da vinci code
 

One last thought from those of us who dwell where the air is less refined. Maybe the movie will be great, maybe not. My concern is that once again people will have the option of viewing a movie instead of reading the book. I guess you can tell I'm a literacy advocate. If people are to make their own informed choices about anything--being able to read is pretty crucial. Too many people don't even know what a preposition is, let alone whether it's dangling or not. Anyhow, just a thought from the great unwashed hordes.

I prefer to dangle my participles. :-)

Ah, but you seem to not realize that most of those people who will choose to watch the movie <b><i>instead of</i></b> reading the book would have still never read the book even if the movie were not made.

You can't force people to read, no matter how important you think it is. :)

as long as we're engaging in elitist musings here, I have to say that, having read the book myself, the reading of it was not for me a particularly literary experience. Literacy perhaps, in the sense of actually reading the words, but not literature in any sense. Whether or not there were any dangling prepositions was the least of its problems imo. You can tell perhaps I didn't like the book--maybe this is one case where I will think the film is an improvement.

Ah, bless you, Elaine! My wife and I are happy to know that we aren't the only ones who found little literary merit--or enjoyment--in the book!

I second Howard and Elaine. I will go as far as to call this &quot;book&quot; trash. What a waste of time and paper.

Okay, I'll also come out of the closet - I didn't much care for the book.

Calling it trash really is a form of arrant pedantry. If it was trash, millions of copies would not have sold!

As said elsewhere, Dan Brown (no relation) is crying all the way to the bank to deposit his royalty checks.

Let me suggest that unless you have published a book, don't criticize.

I doubt if most of you could even crack the print list.

Actually I'm rather surprised that the elitist snobs that responded in a previous thread don't support the book since it's message is that Christianity is basically a hoax. I would have expected them to approve of anything that irritates those of us out here in &quot;Jesusland&quot;. Once I heard about the book's theme, I decided I had no interest in reading what I consider blasphemy.

Joining the group of Fodorites who don't like the book means crowding into a very large closet!

I'll come out of the closet of people who enjoyed the book (along with seemingly everyone I saw on an airplane for months). I thought it was good fun and my daughters and I used it as a spinoff for our London trip, looking for the Temple Church (very well hidden I might add) and specific tombs in Westminster Abbey.

It was hardly research for the trip but it was a nice commonality for us on our quickie visit that trip.

Bob, come on, you know trash sells in america. Just since a bunch of folks buy something that doesn't automatically mean it has great merit.

And isn't it a tad much to say you can't criticize a book unless you are a published author?

Isn't there some pretty vast ground between &quot;trash&quot; and &quot;has great merit&quot;. I don't think anyone, including Dan Brown, would claim that <u>Da Vinci Code</u> is a great piece of literary work.

It's a novel - plain and simple. You can enjoy it or not, and it doesn't really matter to anyone. Those who do enjoy it see it as simply a fun adventure novel for the most part.

I've never met anyone who claimed it was a historically accurate religious text, or that it was a literary masterpiece. Some people seem to have to live only in the land of extremes.

For the record, I didn't say it was trash or great literature, only that I didn't much care for it. I do think paperback book prices are extreme these days.

&quot;Jesusland&quot;, Zeus? Is that some sort of theme park? The mind boggles.

Reference to &quot;elitist snobs&quot; reminds me of the old Russian joke about KGB agents having to go around in threes - one who could read, one who could write and the third to keep an eye on the two dangerous intellectuals.

Agree completely. Very few would classify it as timeless prose but many have found it a pretty good read. I dare say that the ability to keep one (or millions) turning the pages is a lucrative talent.

