Dan Brown Website Fun

I do love to spend a good deal of time at Dan Brown's websites. And one of the most fun things to do is play the games/quizzes/treasure hunts he has posted there.

First up is "The Da Vinci Code Web Quest" which I've done a few times and had such fun in the process. The mysterious background music only adds to the, erm, tension?!

Check it out at this link: Da Vinci Code Web Quest

There is also a featured "Uncover The Code" challenge with similar eerie music aiding you on your way. It starts off pretty easily for the Dan Brown fan, but soon becomes very tricky. If you don't have the book handy you can select an image of the cover on the website to help you solve the clues.

So good luck with this one! Uncover The Code

The Lost Symbol is Dan Brown's most recent novel and is packed full of symbols, many of which are found on the base of the pyramid Robert Langdon finds. On this website, there is an unbelievably difficult game called "Symbol Quest". You just have to select the correct symbol from a cluster of symbols aided by a written clue. You are allowed just 3 wrong answers before the game is up!

Of course, you can always use Google to help you out, but see how many you can find based on your own knowledge!

Here's the link: Symbol Quest

Have fun!

Le Tour de France

So I really enjoyed watching Le Tour de France for the last week or so. I previously thought watching cycling on TV was boring, but how wrong I was!

The scenery as these athletes climbed and descended the Alps was stunning and marvellous. The athletes were physical specimens with great endurance, skill and stamina.

And so on to last night where they fought out the final stage at the Champs Elysees, where some of the most famous landmarks in France lie. The aerial views of the city of Paris were amazing! 

I saw the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, a stunning building. I also observed the famous Arc de Triomphe. The cyclists also cycled past the Tuileries Gardens which sit opposite The Louvre.

Fans of Dan Brown will feel rather well-acquainted with Paris from reading The Da Vinci Code. Brown describes action in the Tuileries Gardens and at The Louvre.

Seeing these live images and monuments last night, brought The Da Vinci Code flooding back and I feel like reading that great novel all over again now that I can really place these locations in my head.

Anyone else enjoyed watching Le Tour de France?

Book trumps movie

I'm sure there are many others who also think of Tom Hanks every time they read Dan Brown's works involving Robert Langdon. In fact, it can be at times a little confusing as to which character is copying the other. We know that Tom Hanks plays the role of Robert Langdon. But he seems so perfect for that role that whenever I read the Da Vinci Code, it appears that Robert Langdon is playing the role of Tom Hanks!

I must admit that I find the book a whole lot better than the movie. I would always take a book over a movie. Although Tom Hanks plays Robert Langdon so well, that partnership is etched in my mind so clearly that reading the book is like a constant movie playing in my head.

Dan Brown does a fantastic job at writing a story which allows the reader to clearly 'view' the action in their minds page by page. Watching the movie takes away some of those 'scenes' I so enjoy whilst reading it.

Give me The Da Vinci Code book and I'm in my element!

Missing Dan Brown

I've not read any of Dan Brown's books for quite some time now. I had started reading The Da Vinci Code with an older English student, but he's since stopped tuition class due to work demands and little time.

The last I read was The Lost Symbol, which wasn't as good as The Da Vinci Code, and due to the enormity of the latter, The Lost Symbol came across as quite disappointing. If The Da Vinci Code didn't exist, I'm sure The Lost Symbol would be a spectacular novel. It was an interesting story revolving around the Masons, even if the final ending of the novel was a little deflating.

I wonder when his next book will be finished? What is he working on now? How long will we have to wait this time? I'm hoping for a blockbuster to follow after The Lost Symbol. But no doubt that takes time.

In the meantime I think I need to start reading Dan Brown again. Which of his novels should I dip into???

The Vitruvian Baby

Does this image look familiar?

Thought I'd try something light-hearted with my young daughter, Lauren a couple of years back.

Based on Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Vitruvian Man", a study depicting the human body and proportions with a host of other permutations:

I now introduce my version of this famous depiction . . . "The Vitruvian Baby"

You will recall Jacques Sauniere's corpse lying on the floor of the Louvre as described by Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code, and as seen in the movie of the same title:

The human body in this position resembles a pentagram - a five-pointed star, a symbol of perfection, along with many other meanings explored in The Da Vinci Code.

My daughter looked a little uncomfortable didn't she?!