Book reading

I recently indulged in a hobby I rarely partake of, and that is novel reading. I read the sixth installment of the Harry Potter series last week, and last night I completed The Da Vinci Code.

It is interesting to see the similarities in the two stories. Both involve mysteries and conspiracies with amazing plot twists, and they both draw upon mythology to a significant extent to provide the context for the stories. One, of course, is entirely fantasy (Potter), while the other is steeped in Christian (re: Roman Catholic) tradition. In addition, both books make reference to a figure from the 14th Century, Nicolas Flamel, who very few people would have heard of if not for these books. To top things off, there is even a reference to Harry Potter in The Da Vinci Code.

Like I said, I don't read a lot of novels. But when I do, it is usually because the story is so well-written (very descriptive) and filled with twists and turns that I don't want to stop reading until my eyes can barely stay open.

I was thinking about the two authors, J.K. Rowling (Potter) and Dan Brown (Code), and I realized that they also have an important similarity that is key to their success as writers: they do a LOT of research. I read where Rowling keeps a closet full of papers with information about various mythologies from around the world, and she works them into her story. Dan Brown traveled around Europe for a year to research the facts for his book. The result is that there are many historical truths built into these works of fiction, which is why I think they are so popular in literature.

Anyway, I decided to buy Dan Brown's other novels as a result of my enjoyment of The Da Vinci Code, and maybe I'll learn a few more interesting facts among the fiction along the way.