I thought the book was a waste of my reading time--so did my husband. It was as if DB wrote it by numbers, with the idea of selling movie rights as quickly as possible. I also didn't like the fact that SO much of the book was based on the (debunked) stuff in Holy Blood, Holy Grail)--but HBHG was not credited, at least not in the edition we read. Not exactly plagiarism, but not exactly original thinking and research--and not exactly the example an educator should set. Also, a lot of the stuff listed as &quot;fact&quot; was anything but.
Bob Brown, why can't people criticize a book if they haven't written one (although I have)? Bob, have you ever criticized a car? If so, I assume you have developed and brought to market your own top selling automobile--that's the standard you want others to follow. Have you never criticized a movie or TV show without having produced your own award winning, widely viewed film or series?
There is a lot of money making crap out there--the National Enquirer, Barbara Cartland novels, most reality TV shows. Just because something makes money doesn't mean its creators are somehow above criticism.

I couldn't agree more with the premise that sales figures directly correlate with quality. After all, Britney Spears has a much better voice than Renee Fleming, the National Enquirer is infinitely better journalism than the Economist, and Rod McEuen's poems put just about everybody else's to shame.

Incidentally, I resolve never to criticize the president until I have been the head of state of a major nation.

Well, I enjoyed the book AND I thought it was absolute trash. How's that?

I'm rather fond of alternative history, but I do prefer whatever I read be well written. Alas, the world is not perfect.

Mr. Brown can laugh all the way to the bank, but that doesn't make him a decent writer. DVC is a textbook example of cardboard characters, uninspired prose, and every cheap trick there is for maintaining suspense. I think the movie has a good chance of being better than the book -- how could it be worse?

For suspense, intrigue, and top level writing, read John LeCarre, especially the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy series. Now there's a pleasure. (The BBC mini-series starring Alec Guiness as Smiley has to be one of the best visual adaptations ever done as well.)

And Bob Brown, it is a time-honored tradition of critics that they cannot necessarily do what it is that they critique. Why should we be different from the pros?

...and I guess we should never criticize book critics until we have been one.

As usual, what starts out as a mild criticism or mild personal opinion (advocating reading--where will it end?!)somehow declines to a snob vs slob dichotomy. Not necessary folks.
This extremism thing doesn't work out well, in conversation, in literary critism, in politics, or in life.

In my weekly trip out of my cell, to the local bookstore, I saw the new version of the book WITH PICTURES!!!

I was in my local bookshop this afternoon and noted that there is now a deluxe illustrated edition of this slender novel. Lots of paintings, photos, maps and charts for those who just can't wait for the movie. Perhaps a Da vinci Code comic book is next.

I heard they were giving away Da Vinci code action figures with the Happy Meals.

yes, it will be part of the Un-Classics Illustrated series

I've heard so much about this &quot;novel&quot; that I decided to read it. What a load of clich&eacute;d, trite rubbish - awful!

KT, I will not trade my SpongeBob watch from BK for one of those!

Neil,

You'll have to romove the tongue from cheek on that premise and begin the mind to boggling:

Welcome to <i>The Holy Land, The Ride</i>:

http://www.orlandotouristinformation...s/holyland.htm

Well that settles it! La M_K2 has spoken. The cherry is now on the snob cake. Let us put this issue to bed.

I guess I had hoped that some Fodorites could rise above the level of those who can only destroy because they know how to build nothing.

Wreckers are paid less per hour by a long shot than builders.

Think of the time taken to build a building as opposed to the time required for demolition.

As far as I am concerned, the whole situation reminds me of the typical office scene where someone complains about the coffee. He is then stuck with making the next pot and it tastes even worse.

So after you publish your first book whether it be fact or fiction, you have the right to critique. And I don't mean a book that is printed by the Vanity Press!!

Besides, I have heard all my life that War and Peace was a great work of literary art. Do you mind awfully if I fell asleep repeatedly reading it?
And I studied Russian history as a student in college!

As a voracious reader, I guess I'm in the slob category.

I've read and hugely enjoyed - and was hugely influenced - by &quot;Paris 1919&quot;, a geninine history book if ever there was one. A great and wonderful read, if ever there was one, but still a tough go in certain respects.

