The DaVinci Ho

No, it's not the porn version of the Dan Brown book, but a self-description because of my love of all things DaVinci Code lately. At BEA, DaVinci was on everyone's brains, lips, and book tables - a combination of the overwhelming success and controversy the book's received, the trial that's just been completed, and the movie's opening on BEA weekend. Every publisher in the world is trying to cash in on DaVinci (and I'm no exception - I am a shameless marketer, after all. I've got Cosimo's Secret Societies books front and center on our website) and I was there to check it out.

Fodor's was giving away their Guide to the DaVinci Code: On the Trail of the Bestselling Novel, and of course they were, being owned by Random, the publisher of The DaVinci Code. The book is a tour guide to the novel, allowing you to follow the paths the characters took in the book, providing photography and info on the artwork and locations Brown mentions, and all that fun stuff. Right into my overstuffed tote bag, that baby went, along with two other tour guides on Ireland and Costa Rica, both of which I'm hoping to get back to. I may actually give the Costa Rica one to Karen if she ends up booking her honeymoon there like she's been saying she wants to. I'll hyperlink the tour titles once I remember whose they are...

Frommer's was giving away their Washington DC guides, so I picked one up, on the outside chance I'd be awake enough to enjoy some nightlife after BEA and before my 5 a.m. journey began the next morning. I ended up looking up a restaurant for Michelle actually, so it wasn't in vain.

Anyway, I also ended up snagging myself a hilarious DaVinci parody, The DaVinci Mole, by a pseudonymous author, Dr. Ian Browne. Apparently, this is a pseudonym for a well-known figure who must remain anonymous for "reasons of security." There's actually a contest if you can figure out who it is - you'll know the minute you read the description, and the introduction by "Dr. Browne" is pretty hilarious. I read it on the plane back from DC and thought it was very funny and well done.

So while I wouldn't spend any more money on DaVinci or his code, yeah - I'm a DaVinci Ho. What can I say, I like books that make me think.

More BEA later.