I just added about two thousand pages to the great unread collection of books that I hope to eventually get to. This week, I completed another revolution around the sun. In recognition of this, Amy presented me with two books: 1) Christianity, The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch and 2) 2666 by Roberto Bolano. I am very excited to receive these books. The Christianity book was favorably reviewed in the NY Times Book Review section. The history of Christianity is essentially the history of western civilization. There are serious gaps in my historical knowledge that I am interested in discovering: what was it like for the early Christians to be persecuted by the Romans? What led to the schism between the eastern and western churches? What specifically happened during the crusades? These issues are relevant today as we see people of faith being persecuted around the world and we see people of faith practicing intolerance and persecution. This book will likely sit on my bedside table and take a while to finish. I have to finish the other book on my bedside first, The Cuba Reader. As for 2666 (see my post from April), I am really looking forward to reading this novel. I will start it immediately after finishing Gilead (and Hyperion and The Lost Symbol).
I have come to the point in my life where I realize that I will not be able to read all the books that I plan to. There is a serious backlog of books I want to read and I keep adding to it. But that's OK. I am simply going to focus on enjoying the books that I do read. It's not like I win a prize at the end. That being said, I want to make every choice count. If I am not enjoying a book, I will drop it and move on.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Dan Brown, (Not So) Guilty Pleasure
About 5 years ago, I started a book club at work with the idea that we would read bestsellers of the potboiler variety. I had been in a book club that read a lot of different things, but most of what we read was literary/artsy/highbrow. I wanted to read books that were similar to the types of books that were popular when I was a kid: Jaws, The Godfather, The Boys from Brazil, Looking for Mr. Goodbar; books that didn't necessarily have anything profound to say, but were riveting pageturners.
The first selection for this office book club was The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. This was the most popular book on the planet at the time. Everyone had read it or was reading it. Is there anyone who hasn't read it? The story is bereft of any kind of literary ambitions, but boy what a hell of a ride! The story grabs you from the first chapter and doesn't let go. It is a masterful blend of history / religion / suspense / mystery. Yes, it almost reads like a movie, and, incidentally, it was much better than the movie version that later came out.
Alas, the great potboiler experiment did not last. The next office book club selection was The Kite Runner. No one wanted to read John Grisham or Sara Paretsky. We had reentered the world of deep characters and emotional journeys. Oprah would have been proud. However, this didn't stop me from reading Angels and Demons on my own. This book was published before The DaVinci Code and is better. It was even more suspenseful and quicker paced. The movie was mediocre (why are the movie versions of these terrific books so average?) Right now, I am in the early part of The Lost Symbol, the third in Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series. I totally think of Tom Hanks as the protagonist as I turn the pages.
Often, when I reflect on what I like about certain writers or books, I point to the prose style or the development of the characters. Sometimes the stories give me new insights on life. I am often enriched by the great books that I read. However, what I enjoy about these Dan Brown novels is that I am always thoroughly entertained, even if I am not edified. But that is ok. I can always read Umberto Ecco (Dan Brown's literary counterpart) for that.
The first selection for this office book club was The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. This was the most popular book on the planet at the time. Everyone had read it or was reading it. Is there anyone who hasn't read it? The story is bereft of any kind of literary ambitions, but boy what a hell of a ride! The story grabs you from the first chapter and doesn't let go. It is a masterful blend of history / religion / suspense / mystery. Yes, it almost reads like a movie, and, incidentally, it was much better than the movie version that later came out.
Alas, the great potboiler experiment did not last. The next office book club selection was The Kite Runner. No one wanted to read John Grisham or Sara Paretsky. We had reentered the world of deep characters and emotional journeys. Oprah would have been proud. However, this didn't stop me from reading Angels and Demons on my own. This book was published before The DaVinci Code and is better. It was even more suspenseful and quicker paced. The movie was mediocre (why are the movie versions of these terrific books so average?) Right now, I am in the early part of The Lost Symbol, the third in Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series. I totally think of Tom Hanks as the protagonist as I turn the pages.
Often, when I reflect on what I like about certain writers or books, I point to the prose style or the development of the characters. Sometimes the stories give me new insights on life. I am often enriched by the great books that I read. However, what I enjoy about these Dan Brown novels is that I am always thoroughly entertained, even if I am not edified. But that is ok. I can always read Umberto Ecco (Dan Brown's literary counterpart) for that.
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