The Da Vinci Code

by Dan Brown

I realize that I am very behind the times in picking up this novel. However, I am one of those people who hates reading what everyone else is reading. I know it sounds silly, but for the most part, I seldom read a book that can be found on a current bestseller list. But I decided that it was time to pick up this book and find out what all the hoopla was about.

And? I really enjoyed it! It was very well done, in my opinion. The mystery and intrigue was well-balanced with the suspense and the action, and it most definitely kept me turning the pages. It really was a fun novel to read and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. What I liked best about it was that I had no idea how it was going to turn out. Some parts, yes, but for the most part, I didn't correctly identify the bad guy or his purpose for being a bad guy. It was very good, and I would read it again in a second.

While I was reading, I was also keeping in mind all the controversy surrounding the movie and it's release, and I can't do a proper review without addressing all that. And quite frankly, I don't get it. The book is fiction- very well done fiction in fact. It may present ideas and thoughts within as fact, but common sense still says that all those ideas are just that, ideas and, quite frankly, fiction. It was a fun story, and I challenge anyone who thinks this book is evil to actually read it. For awhile I was thinking that I could see where the Catholic Church got upset about the details within, but it all wrapped up at the end, and the bad guy was not the Catholic Church, so where all the drama came from? I couldn't tell you. I will say that I don't have any desire to see the movie because I think Tom Hanks was miscast, he just doesn't strike me as a Robert Langdon. I also recall seeing reviews that said it was a poor adaptation of the book and left out too much. So instead I will just enjoy the fact that I read a great book. A fun work of fiction.

This was a story about the quest to find the Holy Grail. I think it was fascinating that Dan Brown chose to write a grail story, making the grail more a person and an idea than a physical cup or object. It was creative and exciting, and really, no different than enjoying another grail legend or grail movie- what comes to mind for me is Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. Why is that an okay movie, but The Da Vinci Code isn't? It's the same idea, that the Holy Grail will lead to something more. Whether that be immortality or a change in the way the world views something. And like I said before, if you are one of those people who has protested this book or movie in any form, I challenge you to read the book. It was fun and entertaining, and no more controversial to me than The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe.

Ireland

by Frank Delaney

I have to admit, I was disappointed with this book. This was a selection from Zooba when I was a member, and I bought it without really knowing what it was about. What I was expecting was some kind of historical fiction about Ireland. What I got was basically a collection of short stories and Irish folklore disguised as a novel. At the beginning we meet a storyteller and it is he who carries the book with story after story about some of the folklore of Ireland. Was it entertaining? Somewhat, some of the stories were neat. But I have no idea if these stories are actually part of Irish legend or if they were just made up for this book. Overall, this one was a bit of a disappointment. The continuity from story to story was seriously lacking, and I would have a hard time recommending this without reservations.

The Shunning, The Confession, The Reckoning

By Beverly Lewis

I thought I'd review these all together, because it really is one flowing story. You could probably get away with reading the first one and stopping, but you'd still wonder what happened. But all three books could have easily been published as one story, with maybe a little more detail. In fact, that's exactly what I wish would have happened with these books.

At the beginning we meet Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman who is looking forward to her upcoming marriage to a widower. We find her and her family busy planning and getting ready for the wedding, and as most young brides experience, Katie finds herself full of nerves. She has always felt like a free spirit, and is hiding a love for music and the guitar (forbidden in their Amish Ordnung). And one day, while looking at her mother's wedding dress, she finds a satin pink baby dress with the name Katherine Mayfield on it. The discovery of the dress takes the entire Lapp family on a long and winding road full of discovery and love for each other.

Overall, I really enjoyed these books. In fact, I read two of them in one day, they were gripping and very easy to read. I enjoyed learning a little more about the difference between Amish and Mennonite communities, and once again I found myself drawn to these people and their way of life. These are most definitely Christian novels, and there is no getting around the strong message of forgiveness among the pages. My only problem with this book was that it was really easy to figure out what was going to happen. The foreshadowing was pretty blatant, and while I was satisfied with the conclusion, I knew most of what was going to happen well ahead of time. I also found that there were several loose ends that just seemed to be dropped, and I would have liked a little more closure there. But overall, an excellent was to spend a few afternoons. I would read more from Beverly Lewis, and in fact, plan to do so, as she has several series of books set in Pennsylvania Dutch country.