Didn’t believe me that I was hooked on Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series? Well here’s proof. I finished Da Vinci Code yesterday morning. I decided I HAD to read the next one. I discovered/remembered my local used book store was closed on sundays. Instead of ordering it online, or just going to the store tomorrow, I headed a few towns over (actually, I should admit my boyfriend did the driving!) and went to Barnes and Nobles just so I could start the book last night!

Got a few chapters in last night and excited to continue on with Langdon’s journey. It’s cool that it takes place in Washington D.C..unfortunately I have not yet been to Italy or France (even though I’m dying to!!), however I have been to D.C, so it’s very easy to picture things and it’s cool to say,’hey…i’ve been there.’ I’m going into this book excitedly but also with a little sadness since this is the last in the series.

My new lunch break read is:

I’ve read about 4 or 5 of Jodi’s Picoult’s books and always enjoy them. It’s definitely my style of book. I like the real-ness put into them, the heavy issues and the emotions ensued. I was particulary excited to read this book about a boy with Asperger’s syndrome. I have a heavy interest in working with children with autism and already this book has proven to have some interesting insight from the mother of the boy, Jacob (well ACTUALLY he’s 18, so technically an adult), from Jacob himself, and from Jacob’s brother. Made a decent little dent today at work. This is one of the longer books I’ve chosen for my lunch break reads but I’m really excited about it!

Following the yellow book road,

Emily

There’s no denying it now. I am a Dan Brown fan!

I finished the “Da Vinci Code” over the weekend. It was one of those books that made me thankful I have a large purse hanging around to carry books with me.

The “Da Vinci Code” continues with the Harvard professor, Robert Langdon, as he follows the clues left from a murder at the Louvre to uncover the secrets of the Holy Grail.

This book took me a little longer to read than Angels and Demons. For one, it’s a bit longer, but it’s also a slower paced story. Now many friends and family members I knew told me from the get-go that they preferred Angels and Demons and pretty much all of them read Da Vinci code first. I think I have to say that I did REALLY enjoy the story Angels and Demons and if I HAD to chose, yeah, I’d probably go with Angels and Demons, only because there’s one unexpected twist after another and the book is basically non-stop action and excitement. However, I learned A LOT from Da Vinci code and just found it SO interesting. I love that Dan Brown includes so many facts in his story. As I’ve told my boyfriend like 5 times, I think it’s really cool. Da Vinci Code is not without its moments of excitement and a surprise twist at the end. Such a surprise for me that I was doubting Dan Brown…yet he wrote the book, so obviously he was right!

Overall Rating for Da Vinci Code: TOP SHELF. Keep it next to Angels and Demons. I really enjoyed this book and loved all that I learned and how I’ve become more invested with Robert Langdon’s character. I’ll probably re-read this once or twice in my lifetime!

**Coming Soon** Da Vinci Code Movie Review and Book Comparison. I actually saw the movie forever ago, but I don’t remember a lot and I want to see it know that I read the book!

And I mean quick in a good way! I flew through this book and enjoyed the ride.

I came across the author Heather Wardell a few months ago. A friend on facebook had recommended her book, “Life, Love and a Polar Bear Tattoo” as a good read that was (at the time) free on Kindle. I figured a free book. why not? I decided to check it out and enjoyed it. She kind of got me back into the “chick-lit”, which is my guilty pleasure. Well needless to say, I really enjoyed the book so I decided to give her newest book a try.

“Blank Slate Kate” is the story of a woman who wakes up one morning thinking it’s the next day in her 17 year old life, but instead she’s 32 with no memories of the past 15 years. You follow Kate as she tries to figure out what’s happened, who she is and what to do.

At first, when I started this book, I couldn’t help thinking of the movie 13 going on 30–a movie that I enjoyed and had a cute storyline. However, Wardell takes out the cuteness factor, adds in some psychology and makes this more of a believable story. It’s certainly chick-lit, there’s no denying that, but it has more of serious emotional undertone and covers the importance of finding yourself and not denying/hiding yourself.

Overall Rating for Blank Slate Kate: MID-SHELF. But on the high end of mid-shelf I gotta admit that I enjoyed the story, and did get taken up in the drama. I don’t know if I’d re-read it but I would recommend it to some of my girl friends. At first I thought there were some similarities with Blank Slate Kate and the 13 going on 30 movie (with the very basic idea of waking up older) and then with Blank Slate Kate and another of Wardell’s books, Life, Love and a Polar Bear Tattoo, with the need to choose between 2 men.  However, to my pleasant surprise, these similarities were brief and easily forgotten.

I’m looking foward to adding more Heather Wardell books to my list. Which by the way is growing…everyday.

Following the yellow book road,

Emily

So it’s happened again. I’ve fallen behind with my blogging… I’m just so darn busy reading! So I have a bunch to catch up on and here I go…

I finished Alice in Deadland last weekend (Jan 30th). Alice in Deadland was originally only released for the Kindle and I discovered it in some Amazon.com list. However, I just looked it up and was just released in print on Jan 14th 2012.

