12: The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown

So.

At lunch, I made the following statement: "The Da Vinci Code is crap." It was pointed out to me I should read it before making such statements. So I read it.

It's crap.

There are three big problems with it:
1) Fact and fiction are mixed so much you don't know what's true and what's not. People are stupid enough already. No need to confuse them by telling them half-truths. Pick one: fact, or fiction. Don't toe the bloody line.
2) Tension is achieved by not telling the reader everything the characters know. That's a cheap trick of a hack. Don't do it. Truman Capote didn't like it Murder by Death, and neither does anyone else.
3) The puzzles are simplistic. If you're going to write a novel about codes and puzzles, at least try to think of something actually tricky. SOFIA and APPLE were near-instant guesses upon reading the poems. (Yes, yes...spoiler.)

It does have a good point: it sets a fun historical, religious, archaeological mood. So I'm reading Eliade's History of Religious Ideas now. It's interesting, and perhaps it will purge some of Dan Brown's nonsense from my mind.

11: The Party of the First Part: The Curious World of Legalese, Adam Freedman

Some interesting stuff, but Freedman's foolish sarcasm is annoying. (Note to author: if you can't tell the difference between verbs and nouns, perhaps you ought not make fun of others' language use.)

10: Fool Moon, Jim Butcher

Still not that great, but easy reading on the train... I'm lazy. Feed me pulp.

9: Storm Front, Jim Butcher

O.K., but not as great as people have claimed.

7: Jan de Vries: 1905-1962, Anthon de Vries

My father's biography of his father. Not as interesting to me as his autobiographical sketches I read earlier.

Also:

8: De Terugkeer, Eric Heuvel en Ruud van der Rol

Frustrating. I can't tell whether this is biographical, or fiction.