"Da Vinci Code" kept you going to the end? How did you ever get past the evil albino on page two?

The evil albino was the best character!

I liked Firmin and I'm looking forward to The Cry of the Sloth.

I know I sound like a snob, but if you're reading Dan Brown you have much too much time on your hands!

Glad to hear Sam Savage has another tome coming out. When I was in Rome I tried to buy a copy of Firmin in Italian, but the shop at the train station was sold out! He's huge in Italy.

I like the evil albino better the first time, when his name was "Judge Holden."

Anyway, it's a tired cliche, and a cheap device by an author who doesn't know how to portray evil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albinism_in_popular_culture

Read CS Lewis, not Dan Brown. I read neither

I'm halfway through THE CRY OF THE SLOTH, and I'm really enjoying it right now -- perhaps because I can relate to the impoverished antagonist and perhaps because I tend to send a lot of odd emails close to the epistolary format.

As for Dan Brown-bashing, well, I'm certainly not a fan. But, folks, it IS possible to get people reading better books through Dan Brown. And it is sometimes important to read books that "regular people" read from time to time. I remember that David Foster Wallace was a fan of Tom Clancy precisely for this reason, because he was very much enamored of how Clancy was able to explain intricate concepts.

Sometimes, if you pack away your snobbery and actually listen to WHY people read certain books, you can generally help someone to funnel their enthusiasm for, say, Dan Brown or Stephenie Meyer into a book of better quality. The last thing the world needs are more literary snobs. (This does not, however, mean that you can't have your own personal standards, but you really don't have to be an asshole about it. If reading is about having access to another person's ideas or an alternative perspective, then surely the "alternative" perspective of a bestselling author you're not familiar is worth sampling from time to time.)

I stopped by BookCourt last night to take in Jonathan's ribbon cutting. He's no longer interesting to me as a literary figure (hasn't been since Wake Up, Sir!), but as a survivor in the concrete jungle he has a story to tell, told in his own brand of minstrelsy. I'm very happy for him that he's making this transition to television and wish him well in the new form. I endured his performance of the "hairy call" (which is, let's face it, repulsive) to get to the knife throwing. He's a brave man. Those knives were big and sharp and Throwdini was not playing Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey, though he did give off the kiddie birthday party entertainer vibe. Thank God he was sober and didn't hurt Jonathan. Within seconds, Jonathan put his jacket back on and began the reading. I cut out at the first mention of the word "buttocks" which even in Jonathan's practiced ingratiating delivery (he's cornered the market)I found grating. All in all, mostly because of his laid back courage and physical prowess (he keeps himself trim and fit), I was not exactly BTD. Got my money's worth.

I'm no fan of Tom Clancy. He uses too many words

I just finished the ARC of Weber's "True Confections" and am hot to read it all over again, it's that good. I expect it to be not only a hit but controversial, too.