May starts the best summer ever

I'm hugely excited about summer this year, even more so than usual. It's not just for the typical reasons, either (no more snow, guaranteed three-day weekends, gardening without mittens and a scarf, etc.)

This summer is packed with outstanding entertainment. I'm not even joking.

We start the May with the release of Angels & Demons, the prequel to The DaVinci Code. I thought Angels & Demons was outstanding--even better than DaVinci. The chases through Rome, not knowing if they can make it to the next clue in time...it was a page-turner. Read it before you see the movie. If you already read it, pull it out and read it again. It's worth it. If you're really lucky, you could fly to Rome and follow the Path of Illumination across the city. Just don't cause as much trouble as our boy Robert Langdon did.

Next of my list of exciting releases is the new book by Rick Riordan--The Last Olympian. If you haven't checked out this series yet, I highly recommend that you do. The author cleverly weaves Greek mythology into modern day life through the adventures of a young boy named Percy Jackson. Start with The Lightning Thief and work your way through. Sure, the books are written for the younger crowd, but who isn't a kid at heart? You'll love every minute.

And now for something more adult, every summer for the last nine years (yikes! I'm that old!) I've looked forward to the release of the next Stephanie Plum novel from Janet Evanovich. And if the title--Finger-lickin' Fifteen-- is any indication as to the hijinx and hilarity that ensues, I might call in sick to work that day just to read the book. June 3 is the day. Mark your calendars and, please, don't call me on June 4. I'll be reading.

Moving on to July to the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We've been waiting an awfully long time for this one, so I have high hopes. I realize the release date was shuffled around a lot (I think it had a lot to do with Harry appearing nekkid in Equus), but I'm ready for my dose of HP6.

That's my summer in a nutshell. Books, movies and more books and movies. I love summer!