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More Deaths by Dino

So, once again, I am behind. Blogging is something that I enjoy, but rarely make time for, and I am really going to try and rectify that for the rest of the year. I whittled down my reading list to sixty-eight books--I've read twenty-five so far--again, still hopelessly behind--which makes for about two books a week until New Years Day. I have plenty of books in my house to accomplish this, I just desperately need to make the time. I spent a lot of time at the beginning of the year chastising myself for not writing. And a lot of time in the middle of the year trying to find the motivation to write. Gonna be honest, friends, it isn't coming to me this time around. I have the whole book plotted out,  but when it comes to writing it, there is a lack of inspiration. It falls flat, and so I am thinking of setting it aside for a moment and focusing on my other great love--reading.
Last time, I reacted to reading Jurassic Park. I seriously enjoyed reading Jurassic Park. If you haven't read Jurassic Park yet, go do so. I'll totes lend you my copy--maybe. It is definitely a book that is worth reading, not just for the thrills and excitement of real-life dinosaurs tormenting terrified humans, but for the theories put forth by Crichton throughout the book. Evolution and extinction, the two points on a revolving cycle of life and death. If you have any interest in such things, you'll enjoy Jurassic Park for more than just the anticipation of every character being brutally eaten by a genetically engineered dino. Although, of course, that part is fun, too.



Can you blame him?


Following along with this theme of evolution and extinction, Crichton dives into the world of behavior and adaptation in book two, The Lost World.


RAAWWRR!
ahem


Unlike the first book, this one took me much longer to finish. Granted, there were some things going on outside of reading that caused me to put off consuming this book, but I felt slightly less compelled by the catalyst of the story. Richard Levine wants to prove that extinction doesn't happen the way we think, he believes that there is such thing as a truly lost world, where ancient creatures still roam the earth. Of course, what he stumbles upon isn't a society of dinos that have been around for millennia, but an island of hopelessly instinct-less dinos that behave somewhat like you might imagine a group of rowdy teenage carnivores might. So, that makes for exciting reading. But, I didn't like Richard. I really love Ian Malcolm, who is back and annoying as ever with his theory and a constant need to explain that theory to literally any human with ears. And the wonderful Sarah Harding, who doesn't have any fucks to give and will go up against any carnivore in the ecosystem. It was great to see such a wonderful female character kicking ass and showing the boys what it means to be brave and selfless. And, along with that, there is yet another little girl on the island--Crichton loves making us worry about children--who benefits greatly from the presence and confidence of Dr. Harding. Win one for the ladies!
There is a little boy on the island, too, but much like the other boys on the island--I'm looking at you, Richard Levine!--he's a little chicken. But, damn good on the computer. However, in the end, the true saviors of the day are the ladies, and I appreciate that.
There is Doc Thorne, who is very much a badass himself. Along with Harding, he manages to save as many as he can and get them the holy living fuck off the island. He has a wonderful way of summing up existence and the very end of the book and I highly recommend listening to his advice.
Again, as I said with the first book, I am glad that I read this book. Crichton's perspective is eerily prophetic and one that is worth hearing, especially as we careen toward our own extinction. It isn't so much about a catastrophic event anymore as it is about our behavior and the way we interact with the world around us. Definitely a lesson to take home and apply to one's life. It will be interesting to see how the sixth extinction comes along and even more interesting to put Ian Malcolm's extinction theory to the test.




By the way, the book is completely different from the movie, so, there's that reason to read it.

I am currently reading Contact by the wonderful Carl Sagan--another sadly dead dude. :( I will live tweet it as I read it, though tweets are kind of rare unless something truly insane happens. Refer to my live tweets of Marcia Clark's memoir of the OJ trial. (twitter handle: @Skeleton_Friend)
Speaking of! I will be posting about that wonderful book as well. Pretty much immediately after I wrap this up.
See you then!

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