This book reads like a fiction novel and often times I had to remind myself that it was a work of non-fiction. Additionally, one expects for the individual story lines to have one neatly puzzle pieced connection. While they are loosely connected, in many cases Venice itself, they do not culminate in a well defined ending. But such is life and City of Falling Angels is as much a small window into the life of Venice as any historical fiction novel would claim to be. This book was a definite reminder that life rarely has neatly wrapped up endings or happy ones for that matter.

If you are a lover of Venice, this is a book for you. Berendt references many well known Venetian landmarks and the

Well I'm 3for3 on my recent fiction purchases, though I likely would not have finished them if they were not oustanding novels. Which is to say that this book was hard to put down. For a guy who thrives on a good night's sleep, "The Rule of Four" proved to be an adept thief. The book was described by one reviewer as half "Davinci Code" and half "Name of the Rose" and that description holds quite true. Throw in your favorite story of brotherly friendhip and you end up with a story that leaves you feeling both reminiscent of college days of old and sad for the distances that time has brought on. I really felt like I knew the characters. Yet another book I've read from first time authors, and like those authors, I look forward to the next endeavor from Caldwell and Thomason.

Whether you're a military member or not, this book should be read by every American. Mansfield explains how the God-less trends of the American culture have robbed the military of its Warrior Code. This Warrior Code traces its roots to Medieval Times when the mission of the Knight was to protect his people from religious enemies. The war in Iraq and conflicts in the Balkans are by every means religious driven or based. The longer the United States keeps kidding itself of the nature of terrorism and the overwhelming need to bring our country back to its Christian roots, we will be destined to repeat the unpopular wars of our past and present.

In addition, Mansfield describes how restraints on the Chaplain Corps are preventing Chaplains from effectively ministering to their soldiers without the fear of reprocussions. He describes how soldiers are in desperate need of answers to why they fight in Iraq and many chaplains are not able or "free" to give a strong religious based answer.

If you know a soldier buy this book for them and check it out for yourself.

Fiction - James Patterson - At first this book was a bit hard to get through. The writing style was a bit different, very short and choppy chapters. Set up much like a movie, with short scenes. Additionally, the subject matter was a bit depressing and tough to wade through. Death, destruction, rape seemed to come in almost every chapter. But the story line quickly began to pick up and we follow Hugh as he "juggles" adventure after adventure.

The same author who wrote "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the Girls" that were made into movies with Morgan Freeman. This book has the feel of a semi-successful movie to be.

As the title suggests the setting is the Middle Ages. France to be exact around 1095. This is an enjoyable and extremely easy read. You can fly through ten chapters in the same amount of time as other books. This makes for any easy stopping point as well.

Non-Fiction - Robert Kaplan - A book for anyone with an affinity for history. A travelog fuzed with the history of the region. This is a great starter book or overview of the conflicts and struggles that have dominated headlines for much of the last fifteen years. Though most of the journeys occured a decade before the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, Kaplan offers an almost profetic look at what shaped the looming conflicts. One can almost understand the complexities of the Balkan peoples: who you could dedicate a lifetime studying but never understand. This book will leave you wanting to know more.

Outstanding. This is a long one, but well worth the read. Very well written, easy to read and follow. Alternates between Past and present in a very intelligent way. The book almost doubles as a travel log; and ironically I was reading this book at the same time as a non-fiction travel log called "Balkan Ghost" (see review), though I had no idea what this book was about before hand. It was recommended to me by my sister-in-law.

I don't want to give away much of the book, but it is about Dracula and set mostly in Eastern Europe. It is ripe with accurate historical information (unlike Davinci Code and other of Brown's books). For those who don't read horror, it is not that scarey, though you may get the creeps if you're reading it alone at night. I was a little disappointed with the ending at first but after a little thought I think it was done just fine; not sure how I would have ended it.

This is the first novel by Kostova and if this is an indication to her abilities then I will likely buy the next one as well.

Fiction - Outstanding book. Though I had a hard time getting started on this one as it was a little slow at first, I found myself not being able to put it down. Set in the late 1800's Boston, the story follows a semi-fictionalized account of some of America's most well know authors: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russel Lowell and a few other historical figures not as well known. While the book is not alltogether that large, it is not a quick read. Very well written, but not in the vein of your mindless Stephan King novel. In fact, I found it a throw back to novels of that time period in regards to the writing style.

As the novel's title implies, there is a tie-in to Dante's Inferno. I, for one, have not been able to get through the "Inferno", but if you have I think you may enjoy this book even more.

As with the "Historian", this is Pearl's first book with another on the way in May. It is already on my to-buy list.

Fiction - Fantasy - Read this one back in Nov/Dec so it is not fresh in my mind, but enjoyable book. I have not jumped on the Dungeons and Dragons spin-off fantasies bandwagon, but I did find this a nice read. It is part ofa trilogy, the second book having already been pulished (Eldest). Paolini is yet another first time author that I have read recently and from my understanding is also a high school or recent high school graduate. It is no suprise then that the book is from the view point of a just pubecent teen. Nevertheless, I would recommend to anyone who enjoys the Lord of the Rings type of storyline. In fact, it may have "borrowed" a bit from the whole LOTR idea.

The story focuses on a boy and his dragon. I haven't yet figured if the dragon plays a motherly role or "love interest" role as it is able to communicate with the boy. He does meet an elf who he "falls" for later on in the book. I think my reservation is a bit of creapiness from the idea of a 16 or

A wonderful book for anyone whose marriage has become a struggle or stagnant, or for couples who just wish to grow their marriage. No marriage is unsavable when looked at through biblical principles and Dr. Wheat lays them out in methods that are simple to understand and apply.

This book may be hard to read for those who are not serious about growing their marriage, but the truths he expels are guaranteed to work if followed.

Additionally, it was written for both the husband and wife and does not "take a side" as many other marriage counseling books seem to do. From Song of Solomon to Hosea and Gomer, these biblical extremes of marriage can encourage you to experience a fullfilling Love Life.