The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Ok so if you are familiar with Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code (which if you aren't, what's taken you so long to hop on the wagon?), you'll recognize the typical Dan Brownism formula at work here. That said, it was a really entertaining story and I loved the fact that it was on our home soil in our great capitol of Washington, D.C. I think the Robert Langdon character is loveable and believable. Of course then you have the token girl which didn't really go where I thought it would, but oh well. It's fun to have a girl to have along-side you if you're trying to solve a mystery in a limited amount of time!

If you have a long commute I recommend listening to this on CD as the narrator is really good! I believe his name is Paul Michael. He also did the first two so if you need to catch up you'll then become very familiar with his voice too.

Shelf Discovery by Lizzie Skurnick

This was so fun to read through. Lizzie Skurnick is a blogger/journalist who compiled a list of books that many girls should read as they come of age. Some of the entries included were: Are You There God, It's Me Margaret? (and many more by Judy Blume), Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews, titles by Lois Duncan that I'm forgetting now since I've already returned this one to the library. It was a walk down memory lane. I read it basically in one sitting, but it would be a great bathroom book where you can skim through a few entries at a time.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This book was amazing. It is a mystery, romance, thriller, horror all in one. Zafon is a Spanish author and this translation by Lucia Graves is wonderful. His descriptions make you feel as if you are walking down the street in Barcelona in the late 1940s. Very easy to read.

The story is about a boy who picks a book out in the Cemetery of Forgotten books (this huge library of books that is in this underground cellar). He wants to read more books by the author but lo and behold he cannot find any books by the author anywhere! A strange man finds out that he is looking for the books. The strange man wants to burn them all, but we just don't know why. Thus begins an engrossing tale that intertwines many characters lives.

Highly Recommended!!!