After a three-way fight for the film rights, Columbia Pictures came out the victor and will be developing a movie based on Isaac Asimov’s classic FOUNDATION trilogy.

Roland Emmerich, best known for his films INDEPENDENCE DAY, STARGATE and THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, has been tapped to helm the series.

The movie is supposed to be based on the first book (FOUNDATION) so should tell the story of a group of scientists who are desperately trying to predict the end of current civilization so they can protect mankind’s knowledge before it’s lost. (Another Dark Ages only on a Galactic scale this time.)

In the book, the people trying to save it all are led by Hari Seldon, a mathematician who has developed a theory called Psychohistory – a way to predict what extremely large groups of people will do in the future using mathematic equations.  His discoveries are horrifying.  Everything may be gone in less than 500 years given the way things are going.

The scientists then try to convince the Galactic Empire it has problems.  Unfortunately, at this late date in the game, saying anything against the GE is treasonable, so Hari is put on trial for his life.  Will anyone listen before it’s too late or will they kill the one person who might save humanity 30,000 years of horror?

(Sounds just like the kind of story Emmerich does well, don’t you think?)

No word yet on who might be playing the pivotal role of Hari Seldon or any type of projected release date.

The first book in the original FOUNDATION trilogy was originally published in 1951 as a set of 5 short stories with one central plot, but the message is still relevant today.  (A big one is: Learn from your mistakes before it’s too late… or else! =)  Then came FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE and SECOND FOUNDATION, supposedly finishing the story, but leaving quite a few loose ends according to most fans.

The trilogy then was followed by two sequels written almost 30 years after the original trilogy came out to try to satisfy readers who weren’t happy with the way things were left, and then two prequels, the last of which was the final book in the series written before Asimov passed away.

So, depending on how well the first movie does, there will be plenty of material left for more…

(It will be interesting to see how Hollywood handles the beloved trilogy after what they did to I, ROBOT, hmmm? I thought it was a good movie even if it did play fast and loose with the original books.)

Michael Crichton, bestselling author, film producer, film director, medical doctor and television producer, passed away on November 4th, 2008, age 66, in Los Angeles from cancer.   He is survived by his only child, daughter Taylor Anne, and his wife Sherri Alexander.  (Crichton has also been married 4 times previously.)

Michael Crichton (Full name: John Michael Crichton) was probably best known for his science fiction and techno-thriller books (JURASSIC PARK, THE LOST WORLD, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, CONGO), stories that relied heavily on his medical background for plot points and storylines.  His books, whether they were based on the military, the medical, the adventure or the cybernetic fields were almost always written along the line of “what if something went worng…[sic]“  While not anti-tech himself, he could see how arrogance and ignorance could cause an amazing amount of damage, and he used to his novels to educate people to those possibilities.

While in medical school, he wrote books under the pseudonyms John Lange and Jeffery Hudson.  A CASE OF NEED, his 4th published novel (originally written under the Hudson name, but later re-released under Crichton) won the 1969 Edgar Award for Best Novel. He also co-authored DEALING with his younger brother Douglas under the shared pen name Michael Douglas.  The dustjacket back contains a photo of Michael and Douglas at a very young age taken by their mother.

Besides devoting time to his extensive writing career, he was also the creator and executvie producer of the TV series E.R.,  along with writing screenplay adaptations of his books.

At 6’9″, he was one of the tallest bestselling writers around.  Worldwide, his  beloved books have sold over 150 million copies.  At this time of his death, a 26th (untitled so far) novel was in the works and is expected to be published posthumously in May 2009.

I picked up a set of Paranormal Romance paperback books that looked like possible ones to sell online, only to find myself pulling out a couple to read. (There I go again, ‘playing’ with the merchandise…)

One that caught my attention was PARALLEL ATTRACTION by Deidre Knight. Now I don’t know about you, but I think of paranormal as ESP, telekenesis, and will stretch it for the magical, such as vampires, werewolves, witches and such. However, I DON’T consider aliens from another planet ‘paranormal’. And that’s what the bulk of the characters are – from another planet.

I suppose, though, calling it Science Fiction Romance wouldn’t sell as well. (Something about polar opposite markets maybe?) Your typical Sci Fi reader isn’t usually found over in the Romance area of a bookstore and vice-versa, at least not without some prodding and pushing by the people peddling them.

I guess Paranormal Romance sounds a little more melodious to the marketing mavens, so that’s where books like these are herded, into the same corral as the others they can’t quite categorize. But consider the surprise of the reader who’s expecting a little more fantasy and magic instead of sci fi freedom fighting in her/(his) book. (Maybe they should come up with another category after all…?)

All in all, though, this book is actually quite good, for both genres, and I’m looking forward to finding the sequel by Deidre Knight, PARALLEL HEAT.

My mother got me hooked at a very early age on reading just about anything and everything (except for romance books which she considers to this day to be beneath her notice.) She, herself, was taught to read by age 3 such novels as JANE EYRE and THE GRAPES OF WRATH by her mother (possibly to get her out of grandma’s hair, but who am I to guess at grandma’s motives…? LOL)

I, myself, however, wasn’t able to read such lofty books until I was about 6 – guess that makes me a bit of a late bloomer, eh? (Seems I tested out at 12th grade reading level in 2nd grade – was it all the reading Mom got me hooked on at such an early age that made me that smart or was I smart to begin with. Hummmm.)

Now I mostly read for pleasure with my favorites being SCI FI, Mysteries/Thrillers, Biography, Star Wars related, Star Trek related, some Fantasy and even a few Romance books to mix it up. (So there, Mom!) Because she and I don’t overlap much (if at all) on our books of choice, the house is now threatening to buckle from the books bulging out the back. (At least it seems that way when you have as many books as we do between just the two of us and not enough shelves or closet space or floor space, in our case.)

The remedy? Sell a few of them off! At least, the duplicates to begin with. Then you sell the ones you only felt like reading once, but just couldn’t justify enough space for (without having to buy another home to house them all in, that is). Then you start hunting for books to sell. Which seems to only increase, not decrease, the numbers of books around you. Ummm – oooops. And the madness continues!!! (Anyone know a good 12-step biblioholics program you can recommend?)

The neat thing about selling books is that I’ve been exposing myself – no, not that kind! – to authors and genres I might not have read before, such as paranormal romance books, something I didn’t even know existed until researching who’s popular (and who’s not), and what other people are reading. I’ve expanded my biblio horizons which can only be for the good. (Unless you ask Mom, who’s competing for the same book storing space as I.)

So here’s just an idea of the things I read (and sell):