Dan Brown Tops Oxfam's 'Least Wanted' Chart

The Guardian:

The bestselling American author, whose latest cryptographic thriller The Lost Symbol -- filled with such gems as "Is there life after death? Do humans have souls? Incredibly, Katherine had answered all of these questions and more" -- was published last autumn, is joined on Oxfam's most-donated line-up by the likes of John Grisham, Patricia Cornwell and Alexander McCall Smith.

Read the whole story: The Guardian

Comments

[LetMeUnderstandThis]

01:41 PM on 09/08/2010

Loved "Digital Fortress & Deception Point"

[JohnnyKay]

01:16 PM on 09/08/2010

Dan Brown is and will remain one of my favorite authors for the sheer weight of truth to be found in his writings.

If nothing else, his books make one think about the possibilities of all life and how well the winners change history to cover up their own misdeeds.

Just no more apologizing to the church of Rome when the truth becomes unbearable for it, please.

[elcerritan]

02:32 AM on 09/30/2010

Is this a serious post or are you being ironic? If serious, I feel sorry for you. Brown's books are utter cr@p.

[mozartian]

09:53 AM on 09/07/2010

I feel an author's presence in used book shops is less a reflection of the overall quality of the writing and more of a "would I read the book again" aspect. I enjoyed Angels & Demons tremendously but can't ever see a time when I'd want to open a copy again. Being a mystery doesn't help either; you already know how it ends.

Jane Austen & Wuthering Heights on the other hand, are constantly by my bedside. I'd want to read them again before I die.

[blueballs]

01:53 PM on 09/06/2010

Seems to me that in order to enter the aftermarket of 2nd-hand books, the writer has to sell the book in the first place and so having the largest presence in the aftermarket suggests the 'MOST Wanted' title, doesn't it?

Of course, it's all about the headline, as any 1st year j school attendee will tell you.

[thepointoforigin]

02:43 PM on 09/06/2010

Agreed, if Dan Brown put out a book today it would top the charts. Putting more books in people's hands raises the possibility that they will donate it back to a used book store

[JohnnyKay]

01:16 PM on 09/08/2010

Wisdom proffered.

[BlueZoo]

10:07 PM on 09/05/2010

Aw, c'mon! I love Dan Brown's books because I've been to Rome, lived in London and have spent a great deal of time in D.C. They're not "classics" but they are great escapist types of books that I can read in one day. All of the grousing here puts me in mind of all of those people who railed against our kids reading the Harry Potter books. Considering the state of education right now, I was thrilled that kids were reading anything at all! Not everything we read has to be great literature!

[elcerritan]

02:36 AM on 09/30/2010

I can't imagine how having been to Rome, living in London, or spending time in D.C. would confer any redeeming value on Brown's books. In fact, personal experience of these places should make reading his books just that much more excruciating. Brown's stuff isn't even good "trash." It's flat-out embarrassing. But I guess he's laughing all the way to the bank.

[BlueZoo]

11:01 AM on 09/30/2010

I love returning to cities I've been to or lived in and that is what I enjoy about Brown's books. It is elitism at its worst to believe you have to read Camus, etc., to prove to one and all you are so well-read! GWTW is probably on your "trash" list but I learned more about the Civil War from that book than I did all the years in high school! Later on, having had my interest piqued, I devoured every non-fiction book I could find on the subject. If you are so "embarrassed" by Brown's books, why did you even bother to click onto this story?

[Lev Raphael]

06:16 PM on 09/05/2010

I couldn't get into "Angels and Demons" when it first came out, but I found "The DaVinci Code" entertaining for all its glaring faults (and the let-down of an ending). I read it partly because of the publishing frenzy and partly because writer friends had such widely divergent opinions of it, so I was curious to see what my own reaction was. Though I've kept keep many review copies over the years, that wasn't worth holding on to, and I have no interest in reading him again.

[Woods Shade]

10:00 PM on 09/06/2010

Same here..Usually I keep books I've paid at least $19.99 for, but I gave the 'Da Vinci Code' to a friend who was going on her second tour to Iraq. Who knows where it's at now.

[folktraveler]

11:54 AM on 09/05/2010

ya I read "Lost Symbol" and found it a lost chance to read something more worthy. this book stunk

[InfinteShibumi]

11:16 AM on 09/05/2010

Questionable title. Brown's books are escapist fare--and who doesn't need that from time to time? One doesn't buy a Brown book because they are "extremely well written."

[elcerritan]

12:53 PM on 09/30/2010

Well, there's a Bell curve of escapist fare (which I enjoy as much as the next person), but Brown is definitely on the lowest of the low end. I want even my escapist fare to be at least COMPETENTLY written, but Brown's prose is actually painful. Making excuses for him by saying that no one reads escapist fare expecting it to be well-written is like saying it's OK to have someone drive bamboo stakes under your fingernails as long as they're doing while you're lounging on the beach.

[RobinSeattle]

10:54 AM on 09/05/2010

I guess that makes Brown the Peter Frampton of the literary world. When "Frampton Comes Alive" was selling 12 million copies, there was no shortage of copies of it in used record stores.

Also, there is the joke in Futurama about Ayn Rand's writing being used as toilet paper.

[elcerritan]

02:38 AM on 09/30/2010

I used The Da Vinci Code to start fires. What a piece of cr@p!

[CoronaDischarge]

10:40 PM on 09/04/2010

Seems to me Dan Brown's problem is that his books are all the same. Oh, he mixes up the venues and purposes, but at the core is Dan Brown casting himself as hero, seeing himself as clever, and getting the girl in the end, and necessarily both a beautiful and brainy girl at that. Fine as far as it goes, but does begin to bore after an iteration.

[JoJoRae]

08:28 PM on 09/04/2010

I am not a Brown fan but he sells books, as down Meyer who I think is horrible. People read all kinds of books for different reasons. I have a friend who is a stay at home mom with autistic twin 6 year old boys boys who loves trashy bodice rippers and Harlequins. I asked her how she could read such awful books, she is smart and well educated. She said "I just want to escape for those few brief minutes I get a chance to read. I don't want to think deep thoughts or find the meaning to life, I just want a break."

[nabrum]

07:34 PM on 09/04/2010

Hahahaha. The Snobs have all voiced they're opinion. So very easy to be elitist.
So what do YOU consider good literature?

[elcerritan]

02:40 AM on 09/30/2010

We're not talking about LITERATURE here, bubba. Brown's stuff isn't even good escapist trash "beach reading."

[thepoliticalcat]

07:14 PM on 09/04/2010

I can't imagine why anyone would *buy* his books in the first place. I read the first one, and was so thoroughly disgusted with it, I wanted to throw it away. Fortunately, it was a borrowed copy, so I allowed the owner to do it for me.

[elcerritan]

02:41 AM on 09/30/2010

I used my copy of The Da Vinci Code (which I read in its entirely - sort of like not being able to tear your eyes away from a horrendous accident) as fireplace kindling.

[theredqueen]

07:01 PM on 09/04/2010

He is really, really a waste of paper, awful, peurile and SILLY. I want my money back.

[chicamorena]

05:59 PM on 09/04/2010

Because he's a crappy writer. 'nuff said.