Michael Crichton, bestselling author of such techno-thrillers and adventure fiction JURASSIC PARK, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN and THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY and creator of the TV series ER, was also an avid collector of fine art.  Four paintings from his collection, all created sometime in the 1960s and worth approx. $30-35 million, will be on display in Britain this week before they go under Christie’s hammer this May.

continue reading "Michael Crichton’s Collection Goes On The Block"

Here’s a neat little game I came across on Facebook:

Grab the book nearest you. Right now. • Turn to page 56. • Find the fifth sentence. • Post that sentence AS YOUR STATUS. AND POST these instructions in a comment to this status. • Don’t dig for your favourite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST book!

My quote turned out to be:

“To reach a desired goal, a person must implement planning along with a sincere desire to work hard.”

(The book closest to me at that moment just happened to be Delmar’s Comprehensive Medical Assisting Administrative and Clinical Comptencies 2nd Edition – say THAT fast 3 times in a row! LOL)

Nothing I like better than combining 2 things I love: books and games. Try it yourself. It’s fun and sometimes amazing, sometimes pretty darn funny and on occasion, pretty dang weird!

Jim Harrison, best known for his book of novellas LEGENDS OF THE FALL which had the title story made into a movie with Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins, has a new book of novellas out, called THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER.  (And no, it isn’t a dirty jokebook, although it does have some sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll in at least one of the stories.)

This new book includes three stories: THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER, a coming of age tale; BROWN DOG REDUX, a story of the continuing adventures of Brown Dog, a part Native American character from an earlier book; and THE GAMES OF NIGHT, a werewolf tale.

As Harrison’s writing has matured, it has moved more and more towards poetry, his preferred method of storytelling, and away from pure fiction, and this book is no different. In fact, if you’re not used to his style of writing, you may find this book a little hard to read.  It may be better to actually go back and find his earlier works, and read those first,  ”easing” yourself into his current style.

Looking to get a copy of your book signed or want to meet the author of your favorite novel? From celebrities to regular writers, many will be out and about in January.

Here are just a few of the book signings coming up this month in some of the major cities across the U.S.:

Back in 1968, Philip K. Dick wrote a science fiction novel entitled DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP, starring an bounty hunter looking for Nexus series androids, which later became the movie BLADE RUNNER.

Now, in 2010, Google has come out with a phone called the Nexus One based on their Android OS-software / technology.  Philip K. Dick’s family feels that hits a little too close to home, so they’ve filed suit against Google for infringement of intellectual property.

According to a letter Isa Dick-Hackett, Philip K. Dick’s daughter, sent to Google regarding their use of those names for their products, she said, “Google takes first and then deals with the fallout later. In my mind, there is a very obvious connection to my father’s novel. People don’t get it. It’s the principle of it. It would be nice to have a dialogue. We are open to it. That’s a way to start.”

It’s not the first time Dick’s family has sued Google. When Google began scanning books into their online database, many writers and their heirs tried to stop Google or at least negotiate better rights.  Google ended up settling the case by setting up a fund for the copyright holders, and they also agreed to set up a Book Rights Registry to distribute the revenue.

(Of course, it’s kind of ironic when you consider that the name of the movie, BLADE RUNNER, originally belonged to Alan E. Nourse’s book from 1974. Supposedly, writer Hampton Fancher, who was doing the screenplay for the Dick story, had seen a screenplay story treatment for Nourse’s book, and liked the name, so suggested they use that instead of DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP. Ridley Scott ending up paying out extra to be able to get the rights to the new name. Now if Nourse’s heirs ever do manage to sell their screenplay based on THE BLADERUNNER which has been around since the 70s, they’ll have to get a new name for it.  Kind of ironic, indeed…)