Started 9/20/2010 Finished a few days later. Damn you Dan Brown…you’re such an engrossing writer! Very rarely do books suck me in until 3am like this….but Dan Brown pulls it off with panache. I very much enjoyed this book and can’t wait to not-sleep through his earlier works (I’ve only read this and Da Vinci Code). Pg. 86: In the words of futurist Arthur C. Clarke, ‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ I wonder if this was ever quoted concerning the Flash Rogue, Abra Kadabra, from the 64th century? Pg. 104: Peter Solomon would be horrified to know how badly Langdon had failed him. I should have mailed it to the Marx Brothers. Will you take it easy? Take it easy? Why do you think I sent it home in the first place?! So that it wouldn’t fall into their hands! I came here to save you! Oh … Continue reading →

Started 1/3/2010 Finished 8/31/2010 A fascinating analysis of one of the most contentious presidents to ever be in power during the still-formative years of our nation. I love Andrew Jackson mostly from his appearances on Disney’s Davy Crockett TV show, but this book made me appreciate the $20 bill that much more for all the pain and suffering he went through. First President to have an assassination attempt (I think)…and the Secret Service STILL wasn’t created…yeesh….

A delightful sequel from one of my favorite authors (I have all of the Artemis Fowl books except for the newest ones and absolutely love reading them). Started 9/1/2010 Finished 9/19/2010 Pg. 191: There is a theory … which states that the universe is built on uncertainty and that a definitive statement/action creates a momentary energy vacuum into which flows a diametrically opposing statement/action. Pg. 225: Most [space]craft give a nod, however brief and unfriendly, toward beauty. Vogon ships did not nod toward beauty. They pulled on ski masks and mugged beauty in a dark alley. They spat in the eye of beauty and bludgeoned their way through the notions of aesthetics and aerodynamics. Pg. 241: Thor was actually the fifth-fastest being in the Universe. Eight without Mjöllnir to steady him. Number one was Hermes, who mainly used his divine speed to pinch Ares’ nipples and then run away.