I am currently reading &quot;Bel Canto&quot; with some absolutely exquisite prose, which must be slowly savored and enjoyed, like good wine. The plot, on the other hand, is absolutely absurd.

I enjoyed reading the DVC. It was a fun read. Not looking for great literature or anything &quot;great&quot;. Just looking for a fun read and that I got. My most favoritest author of this kind is Clive Cussler.

I've just finished &quot;The Double&quot; by Jose Saramago (Nobel Prize for Literature, 1998) and the VERY odd plot of that book stays with me a week after I've finished reading the book. The way Saramago writes is odd, one paragraph making up pages and pages, and the plot is odder still.

As for movies vs. books. I read the Harry Potter books first and then saw the movies. The books are Sooooo much fun to read. The first HP movie was dreadful. The subsequent ones were much better. Different medium, different &quot;feel&quot;.

Now, back to reading my cereal boxes. :)

Thanks (?), Clifton. Now I wish I'd kept my big mouth shut.

Easy, I thought Bel Canto was based on the real events that took place in Peru a few years ago.

Neil, in all seriousness, I think Zeus was referring to the famous/infamous map currently making the rounds, in which the blue (Democratic) states in the west and northeast are joined to Canada to form the &quot;United States of Canada&quot; while the red (Republican) states make up &quot;Jesusland.&quot;

I dare not give my opinion of this map, since I've never had a map published myself. :-)

Cheers for fiction! For only a library card, it lets us travel the world and be entertained for free.

PS - If France likes Jerry Lewis, I can decide to like Da Vinci code.

PPS - Those of you without kids probably have not heard of the Lemony Snicket series but they are wonderful too.

Just read Bob Brown's comment. What a bunch of pompous, pedantic drivel!

Zeus, I hope you are both reassured and enlightened to learn that people you expected to embrace any literature which you find offensive have not in fact done so. People might be just a little more complex than your expectations, and that seems like a good thing.

And Howard, I find your comment to be a form of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put, at least not without a retort.

I take it you do things that are fair game for group criticism on a regular basis, or do you?

Let me invite you to prepare for review on this forum an essay on a travel subject that affects us all. Then the whole group can take a shot at it.

My point is that it is easy to run down someone else's effort, particularly when you are not exposed to any risk yourself.

Put yourself at risk and lets see how you hold up. Right now you are safe behind the veil of anonymity.

At any rate, your comment upholds my assertion that wreckers are cheap shot artists! And if there is pomposity in that comment, then so be it.

Bob, are you seriously suggesting that no one should discuss the merits of popular culture unless they have written a book or made a film or written music or choreographed a dance? Because isn't that a bit absurd? We would have no criticism at all, no reviews, and very little to talk about at the water cooler (so to speak).

KT, now I get it - Zeus' post was tongue-in-cheek. Sorry, it's morning here and I'm not a morning person.

Haven't seen that map, but I'm not surprised. It would be just like those warlike Canadians to strike while American forces are tied up elsewhere.

Okee dokee. I work in a public library. When DVC first arrived we had one copy. Since part of my job is to read what we're pushing to the public, I read this one. It was fun to read about the locales and the art. No visions of a Nobel. And to be honest, the book sort of sat there for a few months. I can't even remember what set off the bigtime interest. But once it caught on, it has been the most requested book I can remember. (I'm not counting Harry Potter which is in the Youth collection) So then just about everyone started to read it--with the predictable outcome. The IvyLeager's mother who shares my desk was quick to point out that her Junior found all kinds of flaws: Parisian geography, French, history. Some of the religious groups got up in arms, there were seminars, etc. I never said this was great literature. Or even great reading. But from the perspective of my job, it was neat to have people &quot;into&quot; a book. I mean one we could actually put on public display. That's what I liked about the book. It brought people to our reserves desk who hadn't picked up a book in ages. So there it is. I have enjoyed reading everyone's comments. As usual.