Hype-o-phobia

Buildup to Crash.

When everybody is talking about something - especially the same something, my spidey-sense tingles and counsels me to stay away from it.

Not quite sure why: I hesitate jumping in the bandwagon and following the latest fad and buying into any form of mass endorsement/hysteria.

Probably because my interests are not usually aligned with the latest fad? or, probably because doing what everybody else is doing robs me of my uniqueness? or, probably because i would be disappointed as i did not see what the others deem great about it? (psychobabble, i agree...)

So, naturally, when everybody raved about Harry Potter books, I just stood back and watched. It happens over and over.

And, when everybody absolutely could not stop talking about Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, I kept my distance.

Being a book-lover and all, and rather open-minded, one fine Monday, I happened upon Angels & Demons by Dan Brown on D's nightstand.

Not having cable or satellite or any perks of modern TV entertainment, and not finding anything watch-able on TV that night in network channels, and not having any other reading material handy (was still waiting for my holds on various books), I went to bed with this Dan Brown.

I was hooked.

Don't get me wrong. I've read my share of James Pattersons and John Grishams and David Baldaccis. But, after a point, they seemed to hold no surprises for me. So I had taken a hiatus from that genre and immersed myself in completing the Dragonlance Series (Weiss&Hickman), then stayed on Terry Pratchett for a while, then focused a lot on non-fiction. Now it was time to cycle back...

So, after finishing Angels & Demons (and being slightly disappointed by the convoluted ending), I got my hands on a copy of Da Vinci Code. It isn't the "latest craze" anymore. It is "old news". The movie flopped (depends on who you talk to, of course). And, I must say, I am enjoying the book a lot :-)

Timing makes all the difference.