Today we look at our favorite books from the 2000s. Its been a tough few years for the publishing industry, but that hasn’t stopped some of our favorite writers from producing some amazing literature. Before we begin, a warning to readers that, while our choices appear in a numbered order, those numbers are even more arbitrary than usual. That said, don’t hold back in telling us how epically wrong we are in the comments section.

15. Lush Life – Richard Price
If Mystic River is the classic crime novel of the first part of the 21st century, Lush Life is a close second. Richard Price tells the story of a murder from the perspective of nearly everyone effective: cops, the family, a present co-worker, and the murderer. Perhaps the most stunning part of the entire novel is it’s naturalism. It doesn’t have a shocking revelation or constant twists and turns, but instead presents an view into the real world. When the case is close, you move to the next. A powerful work of fiction that could just as easily a true story, Lush Life is an oft-overlooked gem of the 2000s. (M)

14. Mystic River – Dennis Lehane
Dennis Lehane became a master of gritty murder mysteries with Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River, a story about three childhood friends, the roles they inhabit as adults, and the murder of ones daughter. The book separates itself from other murder mysteries with its intricacies and strong characters. Before the novel has a chance to reach it’s climax, it’s unclear as to who is good and bad, keeping the pages turning faster than you can handle. Mystic River is the classic crime novel of the first part of the century. (M)

13. World War Z – Max Brooks Without Max Brooks, zombies may have just been another mid-level meme, fighting with ninjas and vampires for space in the public consciousness. But World War Z moved the zombie apocalypse out of Romero’s intimate locations and tiny groups of survivors and onto a global, geopolitical scale. Brooks’ extensive research and clever structure gives the book a verisimilitude that helps it transcend simple horror and makes it an impactful look at human society (just like Romero’s best films do). (J)

12. Moneyball – Michael Lewis
Few books about sports have ever been as influential as Moneyball. By re-examining the stats that are so highly valued, Michael Lewis made Billy Beane’s once-outlandish concept a strategy adopted by many teams throughout the league. Six years on, teams still put a lot of stock in superstars, but teams like the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays proved Beane’s sabermetric can work. The book really broke the mold on sports books, and nothing yet has been anywhere near as influential. (M)

11. Assassination Vacation – Sarah Vowell
With her second full length, single-topic nonfiction book, Sarah Vowell embraced her nerdy passion for American history and historical tourism, resulting in a compelling book that’s part history and part memoir. Removed from her wispy, public radio delivery, Vowell’s prose flows true as ever and her gifts with metaphor make her quirky stories pop off the page. Self-reflective, fascinating, and unapologetic in its embrace of hokey Americana at a time when real patriotism was hard to come by, Assassination Vacation may not have been an Important book, but it made the 2000s a whole lot more palatable. (J)

10. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime – Mark Haddon
Haddon’s book sounds like too gimmicky by half when you hear its concept, but its his empathetic ability to capture the voice of his autistic main character that makes Curious Incident succeed. A triumph of perspective, at times you forget that you’re reading fiction and become engrossed by how Haddon’s main character sees and experiences the world. (J)

9. The Plot Against America – Philip Roth
Philip Roth had a long and established career even before The Plot Against America, an alternate history story of 1940s America with Charles Lindbergh as president, but the book stands out as his best book of late. As he explores the coming of age of a fictional version of himself, Roth also manages to explore the dark underside of American politics and ideology. It’s a fascinating read that manages to highlight just how easy it is to fall to the trappings of ideology. (M)

8. Consider the Lobster – David Foster Wallace
Rather than dwell on the tragic loss of this generation’s finest writer and what could have been, let’s focus instead on the dizzying legacy he left behind. Of his output this decade, nothing matches Consider the Lobster, an insightful collection of Wallace’s creative nonfiction. From the title essay’s unsentimental but still insightful look at the morality of boiling lobsters alive (written, amusingly enough, as an assignment for Gourmet to cover the Maine Lobster Festival) to a look at conservative talk radio to his sprawling review of A Dictionary of Modern Usage, Wallace’s gifts for treating any subject with intellectual rigor and a critical eye shine through, and his mastery of form and style is unmatched. (J)

