Reading Is Sexy: Michael Chrichton’s Travels

I was sad to read that Michael Crichton died yesterday. Most people recognize his name because of Jurassic Park and his other novels that were turned into movies, with varying degrees of success. (For the record, I liked ’em all because I like Crichton’s stories and style.)

My favorite Crichton book is nonfiction. It’s called Travels, and it’s a collection of his real-world adventures and internal “travels” to understand himself. It’s kind of groovy, but awesome. Along with Jane Eyre, it’s a book I re-read at least once a year because it’s engaging every time, and I keep finding new ideas within its pages.

Crichton was trained to be a physician, so he approaches mystical experiences with skepticism and enthusiastic curiosity. It’s catching! Whenever I read this book, I find myself thinking, “Damn! I want to try that!” or… “I wonder what I would do if that happened to me.”