Buddy Read - 11/1/2025

[Audiophile Audrey]

Howdy! Anyone open to buddy read The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown, book #6 of the Robert Langdon series? This was just published a few weeks ago (9/9/2025) so it might be one of the nominees for GR 2025 Choice Awards and I'd like to be 🤔 knowledgeable about my vote.

📖 I'll be starting in on November 1st (Saturday), if anyone wants to join.

Would love to discuss this 22hour 50min thriller...the narrator (Paul Michael) isn't one of my usuals so chatting about his work will also be a great discussion point. One thing for sure, if you join me in this BR, the almost 23 hour/688 pages will seal our "buddy/friend" status. 😂😆🤣

[Audiophile Audrey]

starting tomorrow....anyone interested in joining?

[Audiophile Audrey]

Found online for discussion on this book

Question 1: At the beginning of the book, Brown notes facts, such as how the artwork, artifacts, documents, experiments and organizations are real. And then he spins the reality into fiction. Are you able to separate the fact from the fiction? Is he doing a good job of it?

[Audiophile Audrey]

Question 2: Brown uses multiple points-of-view to reveal elements of the mystery and move the plot along. Did that work for you? Would you prefer to have just one POV?

[Audiophile Audrey]

Question 3: How did you react to the notion that high GABA levels inhibit the wider reality from entering our consciousness. Are we in the Matrix?

[Audiophile Audrey]

Question 4: Langdon is known for his rational, academic approach, while Katherine Solomon represents a more spiritual, intuitive mindset. How do their contrasting worldviews play out in this story? What do you think of their personal relationship? Did it add emotional depth, or distract from the central mystery?

[Audiophile Audrey]

Question 5: The novel briefly touches on surveillance and privacy through the eyes of intelligence officers and embassy staff, and surveillance cameras play a pretty big role in unveiling the mystery. Did that feel realistic or exaggerated?

[Audiophile Audrey]

Question 6: At one point, Langdon visits the Klementinum, which cleverly markets itself to tourists with “a free airport shuttle, luggage check, and donuts.” What did you think of this humorous moment—and how does Brown balance levity with suspense?

[Audiophile Audrey]

Fun activity to connect with the story's themes of hidden meaning: Brown references Enochian, the mystical “language of angels.” Write a simple message using a printed Enochian alphabet and have your buddy decode it.

https://www.omniglot.com/conscripts/e...

[Audiophile Audrey]

11/1 thoughts: nothing is secure in/on the WWW; this Golem character is scarier than a self-flagellating monk. Prague is a perfect setting for this plot.

[Audiophile Audrey]

11/2-11/4 thoughts: TLE character. don't trust cell phones, and gotta look into reading Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon - Survival of Bodily Death.