Summer Reading...such as it is...

When I was a kid, one of the best things I did over a summer involved a reading program promoted by the local public library.

They gave out a list of books to kids, and at the end of the summer handed out rewards to those who read the most.

I can't remember how they recorded who read what (probably through the parents), or even what the prizes were, but I remember checking out the books and having the ability to read what interested me instead of what was required during the school year.

At that time, I was heavily into Stephen King...and this is back when The Stand just came out.

Now I barely have time to find a book to read during the summer, let alone read it, but I've become hooked on an author who's latest novel came out recently...

When The Da Vinci Code came out, I thought it was ridiculous. Then Mrs. Adorkification...who read it in like two days...recommended it to me.

So, being a good husband, I read it.

Five weeks later, I agreed with her that it was a very good book. Granted, I think Stephen King is a better writer than Brown, but I grew to love Robert Langdon and the hidden clues and such scattered throughout the story.

(Which goes back to my afternoons as a kid glued to the tube for 3...2...1...Contact - more specifically The Bloodhound Gang)

Then I heard about this other book...Angels and Demons...which is the first of the Langdon novels. And as usual with me and a series, I had to get that one too.

Then came The Lost Symbol...

...and finally Inferno.

Aside from the codes and such, the locations, artifacts and history make for good reading - even though there's a lot of artistic licence involved.

I have seen both films, and no doubt will see the rest when they come out, but this series is one of those times where the book's been better than the movie.

I wonder, however, if we'll ever see a comic adaptation...