And by mystery, I mean, what the hell is with this book?!? The hardcover planted itself on the bestseller lists three years ago and hasn’t left, and now Random House is planning on printing more than five million copies of the trade paperback . Not bad for what is, for all intents and purposes, an airplane/beach read.

Random House said yesterday [ed. — yesterday as in 1/8] that it was planning to print more than five million copies of “The Da Vinci Code” in three paperback versions beginning in March. The decision signals that the publisher is confident that a huge audience remains for a book that has been near the top of the hardcover best-seller lists for almost three years.

The paperback editions of the book will be in stores on March 28, roughly seven weeks before the movie premiere on May 19 of “The Da Vinci Code,” starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard. That same day, Random House will publish two versions of an illustrated screenplay, to include the film’s full shooting script and still photographs and storyboards from its production.

Well, at least people are reading something.

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