On this day...

American novelist Dan Brown was born in 1964. The son of a maths teacher, Brown was introduced to puzzles and cyphers from an early age and participated in the treasure hunts which have become so emblematic of his works. Perhaps unusually for a blockbuster writer, Brown, after graduating from university, firstly pursued a career in music - his opening release being a children's cassette tape titled 'SynthAnimals'. After only selling a hundred copies, and possibly starting to doubt the seriousness of his work, Brown targeted the adult market, joining the National Academy of Songwriters and moving to Hollywood.

Yet it was while on holiday in Tahiti in 1993, that Brown discovered his literary career path. Inspired by reading Sidney Sheldon's 'The Doomsday Conspiracy', Brown began to write thrillers, publishing his first, 'Digital Fortress', in 1998. However his foray into the field proved remarkably unsuccessful, until the release of his fourth novel 'The Da Vinci Code', which ignited the public's attention and gathered an estimated $250 million in sales. Preceeded by 'Angels and Demons', 'The Da Vinci Code' was followed by 'The Lost Symbol' in 2009, with Brown reportedly invisaging another 12 books in the series. Although popular by sales figures, Brown cuts a figure of controversy, with many criticising his perceived attack on Christianity, as well as many deeming his writing style poor.

Peruvian Pirates...

The West has pirated DVDs, the East music, yet Latin America seems to have a penchant for books. In Peru especially, the illegal book market at least equals its legal contemporary. The rise in such a trend is testament to Peru's thirst for knowledge; books being seen as the next stepping stone to increasing socioeconomic development. Yet in a country where a book costs approximately 20% of an average weekly wage, piracy is perhaps the only way to achieve this. Though, says on critic, such as crime has nothing to do with monetary circumstances, indeed, 'the same people who would never consider buying fake whisky think nothing of buying a pirated book. There’s no respect for intellectual production in this country'. From Stephanie Meyer to Dan Brown, no author escapes; some even succumbing before publication. Yet what must be most profound, it a country where people want to read, want to learn, want to advance, the National Library's fund remains constant: zero.

A magical decade for J.K. Rowling..

The Harry Potter phenomenon has seen J.K. Rowling become the bestselling author of the decade. Beginning with the fourth installment in 2000, Rowling has seen sales of her books reach 29,084,999; generating an income of £225.9m. The incredible figure outstrips her nearest rival, Roger Hargreaves of Mr. Men fame, by 14,921,858 copies. Other popular modern writers to make it into the top ten, include Dan Brown and Jacqueline Wilson. There are also places in the top 50 for writers no longer alive; J.R.R. Tolkein and Roald Dahl both feature and Shakespeare squeezes in at 45 - amassing £17.8m worth of sales more than 390 years after his death.

Lost Symbol finds its place in the charts..

For the second time this decade, Dan Brown finds himself top of the book charts at Christmas. Following his 2004 success with 'The Da Vinci Coode', Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' just beat perennial bestseller 'The Guiness Book of World Records' into second place. Past years have seen celebrity autobiographies dominate the charts from names such as Dawn French and Russell Brand, but this year only two have even entered the top ten; Ant and Dec's and Frankie Boyle's memoirs coming in at ninth and tenth respectively. Instead, it is mainly fiction that compromises the chart; two of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight saga, as well as novels by Jodi Picoult and Stieg Larsson proving bestsellers. The chart also leaves room for the more traditional, and the latest installment of Delia's Christmas recipies makes it to number eight.

McCarthy rules the naughties...

The Times, has published a list of the '100 Greatest Books of the Decade'. Including works from all genres, Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage and Seamus Heaney are the ambassadors for poetry, with 'Rapture', 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' and 'District and Circle' respectively. Non- fiction works also feature; Obama's autobiography leads the list at number 2, and Dawkins, Bryson and grammatical work 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves' occupy a place in the top 100. Naturally the list is dominated by fiction novels, with household names, such as Ian McEwan and J.K. Rowling, as well as Man Booker Prize winners Yann Martel and Aravind Adiga. Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road', was voted as the greatest book of the decade. Running in conjunction, was the '5 Worst Books of the Decade'; a list including 'Being Jordan' by Katie Price. Author Dan Brown has the unusual accolade of being cited on both lists; perhaps testament to the success of his novels in both polarising opinion and raising publicity.