The Lost Symbol

by Dan Brown

Robert Langdon is asked by a friend to come to Washington, D.C. to deliver a lecture at the U.S. Capitol Building. Once he arrives, Robert realizes things aren't as they should be and he is once again dragged into a race against the clock to solve a puzzle that is life or death.

I did enjoy this book but not as much as the other two Robert Langdon novels. I found this one to be a little strange. The other two have their odd moments as well but I was able to get past them. This one was harder to get past. It has a lot to do with the Masons and a field of science called noetics and I had a hard time grasping either one. They are both filled with some very odd things and although Brown does his best to explain them they still came across as very bizarre for me.

Although I had a hard time with some of the context of the book I still enjoyed it and it was a page turner with only the middle of the book being a little slow. Brown definitely does his research and I enjoyed learning new information about a city I have visited. I liked that I could actually picture where he was and what he was looking at. Something I couldn't do in the other novels. I just wish he would have involved the city more like he did in the previous two novels.

All in all, it was a pretty entertaining book.

3 stars

Two Good Books Out this Week!!

Two of my favorite author's have new books out this week. That old mystery digger herself, Mary Higgins Clark has Just Take My Heart coming out today. I've only read a few of her books, but I have many family members who adore her mysteries. A brief synopsis:

In her new thriller, America's #1 bestselling Queen of Suspense delves into a legal battle over the guilt or innocence of a man accused of murdering his wife. Woven into her plot is an eerie, little-understood but documented medical phenomenon -- the emergence of a donor's traits and memories in the recipient of a heart transplant.

This looks like a good one and is already getting great reviews.

Also out today, the return of my favorite crime-fighting caterer, Goldy Schulz in Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson. That link also includes an excellent radio interview with Diane about this upcoming book. A synopsis:

Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz encounters Bridezilla—and murder—in another delectable novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Sweet Revenge, Dark Tort, and Double Shot.

It's been a long, rainy summer for Goldy Schulz, who is engaged in planning wedding receptions for what seems to be all of Aspen Meadow. It's bad enough that Billie Attenborough, the bride from hell, wants to move the location to the Gold Gulch Spa just a scant two days before tying the knot to her doctor fiancé. Then Doc Finn, best friend of Goldy's godfather Jack, is killed when his car tumbles into a ravine. But Jack thinks Doc was murdered because of research he was doing at the spa—allegations that are confirmed when Jack himself is attacked. So Goldy dons chef's whites and goes undercover at the spa. Add in the obstreperous owner, who years ago tried to sabotage Goldy's fledgling business, and she's got her hands full.

Above all, there seems to be a clever killer on the spa grounds, watching her every move. After what befell Jack, Goldy knows that she might be next. Catering weddings, and cooking low-fat food, could be killing her—literally.

I really like this series and am looking forward to, of course, the recipes she'll have woven into her story line. They are often as good as the stories themselves!

I think I've died and gone to heaven...

Amazon comes out with the Kindle 2: its new wireless reading device on Feb. 24 of this year. Cost: $359.oo and I'm dying to get one. Totally saving my pennies here. Books are $9.99 or less from a library of 230,000. Holy cow! It saves paper. It comes with a light and I'm pretty sure you can take notes on it. Check out the site to see its many possibilities. It's awesome!

What fun, I totally want one. I just wish they weren't so expensive, but still, think of the trees it could save.

Anybody else thinking about it?
Or does the thought of losing the nostalgia of holding a thick pad of ink and paper in your hands still hold on too tight?

What about that new book smell? I might miss that too.
Hmm...I don't know. I think I want one....bad.

A New Book Out This Month

I know there are a few people who contribute to this site who like the most excellent book, Katherine by Anya Seton. I count myself among them so I was excited to hear about a new book about her life coming out this month titled:

Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster by Alison Weir.

A first-ever bio that brings this exceptional woman from the footnotes of English history and tells the fascinating story of the couple (she married John of Gaunt ) who began the royal bloodline from which all subsequent English monarchs descended.

More hot royal action? Gosh, I hope so.