I've been looking forward to adding this book onto the blog because it's so cool (based on reading only a few pages so far) even if it takes me out of the running for Freebie Friday

On the Irish Waterfront: The Crusader, the Movie, and the Soul of the Port of New York by James T. Fisher.

I'm usually not a non-fiction reader, but I'm a sucker for stories about ports (I loved the second season of the wire). I love union history because back in the day unions seemed so noble. Then the tie-in to one of the most classic and iconic movies (everybody says "I cudda been a contenda" even if they don't know where it came from). Add in immigrant "tribes", violence and the knowledge that this is a scholarly book, so it's all true, not fictionalized.

Great concepts all, and the first few pages don't disappoint.

Congratulations Amanda! I'm reading A Separate Country by Robert Hicks. It's the story of a Confederate General trying to make a life in New Orleans after the war.

Not really sure -- I guess the intrigue and controversy!

Honestly I'm not a fan of Mr. Brown, but his writing has a few things going for it.

1) His books have a nice sense of adventure what with the runing from one place to another and of course the love interests (which seems wrong in Code since if he gets with her he's cheating)

2) A fairly break neck pace (which is disrupted every other chapter after the artificial cliff hangers he creates which imo is really poor writing)

3) Controversy, whether it's an evil pope/assistant or and evil church organization or theory about the grail, people love contraversey and thus read to be a part of the discussion (either cause they're interested or disgusted).

I'm not really sure I'd even want to read this book especially since I;ve heard he hasn't improved his craft since the last book, there's my response.

As for recommendations, I've mostly read comic lately except The Dresden Files (book 1) which I mentioned on a previous post.

As for the comics, I just finished the mini series Killer of Demons by Chris Yost (trade by Image) which was awesome. A funny look at a person who has an cherub telling him to kill his boss who he hates and verious other people. He thinks he's insane but still.

Great cast, the story has a begining and end (so between the covers it's a whole story but with a hook if there is another series). It's not too expensive (under $10 amazon 120 pages) and theres a nice amoutn of action and humor plus some good supporting characters such as his policewoman girlfriend and his brother who is an FBI agent in the onlien division (he playes a MMORPG to track down pedofiles). At the very least I recomend checking it out at the book store if this sounds even remotely interesting (oh and the art is fantastic too).

I've only read The DaVinci Code, so I can only speak to that book. I enjoyed it. It won't be on my favorite books of all times list, but I did appreciate the complexity of the plot and the controversial theory. It was something to make you "hmmm" for a minute or two. I appreciated his setting development and character development. And again, I would rate everything above average but not anything that would make me go to the bookstore at midnight of the morning the book is released to buy it. It will actually be a book I buy second-hand or eventually borrow from the library, most likely! Have you ever noticed the number of copies of The DaVinci Code in used book stores?

So, I guess I can't attest to why people go crazy over his work, but that's my take on it.

I think that a lot of the popularity of The DaVinci Code was that the churches acted like the book itself - and Dan Brown by extension - was the anti-Christ. I have no idea whether the Catholic Church did, in fact, ban it, but I know more people than I can count who claim to have read it because they believed it had been banned.

(Would Elvis still have been The King if fathers hadn't hated him? OK, yes he certainly would have, but would The Stones have become what they are if they'd been Those Nice Boys?)

And, much as I love Opie (Ron Howard) I think all of the talk of the Vatican making it hard to film Angels and Demons in Rome was his PR people.

Congratulations Amanda!

I think the biggest draw for Dan Brown fans is the proximity to reality. While most fiction either is in a believable reality or so far from it he runs just in between. He feeds on "urban myths" that are just on the line so they could happen but "that couldn't possibly be real."

For example, the Masons, a group featured often lately are widely known group that exists however there is so much about them that is mystery- probably even to it's members that Brown takes just enough fact and just enough rumor and of course enough action that makes it a success.

Another example would be the National Treasure movies. While stealing the Declaration of Independence was almost too much it lent a good amount of suspense and action that when the smaller stretches - finding hidden glasses in a brick that's 200+ years old that 100 of people pass through every day and key codes within letters the audience could overlook the stretch.

The author is also able to ask questions that aren't frequently posed but could be obvious such as the apostles in the last supper and the meaning and thought that a painter like DaVinci would have put behind each detail. Most people are happy to accept it's a painting of the last supper with Jesus and his Apostles but of course our curiosity is peaked once asked the question - Are you sure?

Dan Brown's books are exciting and fun. He does a lot of research for them, so I learn something from them as well. I like that combination. Also, I think all of us seek meaning in life, and I love his emphasis on the meaning of symbols.

Whoops, I didn't read the directions right. I think people like the suspense and the feeling that what they're reading is true (when in fact it's not).

I think the Da Vinci Code got so popular because it touches on one of those big subjects that's otherwise so taboo. It's all about religion, and the things that built it and keep up the facade that conspiracy buffs have been telling us about for ages. It combines just enough real info t make it feel vaguely educational, plenty of hot topics to make it edgy, simplistic writing to make it accessible, and "puzzles" to keep the reader engaged despite the trashy prose.