Alice in Deadland, as the title hints, is a bizarre twist on the traditional Alice in Wonderland story. However, this is quite the twist on Lewis Carroll’s story! It takes place in the future where the world has been destroyed by political wars, viruses and nuclear weapons. Alice is trying to survive day by day against these zombies referred to as “biters”. The reader follows along with Alice as her role changes from a mere survivor to leader. The Alice in Wonderland story is alluded to here and there through various characters and terms.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It’s a different style of read for me, I’m not a big zombie fan, but I do enjoy some horror novels and the occasional sci-fi story. But it wasn’t really the zombie thing I had a problem with. I just felt the book seemed a little rushed. I didn’t feel like I got to know the characters “inside and out”, and I felt like I’d just get comfortable with a scene and then it would be over. I felt it could use a little more detail and development. It just left me feeling like I needed a little more from the character and from the scenes. There’s a lot of fighting scenes, which obviously makes sense given the circumstances of the book, however, that was where all Dhar’s details seemed to lie.

One thing I do have to compliment Mr. Dhar on however is that he provides the reader with some interesting thoughts, especially on the state of world politically and the direction we may eventually be heading. There were some quotes which were really well phrased and I actually highlighted a few of them. I like books that make you think, and this one threw in some very interesting philosophical thoughts when you weren’t necessarily expecting it. Here’s 2 examples that I particularly liked.

“That’s always been the problem with humans. You take anything you fear and cannot understand  and make it an object of hate. So much easier to hate and destroy than to seek to understand” -Manik Dhar, Alice in Deadland, p.29

“Man had proven to be the most jealous of lovers, preferring to destroy the Earth rather than give her up.”- Manik Dhar, Alice in Deadland, p.9

Overall Rating for Alice in Deadland: BOTTOM SHELF. It’s not a waste of time, but it left me longing for more, not in a good way. I just felt the story could use a bit more meat. It moved a little too quickly for my taste. However, Dhar makes some really interesting observations on the state of the world and what could become if we don’t make a change. I wouldn’t read this again and would probably only recommend it to someone who prefers an easy, short read and/or likes zombies/post-apocolyptic stories. All in all, I’d look back on this book for a quote or two, but I felt it needed more. The way it’s written, it’d be a great movie, but it wouldn’t need any condensing…

..is it sad that I feel bad for giving this book a sub-par rating? lol

Following the Yellow Book Road,

Emily

Dan Brown’s Robert Langon series is my first series books of 2012 and Angels and Demons certainly started the series with a bang! I only got a chapter or so in last night, but, the action has already started and the intrigue has begun.

Not much to blog about this one yet, just that I’m excited to read it. So, instead of blogging, I’m going to go read it!

Follow that yellow book road,

Emily

“Alice in Deadland” by Mainak Dhar. I discovered this book on Amazon’s Kindle store and was intrigued by the title. I read the description and was sold. I’m not really into the whole “zombie” scene, but pairing zombies and a post-apocolyptic world with the Alice in Wonderland story just struck my curiosity bone.

I started this last week and have been reading it on my lunch break. Considering I work at a daycare with toddlers, I have to say it’s a little weird to be reading about zombies and killings, while I eat my lunch during the toddler’s naptime, but hey, it’s definitely interesting!

Looking forward to finishing the story, hopefully will be done by the weekend.

Follow,

Follow,

Following the yellow book road,

Emily

So sometimes it’s worth it to be an individual, take the road less traveled, not to follow the fad…but in the case of Dan Brown, I think it’s certainly worth it to be a “follower”, even if I’m a little behind the times.

If you can’t already tell, I really enjoyed “Angels and Demons” by Dan Brown and finished it this past Sunday (Jan 22nd). It dove right into the action and the intrigue and just never stopped. So I don’t know a whole lot about the Roman Catholic religion traditions, religious symbology, and ancient (but beautiful!) Italian artwork and architecture, but I followed this story like I’ve studied it my whole life! This is not to say that you need to know all about it to read it, just that it’s easily explained and easily followed. The best thing about Angels and Demons is all twists, you never know where the story is going to go. You think you’ve got it figured out, but then…you haven’t. It’s certainly a fun ride.

I’ve decided to take on the rest of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series, and started The DaVinci Code last night.

Overall Rating for Angels and Demons: TOP SHELF. I absolutely LOVED this book. It was a real page turner, a suspense thriller with all those great unexpected twists. It was also “illuminating” on a lot of the facts he does include about various religious traditions, the actual Illuminati group, and Italy itself. I plan on making this a re-read in my life time. Maybe a few re-reads.

