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Mar. 28--The hardback version of "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown has been a blockbuster for three years, a run so incredible that there was no need to publish a less-expensive paperback edition.
But the upcoming premiere of the film version on May 19 from Hollywood heavyweights Tom Hanks (star) and Ron Howard (director) apparently is spurring today's release of the paperback.
Kathi Lamonski, manager of the Fig Garden Book- store, believes that's the case. She points out that it's highly unusual for a book to remain only in hardback only for so long. "The Da Vinci Code," published in March 2003, has been a juggernaut on the best-seller lists, selling a reported 43 million copies.
Now, Random House is publishing two paperback versions: one for $7.99 and a larger version for $14.95.
The fast-paced thriller, which starts at the Louvre in Paris, throws Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon into a murder case and chase that involves clues based in the history of religion and art. Though wildly popular, the novel has come under fire from religious groups on several points, including its depiction of Mary Mag- dalene's relationship with Jesus.
In addition, two authors of the nonfiction "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" sued Random House for copyright infringement. The three-week trial in London recently ended, and the justice in the case could hand down a decision in a couple of weeks.
Lamonski says the hardback version has sold in "huge numbers" at the Fig Garden store and anticipates that the paperback versions also will sell well.
"People planning on going to the movie will want to read the book first," she says. And, she says, people who see the movie will be intrigued by details they missed and want to read the book.
"Just when you think that everyone has read it, it comes out in paperback and has a whole new readership."
The reporter can be reached at fmatlosz@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6428.
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