Book Review | Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

It isn't often that one can read a series out of order, but that's what I did with Dan Brown's Robert Langdon books. Back in high school, my friend lent me her copy of The Da Vinci Code. I read it, and mostly liked it, but was never compelled to pick up Angels and Demons. Flash forward a few years, and my college roommate reads The Lost Symbol during its release. She loves it, I buy it and read it. I loved it, too, but still no Angels and Demons. It wasn't until I spotted a copy of the book at my beloved Strand Bookstore for a mere $0.48 that I got my own copy.

Now that I've explained my history with the Robert Langdon series, I may as well tell you the premise if for some reason you're unaware of it. Langdon is a symbolist and a professor at Harvard. In Angels and Demons, the first book in the series, he is called in to help investigate the murder of a scientist/priest found branded with the symbol of the Illuminati. It turns out the murderer stole a highly explosive material called antimatter that the scientist and his daughter Vittoria created, and intends to blow up Vatican City to eliminate the Catholic Church. What results is a thrilling adventure, in which Langdon and Vittoria rush through Rome to help save the Vatican before all is lost.

The summary I give to you is a simple one, but this book is anything but. It's over 600 pages, and is an intricately-woven adventure. Despite seeing the film adaptation when it was first released, I remembered very little of the story, and thus highly enjoyed discovering all of the mysteries that lie within the pages. I raced through this book quite quickly given its size, and gave it a full five star rating on Goodreads. Dan Brown has received criticism for his work, but I think he's an amazing writer. Angles and Demons is very well done, and I recommend it to anyone who loves thriller novels. This is my favorite in the Robert Langdon series thus far, and I look forward to reading the fourth book in the series, Inferno, in the future.

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Strand Books Haul!

I've been on spring break from school this week, and happily had the opportunity to spend some time reading for fun. It's not often that I get to do that, so I took advantage of my vacation and quickly whipped through three books. Today, the weather here in NYC was beautiful, so I decided to make a trip to Strand Books to peruse the outdoor book racks. I picked up a few goodies, and thought I would share them with you.

Strand Books in NYC

If you're a book lover, you need to head on over to Strand. It is a magical bookstore with new books, used books, antique books... you name it! Inside there are three floors filled with winding shelves, but my favorite part are the racks outdoors. On those racks you will find a variety of different books for very little money. They can be about any topic, for anybody, and in any condition. Most of them are gently used, but I have found some that appear brand new. My friend once found a signed copy! The best part, of course, is that these books are priced at mostly $1-2, with some as cheap as 48¢!

Today I grabbed three books for under $4 including tax. How can you beat that?! The books I got are:

• Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood by Jennifer Traig – $2.00
• In the Bag by Kate Klise – $1.00
• Angels and Demons by Dan Brown – 48¢

I was so excited to find Angels and Demons for just 48¢! I really enjoy Dan Brown books, and haven't read this one yet despite it being the first Robert Langdon book. Once I found that gem, I headed straight to the register! 

I can't wait to read these books, and I hope to find more time to read as school starts up again on Monday. If you would like to see book reviews here on OpenLetter2NYC, please let me know in the comments! I would be more than happy to share more about what I'm reading with all of you. 

Be sure to let me know if you visit Strand Books! For more information on the store, visit its official website HERE.

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.