#5: Deception Point, Dan Brown

I like Dan Brown. I know this is an unpopular sentiment, but I think the man writes a good thriller. (Besides Digital Fortress, but I believe that was his first, so he deserves some leeway.) This was the only one I hadn't read, so I thought I'd finish up the oeuvre while notching a quickie.

Now, in some ways, it was a little too James Bond for me (or, as it would happen, Tomb Raider, which I watched at some point during my reading). There were a couple of sequences that I just couldn't buy...like when they're sitting on a calving glacier and manage to not only live, but get an SOS out. Please. I've been to Alaska, I've seen those things fall, and it ain't pretty. No one's surfing off one of those chunks of ice and living to tell the tale. Not protagonists Rachel Sexton and Michael Tolland and not 007 and Lara Croft.

But overall it was enjoyable, and I totally thought I had the bad guy figured out...only to be completely wrong. My favorite Dan Brown book remains Angels and Demons but that's okay, it's a tough one to beat. The only outstanding point remaining: When is The Solomon Key coming out?!? I've read that he has writer's block, and as a sufferer myself, I can't really blame him.

Next up: I tried to read two more erudite books, Abigail Thomas' Three-Dog Life and Anthony Doerr's Four Seasons in Rome, but couldn't get into either of them. I haven't given up entirely but since I've had jury duty this week, I've opted for a book that's easy to pick up and put down: Sue Grafton's R is for Ricochet. I think I've only read two of the others in the series; I find them enjoyable, but generally let the books find me. This one comes courtesy of my father.

#4: Dedication, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Congratulations to Ms. McLaughlin and Ms. Kraus: Your book might actually be the worst one I'll read all year! I hope you've saved your pennies, ladies, as I imagine once your book contract runs out, you'll never be offered another one again.

I suppose it's my own fault. I read The Nanny Diaries. Yes, it was a bestseller, but it's the subject that sold it, not the writing. I didn't bother to read the second book, Citizen Girl, as it was universally panned. But I hadn't heard anything about Dedication and since I found the premise interesting (the protagonist's ex-boyfriend becomes a major rock star based on songs that are all about her personal business), I thought I'd give it a try. I should have saved myself instead. It's just stupid and entirely predictable. Blech!

Next up: Dan Brown's Deception Point

#3: Museum of the Missing, Simon Haupt

Museum of the Missing is a fantastic book, one that I highly recommend for any fan of art. As the title suggests, Haupt looks at the stories surrounding works of art (paintings mostly) that have been stolen. Some have been located, some are probably lost forever. I suppose I never really thought about why people steal paintings, besides simple monetary value. But there seem to be all sorts of reasons -- a 3,000 pound Henry Moore sculpture was likely stolen for the value of its bronze. Seriously, thieves stole it in the middle of the night and probably melted it down. Can you imagine?

But Haupt also points out that people are often able to steal these works because they're so poorly guarded. And I realized how many times I have been in museums, especially in South America and Eastern Europe, where that's totally true, where no one else is walking the floor and there aren't any cameras. In fact, I have used that to my advantage...to take photographs without having paid the b.s. photo fee at the desk. But it would never have occurred to me to steal a piece of art. And that was a strange, self-affirming realization...thank god, it never has occurred to me.

So anyway...Museum of the Missing, I highly recommend it. It's just a fascinating look at all these individual stories about classic works of art that you'll never really be aware of, because they're gone. Imagine if the Mona Lisa had been stolen as plunder 400 years ago, imagine what we'd all have lost. It just seems crazy.

Book #4: Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

#2: Baby Proof, Emily Giffin

I really adore Emily Giffin's books. Yes, they're Chick Lit but they're smartly written, have heroines you root for from the very beginning, and avoid the lame endings. I'd read all three of her books previously, and when I saw Baby Proof on the "buy one, get one 50 percent off" shelf at Borders, I grabbed it immediately.

So, yes, for my second book of the year, I returned to a previously read tome. Mostly just as a subconscious backlash against all the crap I read last year.

Although I do prefer her first two books, Something Borrowed and Something Blue, I'm still a big fan of Baby Proof. One of the main reasons? Lake Como gets a starring role. I love Lake Como. It rocks.

Book #3: Museum of the Missing by Simon Haupt

#1: The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett

Wow, it's March 18 and this is my first post of the year. Yikes!

On the up side, while I may have let the blog slide, I've been a good girl when it comes to reading. We've got 5 entries on tap for today. But on the flip side, those entries are going to be mighty short...I've forgotten most of the details.

So, The Pillars of the Earth. Two thumbs up, I say. It wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, but it was eminently readable. The characters were likable and for a book the size of a doorstop, it rolled along well; there weren't any slow sections. So I see why it's a fan fave. I did try to read the next book though (World Without End?) but didn't really get into it, mostly because uses different characters, and after spending 1,000 pages with the old ones, I wanted them back. So that one will stay on the shelf for another time, when I've forgotten all the major details of the first (oh wait, that's like now...).

Book #2: Emily Giffin's Baby Proof