#26 -- Heartstone by Phillip Margolin

I have not been reading as much as I would like to as I have been doing a lot of new things at work and I have been doing a lot around the house. However, the three day Memorial Day weekend saw me reading the first book in New York Times Bestselling novelist Phillip Margolin bibliography.

All of his books seem to be promoted by saying that Margolin isthe writer of "Gone, But Not Forgotten." That is his third book and I will eventually read it as I really enjoyed this first book (Heartstone) by Margolin.

I will say that I can see why he didn't reach national prominince with this book but it is a good mystery read nonetheless.

I will be reading a lot of other books this summer as I anticipate the new Harry Potter book and the new Nick Hornby book.

This should be a tremendous summer of good reads.

Book #25 -- Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

This is the book that Dan Brown wrote right before The DaVinci COde.

It is much better than the DaVinci Cde adn a pleasant distraction for when I needed it.

Book 24 - Two Dollar Bill by Stuart Woods

Stuart Woods is another one of those prolific mystery writers out there.

He doesn't write nearly as many books as James Patterson, but he still manages to put out at least two a year.

His most popular character is a fella named Stone Barrington who always seems to get laid and solve crime while fighting people who want to kill him and the CIA. They are pretty simple reads but I enjoy them nonetheless.

His latest book Two Dollar Bill qualifies as one of those books that is a simple read and a good read.

Stone gets the girl(s) and is still somehow able to save the world from a southern bad ass prick. Good job Stone.

I also used to do some political campaigns for a living. His novels featuring another one of his characters named Will Lee are neat and insightful into the ways campaigns are run and still manage to weave a mystery whodunit into the plot.

Check out www.stuartwoods.com for more information. I recommend Grass Roots and The Run.

Book 23 - Maximum Ride by James Patterson

The world's most prolific writer put out another book about three weeks ago. It is easy to call him that since his last book before that was released on February 14th and his latest book was released on Monday. That's three books in a 2 1/2 month span. I would call that prolific.

I will give him some credit though as I don't think he really writes these books. Almost every single one of the books is done with a co-author. Pretty smart...

This time around though, he wrote a book aimed at the "young adult" audience. He took some of his old characters 98% human and 2% bird characters and made them into more likable characters. He dumbed down his writing a bit.

The result is a book entitled Maximum Ride -- The Angel Experiment.

Even if you are a James Patterson fan... I really suggest skipping this book. It is an extremely laborious read and takes the fun out of being a kid.

Besides... there were too many dead people...for a kid's book.