Books Books Books

Some books I've read, or have been reading lately:

"The Lost Symbol ". It was fun to be reading a major bestselling book while everyone else was reading it. It is by Dan Brown, the author of "The Davinci Code". I did not have a lot of interest in reading "The DaVinci Code", so I have not read it. "The DaVinci Code" savaged Christianity and delved into old Rome. In this book, he digs into the Masons (Freemasons) instead of Christianity and old Washington, DC. Yes, a city that isn't that old at all. But he does make Washington, DC. seem very interesting. When I go back there, I will be looking for a lot more, for sure. Did you know there used to be a statue of George Washington depicted as a mighty Greek-style god in the middle of the Capitol Building?

There's one particular annoying character in the book. I forget her name, actually. She's the CIA director. Within a few lines of the character's introduction, I immediately thought she was just like Edna Mode, from the movie "The Incredibles".

Chronologically, it is a sequel to "The DaVinci Code". However, it really has nothing to do with that book, or other Dan Brown books, even if the main character is the same (the Tom Hanks guy). The events and plots of the other books are hardly mentioned at all, so it stands alone.

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"Living Dead in Dallas" by Charlaine Harris. For some reason, I keep wanting to call this "To Live and Die in Dallas" (cue the Wang Chung song). This is the 2nd of the Charlaine Harris "Southern Vampire" novels, better known for the hit TV series "True Blood" that was adapted from the books. I've only read part of it, and already a maenad has appeared. She's rather scruffy, and I think she likes to sic a razorback hog on people.

I only had an idea so far of what one character looked like: Sookie Stackhouse. I imagine her as looking like Rogue from the X-Men movies, because she is played by the same actress, Anna Paquin. This is because I've not seen the TV series yet. I have an idea on what the maenad character looks like: she is played by Michelle Forbes, recently known for playing Cmdr. Cain on the new "Battlestar Galactica", and I remember Cain. I am guessing that she does not remain scruffy for long. I suppose I could imagine the maenad looking like a friend of mine, because the friend has worn a costume of the character for Halloween. However, I can't imagine this friend siccing a razorback hog on anyone. So the maenad in my mind looks like Commander Cain.

I am likely to read all of the series without having seen a single episode of "True Blood".

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"South Manitou Island" by Myron H. Vent is about a remote island. Who doesn't like islands? This one is in Lake Michigan. Like other islands in that area, it's pretty devoid of bad history of Native Americans being driven away. The bad history it has mostly involves fatalities in shipwrecks.. Lots of them. I've been to this island and have a lot of pictures. I need to dig them out sometime. And yes, I have been to the lighthouse in the photo.

I've actually been to 5 or 6 of these islands in Lake Michigan so far.

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Has anyone read any of these books? The first two are likely to have other readers, being bestsellers.