This week’s Booking Through Thursday topic was a fill-in-the-blanks question, rather than the usual short answer/essay, and I’m answering it late again – but that lets me have a twofer and combine it with my Friday Fill-ins.

BTT question suggested by John:

How about a chance to play editor-in-chief? Fill in the blanks:

__________ would have been a much better book if _____________________.

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

My initial reaction to the question was to think about going back through my book-review posts to find one I’d been somewhat ambivalent about and consider what might have improved it (in my opinion, of course), but before I got around to that, I had another thought:

The Da Vinci Code would have been a much better book if it had been written by a better writer.

Yeah, I know that just sounds mean, but I’ll elaborate.

To begin with, I don’t hate The Da Vinci Code. I actually found the plot itself pretty gripping, and thought the action sequences moved things along well. I should also note that I don’t really have an issue with the conspiracy-theory premise either; I’m not sure how much I buy into this particular one, but if you’re talking about high-level, long-term suppression and manipulation by any large, entrenched institution in general, and by the Catholic Church specifically – sure, I’m open to the possibility, at least. In short, I think it’s a good story – but I don’t think it’s told well at all.

I don’t read all that much genre fiction, but I know it can be done well. For example, one genre I do indulge in on occasion is the “legal thriller;” Scott Turow can write ’em, and John Grisham’s writing has gotten better over time, I think. Dan Brown’s definitely got some weaknesses. The characters in Code are sketches at best, but in a plot-driven book I’m not sure how big a problem that is. However, in the “swashbuckling adventurous professor” category, there’s really only one entry – Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. – and Robert Langdon is nowhere near his league. What really got to me about this book, though, is the way the plot stops driving – it just plain stops dead – for chapters where all the characters do is explain elements of the conspiracy to someone else. It disrupted the narrative, and I found it enormously frustrating as a reader.

My other major frustration with the book is that the great Renaissance man’s name was Leonardo. Vinci is where he came from; places of origin can indeed be a source for surnames, but Leonardo didn’t have one. I know I’m fighting convention on this one, but it’s a pet peeve.

There are certain “everyone’s-talking-about-it” books that I read because I think I probably should check them out for myself. The Da Vinci Code was one of those, and although I do think it could have been better, I’ve never been sorry I read it. That’s more than I can say for another “everyone’s-talking” book, The Bridges of Madison County; I don’t think anything could have made that one better, although I’ve heard the movie version made a pretty good attempt at it. That’s time I’ll never get back…

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And since I’m drawing blanks anyway…

Friday Fill-Ins #63

1. Contact may cause blistered fingers.
2. The parties hereto do mutually agree to remain on their respective sides of the back seat, and keep their hands to themselves.
3. Disney parks are exhausting and expensive, but I like them anyway and want to go back to Disneyland.
4. A long weekend sounds really good right about now! (But I have to wait two weeks for my little personal holiday…)
5. I positively need more hours in the day.
6. “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles always makes me smile 🙂
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to a quiet evening at home, tomorrow my plans include errands and cleaning (oh boy, what fun!) and Sunday, I want to spend time with Tall Paul, and do some reading and writing! I have auditors coming into the office next week, so I want to relax and enjoy the weekend!

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