The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

I was really excited to read this book because I absolutely LOVED both of Dan Brown's books that I've read. I couldn't wait to read The Lost Symbol because it was the 3rd and newest edition to the mystery/action stories starring Robert Langdon. I forced myself to wait until 3rd quarter though because I wanted to space them out - I didn't want it to appear that I only read his books and no other genres. I finally started reading, and honestly I'm very disappointed. Compared to his other books, this one is boring. I have no incentive to continue reading other than to get through it. The story line is not as exciting as Angels and Demons, which was my favorite. I am really sad that this book is not what I expected, but hopefully it will pick up soon. I am past page 100 and it is still slow, so I am beginning to lose hope. I am going to stick it out though and hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Dry - Finished

I finally finished this book and to be honest, I'm glad it's over. There was nothing wrong with the book - it was fine, I just like to read things that are more suspenseful, "can't put this down" type of books. This was a "sweet" story and it made me sort of sad that it was a memoir. To known that someone actually struggled this much and had such a hard life made me appreciate mine more. I was disappointed with Augusten toward the end of the book though, because he relapsed and started drinking again. Alcohol wasn't the only thing he gave in to, he also started doing other drugs to ease the pain of his friend's death. He was trying to cope with this death, and felt bad that he hadn't been there for his friend once he found out his friend had AIDS. Augusten had alot of regrets in his life. I liked the ending though, because it finished with Augusten believing his friend was sending him messages from heaven. This gave him a sense of hope, which I think he really needed. All in all, this was a good story but not my favorite genre. I recommend it for people who like realistic fiction or memoirs. Hopefully for my next book I'll read something more exciting.

Dry by Augusten Burroughs

This book is not a thriller, and frankly it is not exciting at all. It is more of a story that someone would tell about their life. This is because it is a story about someone's life - it's a memoir. Augusten was doing so well after getting out of rehab; he didn't have any urges to drink and he cleaned himself up really well. I was proud of him until he agreed to meet his friend Jim at a restaurant with a bar. Jim convinced him that it was a nice restaurant, and guilted Augusten into going. I was angry with Jim because he wasn't helping Augusten with his problem, rather it seemed he was rubbing alcohol in his face. It worried me that Augusten was weakened by Jim and could have started drinking again, but I was proud that he decided to leave when it got to be too difficult for him. This is sort of a slow reader for me because I am not really all that excited to sit down and read it. It's a nice story though.