Throwback Thursday (May 17): Jurassic Park

Hey guys! I’m excited to announce that I’m going to start hosting a Throwback Thursday weekly meme with Mandi from Never Too Fond of Books! It’ll be a great way for us to reminisce about our favorite reads from years past, and introduce others to hidden gems they may never have found otherwise!

Coming soon: Fancy new button, fancy new guidelines, and general abundant fanciness.

I won’t be doing full-blown reviews for my Throwback Thursday posts. Instead, I’ll just be briefly highlighting books that may no longer be on the “New Releases” shelf, but still deserve a read.

However, some of my favorite Throwbacks will probably get the full fledged review treatment at some point. Be warned.

To kick off Throwback Thursdays, I decided to feature my gateway drug into the world of science fiction…

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (1942-2008).

I first picked this up (a.k.a. stole it from my dad) when I was 12. I knew the movie was coming out soon (please don’t do the math to figure out how old I am), and I wanted to read the book first to figure out if the movie would be too scary for me.

I was a big wuss at 12. I was terrified of Batman. Please don’t judge me.

This was the first adult sci-fi I ever attempted. I didn’t understand a lot of the “scientific” explanations that Michael Crichton gave, but the book still completely drew me in.

I really believed that it made sense that they were cloning dinosaurs, and that the experiment got totally out of control. I felt like I personally knew the many assorted characters, from black-leather-clad Malcolm to hard-core Muldoon to disgustingly devious Nedry. My pulse accelerated with each dino attack and narrow escape. I felt pain at each brutal death. I went to bed after searching the dark corners of my room for hidden compys.

I ended the book completely in love with sci-fi. Thus began a decade-long semi-obsession with the novels of Michael Crichton, and a lifelong interest in all things sci-fi, from spaceships and aliens, to time travel and wormholes, to robots, cylons and cyborgs.

Thank you, Michael Crichton. You made me the nerd I am today. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This is a Blog Hop! Feel free to link up to your own Throwback Thursday post!

8 thoughts on “Throwback Thursday (May 17): Jurassic Park

  1. The first Michael Crichton book I read was The Andromeda Strain. I read it for a “pick your own book for a book report thing” in freshman English. I remember this because I had to call my English teacher in freak-out mode because my dad’s computer ate the ginormous floppy disk I had used to save all of my project. Fun times, mid 90s. I will participate next week!
    Kelly recently posted..The Hunger Games Guide to Dystopian FictionMy Profile

    • Oh, ginormous floppies. Back when floppies were actually floppy. Those were the days.

      I love The Andromeda Strain. As I love most MC sci-fi books (his non sci-fi is kind of “eh”). The movie kinda stinks though. I wish they’d remake it (the recent-ish TV version DOES NOT COUNT).
      TheHouseworkCanWait recently posted..Feature & Follow #97My Profile

  2. Pingback: Throwback Thursday (May 24) – Assassin’s Apprentice, by Robin Hobb | The Housework Can Wait

  3. Jurassic Park is one of my husband’s favorite movies; we saw it on TV last month and I think it holds up pretty well. The same week I rewatched, a writing craft book I was going through talked about how well the author sets up the premise, how believable it is by combining real science with fantasy.

  4. Pingback: Book to Film: The Five Best (And Worst) Changes in Jurassic Park | The Housework Can Wait

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