****COMING SOON: ANGELS AND DEMONS MOVIE REVIEW AND MOVIE/BOOK COMPARISON****

Following the yellow book road,

Emily

So it’s been a while since my last blog post and although I seem to have fallen behind with my blogging, I haven’t (yet) fallen behind on my reading! The challenge is proving to be, well, a challenge but I’m feeling pretty proud of myself that I have 4 1/2 books under my belt by the end of January.  And just started another last night!

There’s  a lot to catch up on, so I better get started…

About a week ago, I finished “The Devil Wears Prada” by Lauren Weisberger.

As I had already seen the film once or…ten times, I went into this book thinking I knew what to expect. However, there was quite a few differences, such as more characters/relationships and many unbelievable “Miranda” situations. For those of you unaware of the Devil Wears Prada story, Miranda Preistly is the main character’s boss, and possibly one of the most difficult and outrageous bosses out there. Feeling sorry about your life and your boss situation?give this book a read and it will certainly give you a new perspective!

All in all, it was a quick and fun read.

I may try to aim for at least one fun or easy book a month, just to break things up a bit.

Overall Rating for Devil Wears Prada: SOLID MID-SHELF. I had a lot of fun with this book and was quickly engrossed in the story. Certainly it doesn’t provide any life changing philosophical views, but it’s a fun read. Maybe way down the road I’ll re-read it again as a beach read.

DEVIL WEARS PRADA

BOOK VS. FILM

Well, no big surprise here, as how most of them go, the book was better than the movie.  However, this isn’t to say the movie was bad! I happened to enjoy the movie. Glenn Close portrays a perfect Miranda and Anne Hathaway  is a very lovable Andrea. My main disappointment was just some of the things left out. Now, I understand that some scenes will always be left out to condense. However, one example: the book’s version of Andrea leaving Runway Magazine and the movie’s version differ greatly. The book leaves you with more of a “Hell Yeah!” feeling.

BATTLE WINNER: I can honestly say that they are both worth the time, but if I had to choose, I’d go with the book because there’s a bit more meat to it.

Catching up on my blogging and still following that yellow book road,

Emily

All my readers out there may be aghast to know that I have also been VERY VERY VERY late to the “Dan Brown” party. Yet again, one of those books I kept meaning to get to, heard lots of good reviews on (from friends and family who have the best taste in books) and yet I never got to it. So here I go!

I actually jumped on the Dan Brown bandwagon last year (which really means I finished this book like 2 days before New Year’s Eve 2011) when I came across Digital Fortress. I’m a dork, but I really like puzzles and recently developed a knack for cryptograms. When I saw this book about a cryptographer, I was intrigued, and now I’m hooked and hungry for more. So I figured why not Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code?

On a side note, I did see the Da Vinci Code movie, but I don’t remember a lot of it, not nearly any of the specifics, and I know the movie was not nearly as detailed as the book will be, so when I get to The Da Vinci Code, I’m looking at it with a fairly blank slate.

So I’m off to read Angels and Demons!

Following the yellow book road,

Emily

Over the weekend, on my way to New Hampshire to be exact, I finished “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett. It was one of those bittersweet goodbyes…to a book. I’m sure all my readers out there know exactly what I mean. If you can’t already tell, I LOVED this book–way more than I was expecting to, to be honest. But alas, my mind has wandered ahead. Back to the bittersweet goodbye to The Help. I was so eager to find out what was going to happen, how the story would unfold, that I read this book whenever I could. While brushing my teeth, while cooking dinner, while getting ready for work…it made me quite the multi-tasker! However, all that reading caught up with me and as I realized the “left to read” pages were dwindling, the end was coming, I started to become a little sad. I was so invested in these characters, that I wasn’t sure I was ready to say goodbye. I had conflicting desires to finish and to “savor”. However, the need to know desire outranked the savor and I finished the book (by reading the last chapters out loud on a road trip with the boyfriend) and am glad to have it on my completed books list.

The Help takes place in the 1960′s in the South (of America) right on the brink of the Civil Rights Movement. The narrators switch off between 2 African-American maids (working for white families), and a white woman in her young 20′s who seems unsure about all this segregation. These 3 characters’ lives grow and come together while the white woman writes a book on what it’s like as a black to serve a white.

The character development is superb in this story. I really fell in love and felt like I knew these characters. And I only knew them for a week (not even!). It’s a lengthier book, but still a quick and easy read. It also puts forth a powerful message. I may be young and ignorant, but not growing up in the 60s, I wasn’t aware of how bad the segregation, racism, and prejudice was. Sure, you learn it in school, but there’s something about hearing it “first hand” (fiction characters or not) that makes it all the more real and all the more powerful. I truly savored, loved and will miss The Help. I am planning on watching the movie this week or next and will blog about that as well

Overall Rating for The Help: TOP SHELF. It might not need to stay on the night-stand, but it’s an absolutly engulfing story that is worth a few re-reads in your lifetime. LOVED IT!!

Follow, Follow, Follow, Follow, Following the yellow book road,

Emily