The Century So Far - Books

[Jamee999]

As a book, I think Angels and Demons is better than the Da Vinci Code.

 

[nightprowler10]

Angels and Demons though, was awful. Used the awesome Illuminati conspiracy and ****ed it over and raped its dead body and unfortunately, its now the most well known story to do with that particular conspiracy.

Get out of my head. Came here post pretty much the same thing. I have not read many books on the subject but I finished Illuminatus! (which in many circles is considered the godfather of conspiracy novels) and realized A&D can barely be considered child's play compared to it yet everyone I know hails it as an awesome read when its written like a bad bollywood movie.

As a book, I think Angels and Demons is better than the Da Vinci Code.

DWTA.

 

[Matt79]

Are you a fan of Michael Crichton? If so i was completely oblivious to this....and if so which of his books do you believe to be his best?

I thought Jurassic Park, the Lost World, and Andromeda Strain were pretty good reads. The Lost World novel was much better than the movie of the same name - unlike with the first one, the movie producers changed the story for the second one a lot.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Well, that saves me the bother of wasting my time on the copy of A&D my friend has been pushing me to read.

 

[sledger]

I thought Jurassic Park, the Lost World, and Andromeda Strain were pretty good reads. The Lost World novel was much better than the movie of the same name - unlike with the first one, the movie producers changed the story for the second one a lot.

Yeah I agree, the book was awesome but the film was pretty dire, and like you say a poor adaptation. Though the Jurassic Park film is good, it doesn't really stick that closely to the plot of the novel which is actually quite different, both the film and book are still excellent though imo. Next is another quite decent read, but a bit confusing, I quite liked Sphere as well (which also had a dire movie adaptation) and Prey. One of the few writers who can make me feel genuinely quite frightened, RIP.

 

[Matt79]

Trying to think which others of his I've read now. I reckon Disclosure is the only other one, which again was changed a lot for the movie.

 

[sledger]

Trying to think which others of his I've read now. I reckon Disclosure is the only other one, which again was changed a lot for the movie.

Never read that one, has never drawn me. I have read Congo, which was alright, but not all that memorable, and State of Fear, which was quite decent as well, but again not all that memorable. Have thought about reading the Terminal Man, as that looks quite decent, but I've got a backlog of about five 800+ pages books to get through, so don't think I'll get round to it any time soon.

 

[Matt79]

I'm in the same boat in terms of a backlog, but when I get out from under, you've inspired me to have a go at some of his other works. Tell me, with regards to Congo, is Tim Curry's Russian-esque accented "Ze Myth of Zee Killer Apez isss TRUE!!!" tagline from the movie an accurate representation of the book? Because it became a standard line between my brothers and I.

 

[nightprowler10]

Well, that saves me the bother of wasting my time on the copy of A&D my friend has been pushing me to read.

Only Dan Brown books I'd touch are Da Vinci Code and Digital Fortress. Rest are ****e.

 

[sledger]

I'm in the same boat in terms of a backlog, but when I get out from under, you've inspired me to have a go at some of his other works. Tell me, with regards to Congo, is Tim Curry's Russian-esque accented "Ze Myth of Zee Killer Apez isss TRUE!!!" tagline from the movie an accurate representation of the book? Because it became a standard line between my brothers and I.

Haha, as far as I can recall it is not true, I am sorry to disappoint you, in fact, as far as I recall, there aren't even any Russian characters involved whatsoever.

 

[Matt79]

Seems kinda pointless then...

 

[sledger]

Seems kinda pointless then...

Haha tbf, from what I recall its a good entertaning read, that is very enjoyable, it's just not as memorable as Jurassic Park etc... Were it not for his other Novels I would probably hold this one in much high regard, guess he is kind of a victim of his own success in this regard.

 

[Matt79]

Suspect, given the author, that it is a much better story than the movie - that smacked of a good book turned into a stupid movie by people who were fans of the money made by Jurassic Park and were keen to mine his past work for similar themes, not to mention the "from the creator of Jurassic Park" tagline in the preview, and hopefully similar profits.

 

[ret]

Toronto Star published a list of 10 books that have made an impact on this century so far in various genres according to their criteria

- The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
- The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
- The Omnivire's Dilemma by Micheal Pollan
- The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery
- The Looming Tower, Al Qaeda and the road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright
- The Brick Lane by Monica Ali
- The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
- The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
- Louis Riel: A comic strip biography by Chester Brown


Which one of these have you read and recommend?

From that list, I have read Da Vinci Code which was a long time ago and I enjoyed reading it very much. In fact, I couldn't put it down .... Angels and Demons is pretty good too

From the list, I might read
- The Tipping Point or the new book, Outliners, by its author
- The Looming Tower
- The Weather Makers
- Louis Riel

 

[ret]

I checked out Louis Riel and Weather Makers at a book store .... Both of them appear to be pretty good

Has anyone read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell? Of the three Gladwell books, Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers, which one is the best?

 

[NZTailender]

Kafka on the Shore for mine.

 

[99*]

Only Dan Brown books I'd touch are Da Vinci Code and Digital Fortress. Rest are ****e.

Good book, was the first book of his that I read. Could telegraph what was going to happen for most of it (i.e.- Strathmore ****ing up), but wasn't that bad.

Was pissed off he made the group at the end take near an hour to figure out the killcode, seemed like they looked everywhere but the most obvious place to find the answer.

 

[Top_Cat]

Well, of the books released this century, I'm surprised to see Reclaiming History by Vince Bugliosi not on that list. It's the strongest, most detailed and longest-lasting STFU to the JFK conspiracy movement ever written.

In terms of influence, well at any given time, around 70% of Americans believe there was a conspiracy and the tinfoil hat brigade has been awfully quiet in the aftermath of the book's release. Even more surprising considering how good Bugliosi is at self-promotion. It's a hefty read (1600+ pages) and the detail is thick but there are several absolutely page-turning parts of it. Anyone else had a crack at it?

 

[ret]

Has anyone pre-ordered Dan Brown's the Lost Symbol?


BTW, the star has explained why the chose those books in the article below

http://www.thestar.com/article/653178

 

[nightprowler10]

Has anyone pre-ordered Dan Brown's the Lost Symbol?

No. Might read it when it comes out but the fact it revolves around free masons is a bit disappointing. Would've preferred it if the early rumors were true that it was going to be about satanism.