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The Da Vinci Code still tops list of must reads

BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN For me one of the best parts of summer is stretching out in the sun at the cottage with a good book.
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Sheryl Brown, a manager of Chapters in Sudbury, expects sales of Da Vinci Code in an affordable paperback format will be strong.

BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN


For me one of the best parts of summer is stretching out in the sun at the cottage with a good book. Summer reading can also be done at the beach, in front of a campfire, on a lawn chair in the backyard, or snuggled up in bed at night with the window wide open.

For those of you who have vacation time coming up, I've gone through my book collection to find the Top Five books to read this summer.

A good summer book can be light and funny or actually make you think. It's preferably available in paperback so that it's easily carried around and doesn't make your wrists sore from holding it up. My whole list is currently in paperback.

This is a totally subjective list of books based on my own tastes. I know my former English professors at Laurentian are likely to keep long Victorian novels next to their iced teas, while others may enjoy superhero comics, science fiction, how-to books or political memoirs.

The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown, Doubleday, 2003)

Although DaVinci seems like an obvious choice, this international bestseller is the perfect book to while away a few free afternoons. For those who haven't read it yet (or seen the popular movie currently playing at Rainbow Cinemas), the novel is based on the controversial premise that there is a conspiracy within the Roman Catholic Church to cover up the true story of Jesus. I like the scavenger-hunt aspect of the book, although the writing itself is not particularly well-crafted. Also worth reading is Angels & Demons (2000), which features the same main character, Harvard professor Robert Langdon.

The Undomestic Goddess (Sophie Kinsella, The Dial Press, 2005)


This is probably the best "chick lit" book I've ever read. It's about a high-powered lawyer who blows a multi-million dollar deal and ends up working as a housekeeper. The main character, Samantha Sweeting, has no idea how to use a washing machine or even make a sandwich. Some of her screw-ups are hilarious. Kinsella, whose real name is Madeleine Wickham, is also the author of Confessions of a Shopaholic (2001), Shopaholic Takes Manhattan (2002), Shopaholic Ties the Knot (2003), Shopaholic and Sister (2004), Shopaholic and Baby (to be published 2007) and Can You Keep a Secret? (2004).

The Devil Wears Prada (Lauren Weisberger, Doubleday, 2003)


Another great example of "chick lit," this book follows the life of a naïve aspiring journalist named Andrea Sachs, who finds herself working as an assistant to Miranda Priestly, the ruthless, successful editor of Runway magazine. Her job becomes increasingly hellish as she tries to keep up with Miranda's impossible requests. At one point, Andrea is asked to procure the latest Harry Potter book before it is officially released. Miranda's character is widely believed to be based on real-life Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, although Weisberger denies this is the case. The author used to be Wintour's assistant. Also check out the movie, which is currently playing at Silver City.

The Way the Crow Flies (Ann-Marie MacDonald, Knopf Canada, 2003)


At over 700 pages, this book could keep you going for an entire camping trip. The main character is eight-year-old Madeleine McCarthy, who lives on an airforce base in southwestern Ontario just after the Second World War. One of her friends is murdered, and the community searches for the killer. The book is a fascinating examination of the post-war era. MacDonald partly modeled the book after the real-life case of Stephen Truscott, a 14-year-old boy from RCAF Clinton, who was wrongfully convicted of murdering a classmate in 1959. The book shares several themes with MacDonald's first novel, Fall on Your Knees (1996), including childhood sexual abuse, lesbianism and tragic death.

Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast (Bill Richardson, Douglas & McIntyre, 1993)


CBC broadcaster Bill Richardson won the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour for this book, which features fraternal twin brothers who run a bed and breakfast on an island off the coast of British Columbia. Virgil and Hector live with an outspoken parrot named Mrs. Rochester and a cat named Waffle, and have many quirky friends. The book makes me laugh out loud. Also worth checking out is the sequel, Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast Pillow Book (1995). Richardson wrote a third Virgil and Hector book, Bachelor Brothers' Bedside Companion (1996), although I've never been able to find it. If you have a copy and are willing to lend it to me, e-mail me at [email protected] .


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