The Da Vinci Code

[cl5814]

Anyone read this book by Dan Brown ? It is a highly controversial book due to the religious subjects it touches. I picked up the book in the store - it was on the bestseller list and my friend had read it and said it was excellent - and started reading and found that i couldn't put it down. I learned quite a bit from the book too - quite a bit of history in it. The book is just so fast moving and the story starts with a murder. Needless to say, i finished the book in 4 days, a mere 430 (??) pages. Had i not been working the last 2 days, i would have finished it sooner.

Anybody else read this or any other book that was so addictive up to the point when you finished it ? I assume that we are going to hear from some of the Harry P. fans....

[Purr]

Anybody else read this or any other book that was so addictive up to the point when you finished it ? I assume that we are going to hear from some of the Harry P. fans....

Well, since you mentioned it.... :wink:

I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with 2 days of buying it (first day it came out). Basically, I was a couch potato in my sunroom the entire time. Ah, it's all good. 8)

[jenibelle]

LOL! I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and read the last one in about an afternoon and an evening!

The Count of Monte Cristo had me even more hooked...I brought it EVERYWHERE i went...I strongly recommend it to everyone here!

:D Jeni

[Angelo]

The last "can't put down" book for me was Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. I can't claim it was fine literature, nor could I reccommend it to most of my friends but I was sucked into the story from the beginning and I really don't read much fiction.

[MadamSamba]

CL, I've read The Da Vinci Code, Digital Fortress and Angels and Demons. They're all fabulous and "unputdownable", but very predicatable. He uses the same formula and once you figure it out, you know the end. I read Digital Fortress last and figured out who the crook was in about the first three chapters _ before it was even obvious there was one...very annoying, but Dan Brown is a brilliant storyteller and I love anything on Da Vinci, even this book which paints a rather sordid picture of him, that seems to be based in truth, unfortuantely.

[DanceMentor]

From a historian's perspective, Da Vinci code is a wonderful book that incorporates some very interesting facts into this work of fiction. If you are into the religious conspiracy theories presented, you may want to read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. Dan Brown used some of the material found in this book to write the Da Vinci Code.

Please note: We aren't going to get into a religious discussion on the Dance Forums, but if we had a forum about religion, this would make a great topic! :D Maybe that could be another forum to add the the forum family ... but I think it might scare some people away too. :cry:

[Laura]

I won't get into the debate on what is true with this book, but I will say that I think the book would make a great movie. It's interesting and fast moving with definite action/chase scenes, and the plot/mystery is complex enough to not insult anyone's intelligence but not so hard that most people won't be able to figure it out at some point.

[Jmatthew]

Gates of Fire isn't exactly fiction. :)
at least, it's much less fiction than Da Vinci code. :)

[Pacion]

Anybody else read this or any other book that was so addictive up to the point when you finished it ? I assume that we are going to hear from some of the Harry P. fans....

Well, since you mentioned it.... :wink:

I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with 2 days of buying it (first day it came out). Basically, I was a couch potato in my sunroom the entire time. Ah, it's all good. 8)

Purr :oops: I started Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last year and haven't finished it as yet :oops: I could not get into it the same way I did with the others which I read throughout the night :shock: With the one before, I got home on a Friday evening, settled myself in bed and read though until 8/9 the next morning, when I finished it :lol: I think that one put me off Order of the Phoenix as I found it quite dark and I found it upsetting/unsettling that the student was killed. :( I saw something today that suggests that the next one is coming out soon/this year. I didn't excited :? I wonder though, if it is going to be longer than the Order :shock: :lol:

Haven't seen any of the movies as yet. Will though as I have heard that the special effects is quite something. :banana:

[Purr]

Anybody else read this or any other book that was so addictive up to the point when you finished it ? I assume that we are going to hear from some of the Harry P. fans....

Well, since you mentioned it.... :wink:

I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with 2 days of buying it (first day it came out). Basically, I was a couch potato in my sunroom the entire time. Ah, it's all good. 8)

Purr :oops: I started Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last year and haven't finished it as yet :oops: I could not get into it the same way I did with the others which I read throughout the night :shock: With the one before, I got home on a Friday evening, settled myself in bed and read though until 8/9 the next morning, when I finished it :lol: I think that one put me off Order of the Phoenix as I found it quite dark and I found it upsetting/unsettling that the student was killed. :( I saw something today that suggests that the next one is coming out soon/this year. I didn't excited :? I wonder though, if it is going to be longer than the Order :shock: :lol:

Haven't seen any of the movies as yet. Will though as I have heard that the special effects is quite something. :banana:


Hang in there, Pacion, and you'll finish the book. :D

I think that the whole character of the series has changed and gotten darker, as Harry grows up. The first two books (Socerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets) were relatively easy reading, Harry was a likeable young boy and the ending was clear, in that good triumphed over evil with Harry overcoming Voldemort. With the third book (Prisoner of Azkaban) that started to change. The book was more complex, Harry was turning into a teenager, and the ending was less than I'd hoped it would be regarding Sirius Black. The fourth book (Goblet of Fire) was even more complex, and Harry is definately a teenager. With the ending, I didn't like that Cedric Diggory was killed either, and the cold blooded manner that it happened. The last book (Order of the Phoenix) was the hardest of all to read. I'm not happy that Harry has turned into a sulky teenager with a hero complex. I won't even talk about the ending. I still like the series though, and the other characters besides Harry, so I'll see it through.

I've read that J.K Rowling is still working on the next book - Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince - but I've not heard anything about a release date. I hope it's not any longer than the last book or the previous one! I've also read she's expecting a baby soon.

The movies for the first two books are good fun entertainment, and pretty faithful to the books. I highly recommend them. The third movie is a whole other story. It's still good, but less faithful to the book, and the whole character is dark & gloomy. I'm highly recommending it, too, for the enthusiastic fan. 8)

[cl5814]

ok, so now that this thread was resurrected...........anybody read any of the follow-up books about da vinci code ? The sort of explanation of the book ? I was amazed at the collection of books about the "book" in Barnes and noble ?

I also think this would make a good movie.....

[Vin]

I have also read the Da Vinci Code and other Brown books. I agree with Madam Samba, once you have read one the others pretty much follow although I thought Digital Fortress was a bit different.
Anyways another great book if you are into religous "scandal" would be "The Family" this was the last book by Mario Puzo, I thought it was excellent and it had lots of interesting historical tidbits as well. That is one book where I would definitely like to know what is real and what is fictiion.

[Pacion]

Hang in there, Pacion, and you'll finish the book. :D

Thanks Purr :oops: at this rate though, I think JKR's children will be having their own children before I am finished :oops: :lol:

I like the series and thought it was a brilliant idea. The legend goes that JKR was on a train journey within the UK, worrying about where she was going to get money for food, when the idea came to her. A real rags to riches tale.

I've read that J.K Rowling is still working on the next book - Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince - but I've not heard anything about a release date. I hope it's not any longer than the last book or the previous one! I've also read she's expecting a baby soon.

I think it might be coming out this year? Will have to google :wink: Yes, she is expecting her third or fourth child?