Da Vinci Code: Smart guy, good with symbols, gets embroiled in a murder mystery at the Louvre, which forces him to use his skills to sleuth his way through cryptic clues, in a wild search for the truth about the Holy Grail and Mary Magdalene’s role in the history of Christianity! This book was a page turner for me from beginning to end. I simply could not put it down! It helped remind me what is great about a really good book. And it became my all time favorite novel.

The Notebook: Before this was a 5 star chick flick, it was one of the best love stories ever written, by one of my favorite authors, Nicholas Sparks. The basic plot is simple: boy meets girl and they fall in love, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again, boy loses girl again. But it ain’t about the destination, it’s about the journey. If you only read one book by Nicholas Sparks, read this one!

Bridges of Madison County: Photographer looking for bridges in Iowa finds them, along with a beautiful and dedicated farm wife. These strangers, having met solely by chance or by fate, soon realize they are soul mates and spend four days making love and memories that will have to last a lifetime. Man, break out the tissues, girls. Seriously, this is one of the few books I’ve ever read that literally made me cry! But I loved every nose-blowing minute of it. This is a love story for the ages.

Twilight: High school girl moves to Washington, meets a seriously cold boy, and they fall in love. And oh yeah, he just happens to be a vampire. So, as much as he loves her, he also kind of wants to–you know–suck her blood! Talk about your conflict of interests! Now I’ve never been one to read vampire stories, but I had to see what all the hoopla in the press was about. And what can I say, I was bitten smitten. It’s actually not my all time favorite book, but I did love it. And I have been reading each sequel as well, and I’m really enjoying following these characters and the story itself.