Boom! This is Books & Biceps #311!

Welcome to our hundreds of new readers and a special shout out to everyone who upgraded to a Premium Flex Membership this week! If an awesome B&B reader shared this with you, add your e-mail with the subscribe button below:

If you’re a new subscriber or missed my yearly book round-up, The 15 Most Memorable Books I Read in 2023, you can read it here.

Today’s issue is brought to you by our PHENOMENAL TITLE SPONSOR:

SFH: Stronger. Faster. Healthier.

If you’ve been reading this email the last few weeks then you know that my return to competitive swimming is ON. And I’ve also shared how humbling it has been. My old “stay in swimming shape” workouts a few times a week barely cut it now that I’m back to real practices in a real pool with real sets.

I needed an edge heading into practice. Something to give me a little energy boost to push through the parts where I’m tired (all of it, basically) and for that I’ve turned to SFH’s pre-workout formula: PUSH.

It has: 115mg of caffeine, a B-vitamin complex, glycine, BCAAs and more!

Try SFH’s ultra high quality pre-workout (Lemonade is my go-to flavor) and as a Books & Biceps reader you get 15% OFF INSTANTLY using the code word “BICEPS” in the store.

Support Books & Biceps, VISIT THE SFH SITE and try it! Every click and order supports this newsletter. And you get tons of energy. Win-win!

BOOKS

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

60 million books in print. A $5+ billion dollar movie franchise. Almost never happened...

This week I want to tell you how Michael Crichton escaped a near-decade of editing hell to write Jurassic Park... and how one single piece of feedback saved the idea from extinction.

The story finds a way👇

1/ It's 1983 and author Michael Crichton has the kernel of an idea for a new thriller.

He's on an insane literary hot streak. Andromeda Strain was a smash hit. Terminal Man was huge. The Great Train Robbery was a blockbuster… All 3 become movies...

2/ In 1980, Crichton signs an unprecedented content deal:

He's given $1.5 million to write the novel, screenplay & direct his new project, Congo. The book is a hit. He has Sean Connery lined up to star in the movie. He's pumped. It gets stuck in development. Doesn't happen.

3/ After Congo, Crichton publishes Sphere to critical acclaim. Another movie is in the works...

What next? Well... he has this idea. It's cool. It's kinda crazy. Even for him. It's about a grad student who tries to clone a pterodactyl from fossil DNA. But it's a screenplay...

4/ ...a screenplay he can't crack. He's written & rewritten it a dozen times since 1983.

"I worked on it for several years, trying to make it credible," Crichton said later. He tried different angles. Different plot points. Nothing worked...

5/ Crichton realizes there's no need for modern dinosaurs, scientifically speaking.

He takes the entertainment angle. "Finally I decided on a theme park setting," he said. "I wrote a novel from the point of view of a young boy who was present when the dinosaurs escaped."

6/ Brilliant, right!?!?

Crichton has his solution for a compelling story. Wrong. "Over the years, I've come to rely on five or six people who read my drafts," Crichton said. "Generally they have a range of responses. Not this time. They were all in agreement: They hated Jurassic Park."

7/ Crichton is perplexed:

"I asked them to explain exactly why they hated it. They couldn't put their finger on anything in particular. They just hated it, that's all. Hated every bit of it. I wrote another draft. They hated that one, too. Then another. Same result..."

8/ Michael Crichton is stuck.

He believes he has this groundbreaking book... but his most trusted readers despise every version of it. Pushing for more feedback, one reader says they were irritated about the kid's point of view. They wanted it to be "for me." For adults...

9/ Relief washes over Crichton.

Finally, a note he can work with! He dives back in, telling the story for adults from their POV. Then once again, he shares the draft... And waits. Only this time...They LOVE it...

10/ Jurassic Park is finally released in 1990.

It becomes Michael Crichton's most famous work. It's a publishing juggernaut. Printers can't keep up with demand. Spielberg buys the movie rights for $1.5 million. Crichton gets $500k to write the screenplay....

11/ As of 2024, Jurassic Park has gone to press more than 100 times in the United States alone.

Toys. Theme park rides. Cartoons. The idea has earned tens of billions of dollars. All because Michael Crichton refused to give up on his idea.

