4 Years Overdue, New Dan Brown to Land in Sept.

Da Vinci Code follow-up sells 1M copies in 24 hours

(NEWSER) - To the surprise of exactly no one, Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code follow-up, The Lost Symbol, is a smash hit, selling, between its hardcover and e-book editions, 1 million copies in its first day on the shelves, the New York Times reports. Amazon and Barnes & Noble both say it’s the best first day any adult fiction book has ever seen. More»

What will we still be talking about next decade? Britney, for one

(NEWSER) - The ‘00s were full of important contributions to culture, but which ones will we still be talking about in another decade? Here are some of New York ’s picks:

• TV: The Sopranos for inventing quality cable, American Idol for changing the music industry, and of course all things Oprah Winfrey.
• Books: The Da Vinci Code for singlehandedly sustaining the book industry, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay for blazing the trail of combining geek lit with high lit.

Brown's DaVinci Code sequel has stunning first-week sales of 2M+

(NEWSER) - Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code sequel sold more than 2 million English-language copies in its first week, a Doubleday spokesman tells Publisher’s Weekly, making it the best debut Doubleday—or, for that matter, parent company Random House—has ever had. “The book is exceeding our expectations,” the spokeswoman said. The figure includes hardcovers, audiobooks and e-books. Symbol still has a ways to go, however, before matching Da Vinci, which has more than 81 million copies in print. More»

The master pulls off a DC Da Vinci Code : secrets, conspiracy, plus giant squid

(NEWSER) - Nobody can pull off Dan Brown's well-worn Da Vinci Code formula for treasure-hunt thrills anymore—except Dan Brown, Janet Maslin writes in the New York Times. Brown's new book The Lost Symbol, hitting bookstores tomorrow, "clicks even if at first it looks dangerously like a clone," packing in the "neat tricks" and "guilty pleasures" that are Brown's forte. More»

Big-selling author could lift e-reader sales

(NEWSER) - Dan Brown’s next book has a 6.5 million-copy print run—one of the biggest ever—but the Lost Symbol could mark a new chapter in the digital world, the Daily Telegraph reports. The Da Vinci Code author’s publisher says an e-book version of the novel will be released Sept. 15, the same day as the hardcover, which could help sales of e-readers soar. More»