The Lost Symbol

Title: The Lost Symbol

Author: Dan Brown

Pages: 511

Genre: Thriller

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Robert Langdon has been summoned to Washington to fill in as a guest lecturer for his close friend, who is the Secretary of the Smithsonian. While there, he is drawn into a plot to uncover a secret that the Mason's have been protecting and guarding for centuries.

My Review: I quite enjoyed this book, just as I have enjoyed all of Dan Brown's other novels. I am really looking forward to reading the illustrated edition when it comes out. If there is one thing that I have learned from Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, it is that the illustrated editions really make the story come alive. Instead of reading Brown's descriptions of paintings, buildings and symbols, you can see them for yourself. The book was a little more wordy/descriptive than the previous novels that Langdon stars in and many people have complained about this, but I found the extra descriptions quite interesting. Dan Brown's novels never fail to make me think.

From the Book: "(p. 65) Despite Langdon’s six-foot frame and athletic build, Anderson saw none of the cold, hardened edge he expected from a man famous for surviving an explosion at the Vatican and a manhunt in Paris. This guy eluded the French police…in loafers? He looked more like someone Anderson would expect to find hearthside in some Ivy League library reading Dostoyevsky.”

“(p. 228) The coyly nicknamed explosive Key4 had been developed by Special Forces specifically for opening locked doors with minimal collateral damage. Consisting primarily of cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine with a diethylhexyl plasticizer, it was essentially a piece of C-4 rolled into paper-thin sheets for insertion into doorjambs. In the case of the library’s reading room, the explosive had worked perfectly.”

Anthem

Title: Anthem

Author: Ayn Rand

Pages: 111

Genre: Philosophy, Classic, Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: First published in 1938, Anthem is a dystopian novella that takes place at an unspecified time in the future. Virtually all technological advances have been discarded in favor of a society where nobody knows more than anybody else. Personal pronouns and individualism have been discarded for a culture where everybody refers to themselves as "we" and all people live in communal dwellings segregated by sex. Equality 7-2521 doesn't think like the rest of the people and ends up discovering some of the things that have been forgotten.

My Review: I read this book in high school, but remembered very little of it. I found the story interesting and thought provoking and a good introduction to the writings and philosophy of Ayn Rand.

This I Believe

Title: This I Believe

Author: Varies

Pages: 5 cds

Genre: Inspirational, Essays

Grade: A+

Synopsis: This I Believe is a collection of essays by people from throughout the United States. Rich, poor, white, black, southerners, northerners, straight, gay, famous, not famous, female, male, essayists from all walks of life participated in describing their personal credos. These essays were all read by the authors themselves (with the lone exception of Albert Einstein, whose audio has been lost). Mixed in with the present-day essays were essays by people from the early 1950's. The authors included well-known people such as Colin Powell, Newt Gingrich, Bill Gates, Helen Keller, Albert Einstein, John McCain, Dr. Ben Carson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson and Wallace Stegner. The essayists espoused their personal beliefs on everything from barbecue to family to forgiveness to America.

My Review: As you can tell by the rating I gave the book, I really, really liked it. I found myself laughing, crying and laughing again all within the space of 10 minutes. I couldn't get over the fact that these essays were written by regular folk like me and you and the crazy lady walking along the sidewalk and the compassionate lady driving by in her car. As I listened to these essays, I was proud to be an American, proud to live in a country where we are able to live freely with people of all beliefs and lifestyles.

From the Book: I have uploaded two of my favorite essays below. Have a listen!

The Madonnas of Leningrad

Title: The Madonnas of Leningrad

Author: Debra Dean

Pages: 256

Genre: Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: The story moves back and forth between the present day and World War II in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Marina worked in the Hermitage museum as the paintings were packed away and hidden in undisclosed locations. Every night as German bombers would bomb the city, Marina and the other workers were stationed on the roof as the museum as fire watchers. The present-day portion of the book takes place near Seattle. Marina is now an old woman suffering from Alzheimer's and while attending her granddaughter's wedding she just can't remember who anybody is.

My Review: I thought that I would like this book more than I did. While the book moves seamlessly between war torn Russia and present-day America, I found the story difficult to follow and simply not that interesting. During a lot of the book, Marina is trying to remember the rooms of the Hermitage as they were before the paintings were removed and I enjoyed the descriptions of the paintings, sculptures and rooms (The Hermitage was a former Imperial Palace before being converted into an Art Museum. My parents and I toured the museum after my mission - very beautiful).

Night

Title: Night

Author: Elie Wiesel

Pages: 120

Genre: Memoir

Grade: A

Synopsis: Elie Wiesel was a Jew born in Transylvania. In 1944 he and his family were gathered up by the Nazis and forced into the Auschwitz concentration camp. He was separated from his mother and sister and never saw them again. Luckily, he was able to remain with his father for the bulk of his stay in the camps. After a time at Aushwitz, he was transferred to Buchenwald as the Russians were close to liberating the camp. During the journey from one camp to the other, they were packed tightly 100 men to an open-roofed cattle train car - and only 12 finished the trip alive. Elie Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize for this book and his efforts in not letting the world forget the Holocaust.

My Review: I knew that this iconic book about the Holocaust would be a difficult read. We've all heard the stories, but realizing that they are true and that people really suffered as described is so sad and disturbing. I also find it repulsing just how many people were willing to treat other humans so wretchedly. As the review by the New York Times states on the back of the book: "A slim volume of terrifying power."

From the Book: "Listen to me, kid. Don't forget that you are in a concentration camp. In this place, it is every many for himself, and you cannot think of others. Not even you father. In this place, there is no such thing as father, brother, friend. Each of us lives and dies alone. Let me give you good advice: stop giving your ration of bread and soup to your old father. You cannot help him anymore. And you are hurting yourself. In fact, you should be getting his rations..."