I am not a blogger

What is it about being on a plane that makes a Stephen King or Michael Crichton or John Grisham book so appealing? Is it because that is mostly what you see in an airport Hudson News? Is it because they are easy but compelling reads? A quick book that you can't put down. I know they are considered sort of fluff because they are prolific writers. Well that brings up a new point: when I discovered Kurt Vonnegut in high school, and talked about him to my AP English teacher, that was her comment, as she looked down her nose--- he was too prolific. What about frequent writing makes them any less talented or appealing? Give me a break. English snobs.

So back to my airplane read. On the cheap flights I usually end up taking, there is no TV in the seat. In a way, that's alright because it's my excuse to read a book I'd never read at home. And I like those fluff prolific writers, they don't seem bad to me at all. I don't see where they are all that different from Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and he is respected yes? This past trip I grabbed NEXT by Michael Crichton. I usually go for Grisham first, it's just too easy and what guy can't get into a good law story. But the rows were filled with Crichton books, and there was a purple monkey on the cover. One pretty cool thing about Michael Crichton was summed up in his intro/prologue: "Everything in this book is fiction, except for the parts that aren't." So in his typical style, he creates these really believable scenarios, completely based in science and technology advances. I am a science junkie, he sort of reminds me of myself the way my brain works. You know, he is the Jurassic Park dude, and tell me you didn't think when you saw that movie that - well-that really COULD happen, they could great a dinosaur in a Petri dish. And tell me you didn't learn much of what you know about dinosaurs from that movie too-like about the sizes, and how ruthless raptors are, and how to hide from a T. Rex by being still, now that will come in handy.

The basis of this book is all about gene patents and biotechnology. And Yes, they are patenting genes, court battles over them, universities are now into it for the profit, it's all scary stuff. Big drug and research companies. I know more about it now than I did before reading this, and I seriously found it fascinating that there are companies BUYING the genes that represent certain diseases. They own the disease. Unreal.

One thing about reading to me, it's like a dream that stays with me. There was a character in the book that was a chip that was artificially bred with a human, and a family raised him trying to pull him off as a real boy. But he was part ape and would attack and bite the other kids. I couldn't get that freaking monkey-boy out of my head the whole trip, which was to Mexico where I know I saw a monkey running around the resort grounds.

The airplane read is so quick and easy, the entire book was finished between the flight there and back. It's not a commitment. It's part of vacation. Another brainless release and escape.