Jurassic Park was one of my favorite reading experiences growing up and I’ve been wanting to re-read it for a while. Over in the Premium Flex crew we’ve been having a blast with our Summer Blockbuster Reading List, a series of awesome books that were turned into movies. We read First Blood together and just finished Jaws.

After a long and fun debate about whether to read Jurassic Park or the first James Bond book, Casino Royale, we settled on Jurassic Park as our BIG READ OF THE MONTH for August.

If you’ve been looking for a book club to join, with books curated by meatheads for meatheads, including a community where your fellow readers share their thoughts, book recs and more, then the Books & Biceps Premium Flex crew is for you.

👉 Remember: This issue of Books & Biceps is free, but if you want to gain access to our Premium Flex Community, our Big Read of the Month weekly breakdowns, Physical Challenges, exclusive content and our Members-Only Tuesday Issue, I highly recommend that you upgrade to paid. Become a Premium Flex member right now!

BICEPS

Are you looking for a new high intensity, brutal 40-minute leg workout that’ll have your quads shaking and calves burning?

Yes? Well…. You’ve come to the right place!

I’m currently on a mission to rebuild my legs and core from only running and hoops shape into swimming and kicking shape as well. And it ain’t easy. I found this dry land workout used by USA Olympic Swimming and it put me on my ass:

That last jump rope to failure is really a “you vs. you” moment. You want to give in after 2 minutes but you also don’t want to be a wuss… I did about 3 and called it quits.

Try the workout and let me know what you think!

And on a side note, the Olympics have gotten my boy back into the pool, too. He joined me for practice the other day:

QUICK FLEXES

I need you all to slow down, stop what you’re doing and look at this glorious photo:

We’ve got meat. We’ve got Macho Man. And if you click on this link to watch the video, we’ve got Hearts on Fire from Rocky IV playing in the background.

This exquisite combination of beef and biography is a Books & Biceps miracle courtesy of one of my good friends and your fellow B&B reader, Shap.

He’s a dad and meathead and he’s recently embarked on a mission: to create the best 80s and 90s themed chef account on instagram. And as you can tell, he’s succeeding.

We all need to support dudes with endeavors like this, so let’s show him what our crew can do and follow him. Right now:

Where else are you gonna get video of Cheese Bomb Bacon Burgers being made to Paradise City from Guns ‘N Roses?

I’ll tell you where: nowhere.

Hook a fellow dad up and FOLLOW CHEF SHAPSY HERE.

Ooohhh yeahhhh! It’s SUMMER SLAM this Saturday Night, my second favorite WWE event behind WrestleMania!

And if you’ve been waiting for the Macho Man audiobook, you can preorder just in time Only on AUDIBLE:

And if you’re in your car next Tuesday morning on August 6th, tune into just about any iHeartRadio station because I’ll be doing a 2-hour, coast-to-coast radio tour talking about Macho, Summer Slam and more!

NEW: GET THE BOOKS & BICEPS APP!

Look at that beauty. Our very own Books & Biceps app to flex on all the other apps on your phone’s Home Screen! And it’s free and super easy to download.

All you have to do is click to read this e-mail online OR visit the B&B website here and you’ll automatically be prompted to download the app.

Now you can bypass your inbox entirely and simply open up the latest issue from the app. And if you want, you’ll be notified whenever a new issue is posted. This is very cool. Let me know what you think!

Thank you all for reading! Stay Strong! - Jon

BONUS:

PS: You still reading Gus and Mallory? Thanks for getting through the whole thing! No skimming!

Time to Honor Our Meathead Agreement

In the gym there is an unspoken agreement that if a fellow dude needs a spot you jump in and help, one meathead to another.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter every week, let’s spot each other.

Let’s consider my writing and sending each issue of Books & Biceps my spotting you the best books, interviews and meathead content around.

Your spot to me is that you share this issue with ONE person who you think would like it.

That’s the deal. I spot you. You spot me. Just like the gym. Thanks!

Here’s your personal sharing link to get free stuff for every share:

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→ USE THIS LINK to try Beehiiv and you won’t regret it!