Books

12 Books in 2012: Book 2: The Lost Symbol

Unbelievable. I am through book #2 of my 12 book journey and it is still January. I blame it on picking such a good book this time.

The Lost Symbol was just what I needed: this is the kind of book I love to read.

I am a huge Dan Brown fan. Deception Point, Digital Fortress, Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code…I devoured them. Brown is such a gifted writer, and his 3rd book featuring Robert Langdon (also in Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, if you aren’t familiar) was just as thrilling as his previous works!

The Lost Symbol is a great combination of mystery, action, and history. The previous two Robert Langdon escapades took place in Europe: this story was set in Washington DC. As usual, Brown does a fantastic job of hooking you from page 1. I don’t want to dive too far into revealing the plot (you’ll want to do that yourself), but here is a short description from Goodreads:

In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world’s most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling–a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths… all under the watchful eye of Brown’s most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.

When I say that I couldn’t put the book down, I’m really not lying. There are so many twists and turns that will throw the reader for a loop; it is such an exciting read! I absolutely recommend that you pick this one up if you are a fan of Brown’s previous work…or if you are a fan of mystery. You won’t regret it!

I definitely need to have more books like this on my shelf (since I’ve already read all of Brown’s books): any recommendations of authors or books that are similar?

Have you read any Dan Brown books, or The Lost Symbol itself? What did you think?

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  • Oh, I LOVE Dan Brown!!! Curious, have you heard of Swap.com? You can swap books with people and you only have to pay shipping! I’m on there, I think I might have some books you would enjoy 🙂

  • I love Dan Brown and all of his books (have you read any of his earlier ones? I love them just as much as the “popular” books).

    Funny story about The Lost Symbol: It came out the day I was leaving London, so I picked it up in the airport just before my flight took off and read the entire thing on the plane ride over. Since England is ahead of the US, I ended up landing the day it came out in the states. My mom thought it was so cool that I read it before anyone even had a chance to buy it in America!

    • Yep! As I said, I’ve read all of the previous books: Deception Point, Digital Fortress, Angels and Demons, and The Da Vinci Code. I love him!

      That is such a neat story about the book! You were so ahead of the times 😉

  • I actually haven’t read any Dan Brown. I think I would enjoy them based off of the movies. I will have to add them to my list. I haven’t read a book in so long. I think the last I read was Water for Elephants at the beginning of last year. It’s so embarrassing. I’m hoping to have a little more time this year to get back into reading. I bought a few books last year that are just sitting on the bookshelf.

    • If you like the movies, you’d definitely enjoy the books! I would say I liked them much better than the movies (but that is probably largely due to the fact that I really didn’t think Tom Hanks was a good fit for the role of Robert Langdon)!

  • I love Dan Brown as well. A few years ago my husband introduced me to the author James Rollins and all his books are so good. The Sigma Series is the where I would start specifically with Sand Storm. They are a little bit military, history and science and almost all the tech and history is based on real things or events. The characters are nicely developed and you become very attached. Very good read!

  • Ahhh, I’ve had this book on the shelf for at least a year and have yet to pick it up. Maybe you just gave me a reason!

    As for recommendations, I’m sure this has become a worn recommendation, but the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series is loosely of the same ilk – good suspense, great characters – highly recommended!

    Good luck with your search for a new author!

    • Get to it!

      Thanks for the recommendation: I’ve actually read the entire Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series – they were enjoyable!

  • I loved The Lost Symbol. I think my favorite Dan Brown book is Deception Point though. But they’re all so good. You should check out James Rollins books. They’re similar to Dan Brown in that they’re adventure with some history and science thrown in. My sister told me about them and now I’m hooked.

  • I loved DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons, but wasn’t impressed with the rest. I wanted to be, but I just didn’t love them like I did the other two. Not that they were bad, I just thought the original two that I read were better.

    I don’t have any suggestions! I’m scrambling to find a good author that I haven’t previously read/a series to get into, as well.

  • If you like historical stories.. I highly suggest Erik Larson. Especially Devil in the white city. I have read one of his other books, Thunderstruck and he also has Isaac’s Storm and recently released Garden of Beasts (haven’t read this one… Too many books on my shelf that need to be read before i xan buy a new one.. haha)

  • I haven’t read this one, but I did read The DaVinci Code and another one he wrote, Digital Fortress. I liked the story lines in both of them but there’s just something about his writing that really bothers me, so I haven’t picked up any more.

  • I’m a HUGE fan of Dan Brown, and loved all his books! My family and I took a trip to Europe a few years back and my now hubby gave me a book to read on the flight. It was Angels and Demons, and I could not put the book down. By the time we got to Italy, I felt like I need to re-enact the book. LOL!!

  • I love mysteries and definitely will pick this one up next time I’m at the library. I’ve only read Brown’s Da Vinci Code but I really liked it- much better than the movie. I’m such an old lady when it comes to mysteries though- I’ve read every single Mary Higgins Clark and I’m almost half way through all of Agatha Christie’s… just call me Grandma

  • After being spoiled by amazing books like the Hunger Games, the Help, and Violets of March, i think I can only read books that suck you in right away and make you never want to stop! I’m reading the book “One Day” right now and I”m halfway through and think i might stop because I’m so bored. (The movie recently came out and I’m not sure I want to see it anymore) I hate being a quitter but it feels like a waste of my time. I will have to check out this book, since I loved the DaVinci code!

    • I read “One Day” all the way through for my book club. I didn’t like it either. It doesn’t get better. If you don’t like it, find something else! 🙂

      • That’s really sad to hear. I really loved One Day. In fact, I have the author’s other books on my “to-read” book. As far as Dan Brown goes, I haven’t read this one and I’m not sure I’m going to. My book wish list is really intense. But Katie, have you looked into The Book Thief? It’s been recommended to me a lot, and I have it out from the library right now and I haven’t been able to get to it yet. One of my friends also read The Paris Wife and couldn’t put it down. Not very Dan Brown-y suggestions, but hey, thought I would throw them out there.

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