The Da Vinci Ho-Hum

The Husband and I went to see the movie, a week after it opened, using free tickets we got in a software purchase deal. We were happy we didn’t put out any cash or spend any time waiting in line.

I had read the book; he had not. Neither of us was impressed with the movie, but I was more disappointed. I generally see movies based on their reviews – if reviews are lukewarm or bad, I figure it’s a movie I’ll love, and vice versa. In the case of Da Vinci, the reviews were on the money. In defense of my "to see or not to see" system, however, “Crash” has become one of my all-time favorites, I laughed and cried (always a good sign) through “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” hummed happily along with “Hustle and Flow,” will never watch “The Notebook” again, thought “Brokeback Mountain” was boring and stupid, and found “Good Night and Good Luck” too lacking in any detail or story line for my taste -- much like that other acclaimed Clooney movie, "Syriana."

As usual, this book was better than the movie. The movie, however, was easier to follow, and left out some of the book’s twists and turns. The book leaves you hanging; the movie settles the question of who carries Jesus’ bloodline, but by the time they tell you, you’ve long figured it out for yourself.

Ho-hum. Out of five stars, barely one, okay? As The Husband said, “We should have known. Much ado about nothing . . .”

Books, Books and More Books

Well, John Amishlaw, I’m not nearly as well-read as you and tend to favor fiction and current political tomes. However, I’ll give it a shot if you’ll allow me some leeway on the categories and promise not to blog about my simple tastes.


THREE INFLUENTIAL BOOKS IN MY LIFE:

The Bible, for reasons too numerous to explain here. I’ve never forgotten childhood Bible stories, some of which were incredibly exciting to me. I now consider it a guidebook for life, in a lot of ways, and even amaze myself with what I can recall. Like George Bush quoting a verse exactly backwards during a presidential debate!

Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice: At the age of 19, I read this book for a summer school class on the “black experience” in America at EMC, no less. Cleaver’s writings about race, class and sex in America blew me away. His subsequent break with the Panthers and eventual slide into crime and drug use broke my heart.

Mr. Grabbit and Little Wung Fu of China: Two children’s stories that I will never forget. Mr. Grabbit was a greedy rabbit who ended up clinging to the church steeple because he couldn’t decide which of his four umbrellas to carry, carried them all, and got blown away by a gust of wind. He experienced an ah-ha moment, and after his rescue sold all the “stuff” he didn’t really need and was never greedy again! Little Wung Fu of China was a first or second grade summer Bible school series that fascinated me, probably because it was the first story I heard about someone who lived on the opposite side of the world.


THREE BOOKS I'VE READ MORE THAN ONCE:

Gone with the Wind. Love it, love it, love it. No reason other than it’s just a wonderful story about a woman who wouldn’t give up. I’ve used the timeless lines, “I’ll think about that tomorrow” and “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” on occasions too numerous to list.

Anne Lamott’s Traveling Mercies. Not only have I read this book several times, I’ve given it to a lot of friends, and everyone loved Anne’s story of stumbling toward faith. I can’t recommend most of her other books, but her newest, Plan B, was back on track again.

Phil Yancey’s What’s So Amazing About Grace. My nephew, Jeremy, recommended this book and I ended up reading the first couple chapters standing in Barnes and Noble. Everyone’s favorite line: “There’s nothing you can do to make God love you more. There’s nothing you can do to make God love you less.” In that same vein, Chris Rice’s Grace Matters is a wonderful book, also about grace, grace with feet on it.


THREE BOOKS I DISLIKED TOO MUCH TO FINISH:

God’s Politics. While I have a lot of respect for Jim Wallis, what he had to say in this book could have been said in less than 100 pages. After plowing about two-thirds of the way through, I gave it away.

Bill Clinton’s My Life. Same criticism as God’s Politics, but I’d cut Bill a little more slack because we all know how he loves to hear himself talk . . .

Anything written by Robert Ludlum after about 1982. The early ones are great; the later ones are so discombobolated I found myself reading and rereading just trying to figure out what was going on. Finally gave up!


THREE PURE PLEASURE SERIES:

Robert Parker’s Spenser: Love the sparce conversation, Spenser’s long-suffering girlfriend, Susan, and his bald, silent partner, Hawk.

Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum: Private Eye Stephanie is torn between two amazing love interests (Joe Morelli and the ever mysterious Ranger) and burdened with one of the craziest families I’ve ever seen.

James Patterson’s Alex Cross: Alex is always a good read; Patterson’s other stuff isn’t so hot.


THREE BOOKS I RECENTLY PURCHASED:

Tavis Smiley’s Contract with Black America. Bill Cosby should sit down and read this book.

Time on Two Crosses – The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin. Rustin was the major player in Martin Luther King’s introduction to non-resistance and a long-time, passionate pacifist. He was, however, kept in the background of the civil rights movement and other historic moments because of his homosexuality. Great reading and an interesting missing piece of history.

Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code. Finally read this the other day at the insistence of my step-daughter, Emily. Gave me scads of material for new conspiracy theories, a real problem now that I’ve got plenty of time to think. How about Mennonites and Free Masons and their involvement in . . . okay, okay, time for me to quit.