Crichton

Disappointing news - Michael Crichton died.

One of the first proper adult novels I ever read was Andromeda Strain - from then, I was hooked. I think I was in grade 6 or something. I probably didn't understand half of it, but I felt like I did. My love for reading and writing was sparked by that first encounter.

I remember scouring the public library for his novels, putting myself on waiting lists. I guess everyone has their author, the one whose writing seems less ink on paper than a direct conduit to your imagination. Crichton was that guy for me. I grew up reading him. In a way then, thinking about him is a way that I remember my late childhood and adolescence. Sitting up reading late into the hours of the night, experiencing his engaging prose... even though much of that time was spent alone in my room with a book in bed, I remember it with the fondest of memories - retrospective bias be damned!

I hope some other kid picks up a ratty old copy of one of his novels.