A reminder for me: Bookstores

Bucket List: Bookstores to visit

Just another reason to let the travel bug bite.

Day 04 — A Favorite Book

See? I didn't lie. I KNEW I wouldn't be consistent!

This one is gonna be a toughie for me. Not that I don't like to read. I actually go through reading spurts...I won't read for months and then all of a sudden I'll pick up a book and devour it in a few hours or a few days and move on to the next one. Repeat the process for about a month or 6 books, whichever comes first and then I'll stop until the next spurt hits.

I have about 20 books sitting in my library that I've purchased (pre-eReader) and have yet to read. I'm waiting for the next spurt. Or vacation. (Six weeks and counting...but that's another post entirely!)

And here's another thing. I read a lot of crap. I know I do. I should be reading novels that inspire people. I should probably read the books that take the national bestseller lists by storm. The ones that Oprah recommends in her book club. Eh. Notsomuch. I also don't read Twilight. Not that I'm opposed. I've just never been so inclined. I haven't read a romance novel in decades. I find them so ridiculous and so deeply fictitious that there should be a whole new classification for them. I find I often get bored with novels that have too much flourish and flowery detail. Get to the point already. (I'm one to talk, huh? LOL Pot, kettle, black...)

I read spy novels and forensic thrillers. Boy books. I know. Weird. 'Cause I'm all about the pink. And sparkly. Maybe this is my way to balance things out. Yin to yang. Black to white. Frogs, snails and puppy dog tails to the sugar, spice and everything nice. You get the picture.

So, the last book I read was "The American Assassin" by Vince Flynn, and I read it on my Kindle. I've been known to read a lot of Patricia Cornwell and Michael Crichton (RIP). I've also delved into Jeffrey Deaver, Ted Bell and James Rollins. The last of which is somewhat like Crichton in that there is always some weird scientific phenomena that moves the plot along. I used to read Stephen King, V.C. Andrews and Anne Rice in junior high. Haven't read them since. Isn't that strange? It seems strange to me especially since I was never a goth. Ha!

But as for favorite books, I reach back to classics like "Pride and Prejudice" or "The Old Man and the Sea". Talk about flourish and flowery detail! What a contradiction to my normal reading habits. Again...maybe it goes back to balance. Maybe that's why I limit my reading of that ilk...I tend to get lost in the details.

There are several books that most people are forced to read when they're in school that I haven't read. One such title, "The Catcher in the Rye." Others include "Great Expectations," "The Great Gatsby," and "A Tale of Two Cities". I've seen the movies, never read the books. Sad, huh? How did I get through high school English without having to read those?? I have no idea. I've added them to my reading bucket list. Is there such a thing? There is now. Oh, and funnily enough, I'm curious to read "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"...fascinating, tragic, and highly acclaimed. I know there are several more such books that I should read.

I'll be curious to hear your suggestions of things to add.

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!