science degree, but ultimately chose not to. This book has reminded me of how important a job it is and how fulfilling it can be and now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t go ahead and look into that degree. Time will tell.

A few of the chapters had me skimming a bit (I really did not care about the Second Life online game which got a lot of attention), but this is a must read for any library user.

This book was sent to me as part of the TLC book tour. Visit the other bloggers who read and reviewed this book.

Tuesday, January 25th: Reading Through Life
Thursday, January 27th: Library Queue
Monday, January 31st: 1330v
Tuesday, February 1st: One Person’s Journey Through a World of Books
Wednesday, February 2nd: Man of La Book
Monday, February 7th: Boarding in My Forties
Tuesday, February 15th: Books Like Breathing
Wednesday, February 16th: Proud Book Nerd
Friday, February 18th: A Fanatic’s Book Blog

Free Books for February

February 3, 2011February 3, 20116 Comments

In my ongoing quest to keep books moving out and not just in I give away a few books each month. Leave a comment, tell me which book you want and I’ll get the book to you for FREE either by mail or personally if I’ll see you soon. The first one to request each book wins. Once you’ve ‘won’ the book I can get your shipping address if I need it. Also, you can come back and get a free book every month if you want. These have all been read a time or two.

1, The 9th Judgement by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro. 7 CDs, unabridged audio book. 7 hours. published 2010. B&N review here. for sheere

2. All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell. paperback. 382 pages. published 1992. B&N review here. for Misha

3. What So Proudly We Hailed by James Howard. trade paperback. 266 pages. published 2010. B&N review here. for Kay

4. Katherine Hepburn by Barbara Leaming. hardcover. 512 pages. published 1995. B&N review here. for Carol M

Happy reading 🙂

What So Proudly We Hailed, by James Howard

February 2, 2011February 2, 20117 Comments

Finished 1-30-11, rating 2/5, Christian fiction, 266 pages, pub. 2010

“If you think about it that way,” Brian said, “then the ones living in disobedience caused the babies to die.”

Jason felt a flush of pride in his heart for his son. “That’s right, son. Our national defense is not in our satellites or computers. It is not in our military or planes or submarines. It’s in God alone. The rest of those things are merely tools. I think that’s what that preacher was trying to say.”

“I don’t know if all Christians believe that way,” Valerie said, “but we rely on it.”

Julie sat back on the bench. “You rely on the belief that God will find some way to protect those who are obedient to Him?”

Jason nodded. “We were protected from the missile attack, and with this boat He will keep us protected for the rest of the mess that’s coming.”

Chapter 9

What would you do if instantly you did not have access to everything you needed for your day-to-day life? No electricity, no water, no accessible money, no fuel, no food. That’s what happens to Jason and 80% of the United States when a series of nuclear attacks takes out our electricity. Things fall to chaos, but Jason and his family are lucky enough to have a boat and live in South Carolina close enough to the ocean that they gather supplies and almost immediately board the boat and take it out to the outer islands to weather the terrorist storm.

So, this is why I agreed to read the book. I really liked the premise and the fact that the author had some relevant experience as a Navy man and one who had worked in the power distribution field. His knowledge gave this story some weight in my view. He’s in the know as far as what could happen, right? And what could happen is scary. I loved the first few chapters. The first chapter was the best one and asks the question husband and I are still talking about. What would we do with only the resources we have right now. It’s a great question.

But as much as I loved the premise and first chapter the rest of the novel became less about the terrorist attacks and mostly a religious and political book. If you like the tidbit I gave you above then you would enjoy this book. But it was way too heavy-handed for me. It was less a story than a way to express how some view the end times. It was about halfway through that I really felt it completely falling apart for me as a story. And by the end when liberals and atheists were linked together as to why this county had been attacked and why this was no longer a great country, well, I was more than ready for it to be over.

I think church groups would find a lot to discuss in this one.

This book was generously sent to me by the author.

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