Book Review: Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I have to say I'm not impressed with Brown's work. I remember reading the Da Vinci Code when it came out and everyone was gaga for it, and I unimpressed then too. I had heard this one was better, but no.

Although the plot moves right along and is engaging, I found myself laughing at the writing most of the time. The first bit that clued me in to the bad writing was the description of the protagonist, along with the revelation of his nickname. Come on, really?

Another unintentionally laughable moment:"He never suspected that later that night, in a country hundreds of miles away, the information would save his life."

And my favorite ridiculous statement:"The marble cushioned his fall with all the grace of cold steel."

Seriously? This was a NYT best-seller? I give it two stars because it had some redeeming moments (the scene with Vittoria and her adoptive father discussing girls doing math was the best moment of the whole book) and it certainly was a fast read. But for guilty-pleasure reading I liked the Twilight series better - she does better cliff-hanger chapter endings and she appeals to the 13 year old girl in me. You should skip this one, really.

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2009 Year in Review - Books

According to Goodreads (which is a great site that you should join, by the by) I read 42 books in 2009.

Of those 42 books, 23 of them were a first time read for me. 5 were graphic novels/comic volumes. I read several complete series last year: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Earthsea Cycle, and yes, Twilight. I also read two of the three Millennium books (the third hasn't come out yet).

It seems like less reading than I thought I did, but I don't count how many Manga series I devoured like so many delicious candy cane jo-jo's. Let's just say that it was a lot.

That being said, I do want to read more books this year that I haven't actually read before. The problem with that plan is... which books? I want to read books that are good, so I'm not going to pick up a book and read it if it hasn't been recommended to me. So, know any good ones?