Thursday, April 27, 2006
Sucked into the "..Code".
I'm not against all things that become insanely popular and I'm hardly a snob (I watch American freakin' Idol for god sakes), but I do find myself stubbornly refusing to accept certain, um, manias that seem to take the world by storm. I hate most of the music on the more popular radio stations and when a song I do like starts getting airplay on the Top 40 station, a part of me realizes that a song I once liked/loved is no longer "mine". Anyway, a lot of my interests are slightly odd (I watch both soccer AND rugby and I'm an AMERICAN!) and I tend to stick my nose up at the mainstream...let's cut this story short, shall we?
Yesterday, I started to read The Da Vinci Code after a couple of years of fighting off many requests to do so. People I know who don't even read were telling me that I HAD to read it and that it's "the best book ever". While I won't go that far, I will say this...it's pretty damn good (so far).
Dan Brown writes the book with a simple enough style to lure non-readers in, but spices each chapter up with enough interesting history to keep the "smart" people entertained. Basically, it's a book that is easy enough to read to make us dumb people feel smart while reading it.
I'm on chapter 20 (which is like page 12 with this one) and so far, so good. I wanted to hate it in the worst way...
I could always lie, I guess... ¶ 7:32 AM
Yesterday, I started to read The Da Vinci Code after a couple of years of fighting off many requests to do so. People I know who don't even read were telling me that I HAD to read it and that it's "the best book ever". While I won't go that far, I will say this...it's pretty damn good (so far).
Dan Brown writes the book with a simple enough style to lure non-readers in, but spices each chapter up with enough interesting history to keep the "smart" people entertained. Basically, it's a book that is easy enough to read to make us dumb people feel smart while reading it.
I'm on chapter 20 (which is like page 12 with this one) and so far, so good. I wanted to hate it in the worst way...
I could always lie, I guess... ¶ 7:32 AM
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The writing just seemed so simplistic and transparent. The characters one dimensional and boring. Clif hangers in every chapter kept me from wanting to continue. I started the book sometime last year, before we bought the house even, and I still haven't finished it. Now that the movie is coming out, I probably never will.
I enjoyed the book but it is hardly the "best book ever". I read all the time and I would consider the Da Vinci code a nice fluff book. It was entertaining but not exactly the best fiction in the world. I think its a nice translation to the movies where description and depth need not be. :)
Since the movie is coming out and Kristen wants to see it, I figured I might as well read the book first.
You guys are both dead on, but it's still entertaining (to me).
It's funny. He keeps throwing puzzle pieces out there and putting them together like a page and a half later. Instead of building the story and letting us guess, he just keeps answering the questions for us. I feel like I'm taking a test with the correct answers nicely arranged on the next page for me.
Still, The girl who's going to play the female lead (in the movie) is like...OMG SO G0Rg3OUS!!!!1
I love Audrey Tautou(sp?)
You guys are both dead on, but it's still entertaining (to me).
It's funny. He keeps throwing puzzle pieces out there and putting them together like a page and a half later. Instead of building the story and letting us guess, he just keeps answering the questions for us. I feel like I'm taking a test with the correct answers nicely arranged on the next page for me.
Still, The girl who's going to play the female lead (in the movie) is like...OMG SO G0Rg3OUS!!!!1
I love Audrey Tautou(sp?)
I'm right with you, Kero. I had been fighting off this book for years now but when I saw it in paperback for under five bucks at the grocery store, I broke down. I'm about halfway through and it is laughably simplistic in it's writing style, but his ability to tell a compelling story can't be denied. I've been entertained, which is more than I expected.
For me:
Plot == great, engaging, page-turning
Characters == flat, ridiculous, embarrassing, even
Dialogue == hiding-face-under-the-covers level of embarrassing
Pacing (i.e. flipping between the two main sides of the story just as you get somewhere interesting with one story) == terrible
Also, because the main concept that they talk about is something I've been exposed to in conversations and research before, it wasn't very eye-opening.
And that first "puzzle" was awful in every way. The description before they revealed what it really looked like was so overblown that I was prepared for something completely insane, then was really let down. Then I felt like it should have been immediately obvious to the main character and others around him what that was about. So many of the puzzles were things that are common types of puzzles to people who enjoy doing puzzles, so while I buy that they were entertaining to read about (and I *was* entertained), I absolutely could not buy that they were considered difficult by the main characters. Not for one second. So it was frustrating.
But still enjoyable enough to read that I read the other relatively well-known book.
And now, since we have come back from Europe, I am rereading it so that I can visualize some of the places they have been to. :D
Plot == great, engaging, page-turning
Characters == flat, ridiculous, embarrassing, even
Dialogue == hiding-face-under-the-covers level of embarrassing
Pacing (i.e. flipping between the two main sides of the story just as you get somewhere interesting with one story) == terrible
Also, because the main concept that they talk about is something I've been exposed to in conversations and research before, it wasn't very eye-opening.
And that first "puzzle" was awful in every way. The description before they revealed what it really looked like was so overblown that I was prepared for something completely insane, then was really let down. Then I felt like it should have been immediately obvious to the main character and others around him what that was about. So many of the puzzles were things that are common types of puzzles to people who enjoy doing puzzles, so while I buy that they were entertaining to read about (and I *was* entertained), I absolutely could not buy that they were considered difficult by the main characters. Not for one second. So it was frustrating.
But still enjoyable enough to read that I read the other relatively well-known book.
And now, since we have come back from Europe, I am rereading it so that I can visualize some of the places they have been to. :D
Yeah, the characters in MY book had more life..
*grins*
Seriously, the only character that's stood out over the 179 pages I've read so far is the head of police (the bull guy) and only because I picture him like this squat principal from a middle school I work in. Aside from that, his character is very stereotypical...
*grins*
Seriously, the only character that's stood out over the 179 pages I've read so far is the head of police (the bull guy) and only because I picture him like this squat principal from a middle school I work in. Aside from that, his character is very stereotypical...
BTW..SPOILERS for chapter 43 (I think).
Eingy's right. Why did I figure out the ten digit safety deposit box code before they did. Four pages of drama for what? I skipped ahead to see if I was write and sure enough...
Eingy's right. Why did I figure out the ten digit safety deposit box code before they did. Four pages of drama for what? I skipped ahead to see if I was write and sure enough...
Finished it.
It'll make a great movie, but since I was able to figure a lot of the last few "puzzles" out, I found myself bored with the last 5th(?) of the book. I finished it as fast as I could just to get it over with.
It'll make a great movie, but since I was able to figure a lot of the last few "puzzles" out, I found myself bored with the last 5th(?) of the book. I finished it as fast as I could just to get it over with.
I wonder if they'll change some of the puzzles around to make them more difficult... Nah. Too many people will complain.
The only people who should be fooled by the puzzles in the book are those idiots who can't read the diagonal attack in a game of Connect Four.
I used to smoke the dumb kids with that strategy...
The REALLY dumb kids fell into the three pieces across the bottom trap where all you have to do is drop a coin on either side to win.
Dumbasses...
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I used to smoke the dumb kids with that strategy...
The REALLY dumb kids fell into the three pieces across the bottom trap where all you have to do is drop a coin on either side to win.
Dumbasses...
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