Pool Side Reads

The best part of apartment life (and really, one of the few perks at all) is our swimming pool!  This summer is even better because I'm working less hours and the creepy pool guy from last summer is gone.  Yay!
I am not much of a sun worshiper since my skin is pale and prone to burning and freckling bad enough to make me look diseased. But I do love swimming and sitting in the shade and reading.
Now pool reading is not quite as much fun as beach reading, mostly because some of my neighbors prefer to use the pool area as a babysitter for their noisy broods, but I have always loved reading outdoors... as long as it's in the shade and mostly bee free because bees scare me... 

So what have I read this past week at the pool?

The Genesis Code 
by John Case

From Goodreads:

A phone call in the dead of night brings Joe Lassiter shattering news. His sister and young nephew have died in a fire in their home near Washington, D.C. Yet Lassiter soon learns a chilling fact: His loved ones were brutally murdered before the blaze was set. . . .The mysterious suspect's identity only raises more questions. Then Lassiter uncovers another crime--another innocent mother and child murdered. The more he unearths, the larger the web of conspiracy grows, as his search for answers leads him on a dangerous international chase toward a truth that will shock him--and the world--to the very bone. . . .

My Thoughts:  I was not sure I was going to like this book at first, because it opens up in Italy and there's much Catholic church inner workings and my eyes were glazing over a bit. Lucky for me, I managed to process enough of the information to help me when the book started to pick up, which it does as soon as the story switched to Joe Lassiter and his journey to uncover the mystery of the deaths of his sister and nephew.  There is a lot of action, and it was cool to read the action parts that took place in my birthplace of Northern Virginia.  You get to visit a lot of cool places with this novel, and Joe is a pretty cool guy- he's not quite Jason Bourne but he's no slouch in the area of kicking butt and getting answers.

My friend Susan brought this book to our book club swap meet awhile back, and the Hubs ended up with it.  He rarely reads, being more of a computer guy, so it helped me stick with the book despite the initial misgiving.  I was weary of it because I thought it was going to be too much like a Dan Brown novel. Not that I've actually finished a Dan Brown book, I haven't.  I guess the hype of the Da Vinci Code scared me away (plus all the people who were either outraged by the novel or totally convinced that it was all really true), and normally I'm not big on conspiracy plots.  And while I think the Catholic church has lots of problems and issues (that may be an understatement), they do seem to be the go-to bad guys in movies and books nowadays.  I realize that I was just limiting myself by not reading these books- I love thrillers, I love the action and trying to figure out who's going to make it and if good will ultimately triumph over evil. 

Will I be reading more John Case books?  Absolutely- the Hubs is already reading another book by the author (which is actually two authors writing under a pseudonym).  The Genesis Code gets a Midnight Book Rating of 11pm!  It's a great pool side read :)

And when the noise gets unbearable I listen to Discovery of Witches on my iPod- yes, I am STILL listening to this book.  I love the book, I really do, but I usually can only listen to audio books in my car, and I just haven't been driving much these days.  I have come thisclose to just buying the darn book so I can finish it, and I know I'll cave someday simply because I would like to own a hard copy of it.

Next up: 

Love You More
by Lisa Gardner

This is the book I'll be taking to the pool today.  It's hardback, and I normally prefer to read paperback whenever I'm near water but I've had this sitting on my tbr pile for awhile and I'm itching to get to it.  I read the first four books in this series in a bit of a fever, which I tend to do when I find an author I like. 




Other Pool Side Reads Planned:

The Night Season by Chelsea Cain
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

So what are your pool side recommendations?  I obviously prefer reading mysteries and thrillers, but do you have a particular genre you like to read while relaxing outdoors?