If you would like to get into reading Excel 2007+ files using an alternate method other than Office automation or OleDb or third party library.

Using LINQ to Query Tables in Excel 2007 (requires OpenXML from Microsoft)
Code for C Sharp and VB.NET

Caveat for running either project.
  1. Download OpenXml first
  2. Open project references
  3. Remove reference to OpenXml (should be reported as missing)
  4. Now add new reference via the browse button under project properties, reference tab
  5. In the main code search for LinqSample.xlsx and adjust the path as needed before running.
  6. Build/Run