Author's note

Okay. So. You might have noticed that I've read a few Michael Crichton books. I'm no genius, I know this, but people like Crichton amaze me. I would live vicariously through him if I knew him.

Science was never one of my strong subjects in school. Ever. I never really TRIED at it. It wasn't until I was in chemistry that I ever really got interested but I know it was only because I was able to crunch the numbers in the formulaic equations that I even gave a hoot. I might have shied away from science because my mom ALWAYS wanted me to be a doctor. ALL moms at some point dream of their children becoming doctors. But my mom REALLY tried to push me into the field and so as a teen I completely ran in the opposite direction. Obviously. It's not until I reached my late twenties that I even became curious about science. It's funny how when you're forced to learn things in school you're soooooo not interested, but when you become naturally curious on your own you actually hunger for the knowledge. I admit that it's almost a weird, morbid curiosity...but I'm still curious, nonetheless.

So back to Michael. An excerpt from his website states:
Crichton graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College, received his MD from Harvard Medical School, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, researching public policy with Jacob Bronowski. He has taught courses in anthropology at Cambridge University and writing at MIT. (Read more at http://www.crichton-official.com/ )

Now I'm impressed by a LOT in that little bit. Summa cum laude. At Harvard (College or University...it's STILL Harvard). Received his MD. Harvard Medical. Postdoctoral fellow. Salk Institute. Taught courses. At Cambridge. At MIT. His further credits are as author, film producer, film director, medical doctor and television producer. Seriously? Is he an over-achiever or does he just get bored easily? How does one have time to do all that and still ...live??

Anyway, the thing I enjoy about MC is that he takes some complex scientific notion and dumbs it down just enough for someone like me to get the gist while using it as a thread in the tapestry of his novels to weave a tale of murder, intrigue, and/or cover-up that makes him a millionaire and his publishers rich as well. I've gone as far as giving enough of a damn to actually read the list of resources he's used to create said tale. Don't misunderstand...I haven't read the resources themselves, only the list. Those brainiacs would lose me in the Table of Contents for sure!

So, if you want to chew the cud about a few of his books, just drop me a line. You can see which ones I've recently perused and if there's one you've read that I haven't, feel free to share your opinion of it and I'm sure I'll pick it up sooner or later.

Most importantly, support literacy.

Happy reading...be it about dinosaurs, murders, monkeys, romance, genetics, or comedy!