7. Everything is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer broke onto the literary scene with Everything is Illuminated a book that manages to be funny, poignant, and crushing throughout it’s course. Foer jumps around in time and place, meshing together three stories, that of his America obsessed tour guide, his ancestry, and himself. Unlike many novels about Jewish persecution and the Diaspora, this one doesn’t center on the evil, but rather how a way of life was shattered for people. An engrossing, impressive debut from a writer who figures to feature prominently in the the 2010s. (M)

6. The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
You are allowed to be as smug as Malcolm Gladwell is when you’re that smart. In his breakthrough nonfiction look at the way ideas and products spread like viruses. Loaded with fascinating case studies and Gladwell’s hyper-intellectual prose, The Tipping Point is an interesting sociological examination of human nature, and one that has only become more relevant in the age of Twitter and Facebook. (J)

5. Atonement – Ian McEwan
So many novels deal with regret and making up for the past, but Ian McEwan’s Atonementis in a league of it’s own. The novel is the story of a girl who’s childhood misunderstanding stays with her the rest of her life. If the first three sections aren’t heart wrenching enough for you, the final fourth will tear you apart. As much as Kavalier and Clay settles the regret and disappointment of its characters in it’s final act, Atonement makes it’s central character pay for hers. McEwan’s brilliant prose makes the story even more compelling and made Atonement and easy choice for this list. (M)

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince/Deathly Hollows – J.K. Rowling
One of the most interesting parts of the Harry Potter series is that many of the readers grew with Harry as it went on. Those that started reading at the age of 12 in 1998 when the first book hit stateside were 21 by the time the series wrapped in 2007. Those that read during those 10 years (11 if you were in the UK) were treated to two final books that contrasted greatly from the lighter themes of the books of their childhood. In both novels, Rowling dispenses with the boy wizard aspect of her novels and delves into the tale of a young man being faced with a task barely suited for a man. The books are easily the best fantasy books since Tolkien and will continue to enchant for years to come. (M)

3. The Road – Cormac McCarthy
Despite what Zombieland would have you believe, the apocalypse is actually probably going to suck. Cormac McCarthy is the perfect person to make that point with his incredibly bleak look at a father and son trying to survive in the face of the horrors that come with the destruction of society. McCarthy takes an unflinching look at the terrifying things humans are capable of doing to each other (not exactly new ground for Cormac, but still compelling stuff), while grounding it in the struggle of The Man and The Boy to retain their humanity. (J)

2. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – Dave Eggers
Before James Frey, Dave Eggers was busy putting the “creative” in creative nonfiction. By filling his memoir with fourth-wall breaking asides and creative flourishes, Eggers’ book is simultaneously less than a truthful depiction of his life and something much, much more. Let’s not blame Dave for the flood of tedious and crappy memoirs that followed in his wake and instead celebrate an author with complete command of his craft. (J)

1. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay – Michael Chabon
Sitting at the crossroads of comic books and literature, of pulp and high art, Michael Chabon’s novel is a celebration of the struggles that go into making even the most disposable of cultural detritus. Chabon’s delirious blend of joyous, golden age superheroes with the tragedies of World War II and the immigrant experience to America could have crushed under the weight of trying to do too much. Instead, he crafted a clear-eyed and moving tribute to the American experience that resonates past its period setting. (J)

A staggering work of fiction, Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is easily one of the most engrossing novels you’ll ever read. Amidst the lushly described landscapes of New York in the 40s and 50s, Chabon sets up an intricate story that doesn’t follow a linear path, but instead branches off in every direction. When early 21st century literature is studied 50, 100 years from now, Kavalier and Clay will be front and center as the defining American novel of the time. (M)

Max Brooks’ career began auspiciously enough with the release of The Zombie Survival Guide. The guide was little more than a cheeky satire about surviving an impending attack by the vicious undead. Intermixed between articles about what weapons to use or how to best counter an attacking zombie were small stories of “real attacks” suffered by humans throughout history. This part of the Guide proved to be so popular that Brooks eventually tasked himself with writing a vision of the world wherein zombies had won.

World War Z stands as a testament to Brooks’ creativity. Rather than being told through a single protagonist, the book jumps around to dozens of characters. From an ex-mercenary hiding vacationing in the Caribbean to a disenfranchised Chinese submarine captain, Brooks is able to address each small section of the story from a completely different prospective. Therein lies the beauty of World War Z: each character has their own personality, their own tone and even their own mannerisms.

It is extremely hard to not think of this piece of literature as a real life documentary. As you read through it, you actually find the hairs on the back of your neck raise ever so slightly. Every once in a while you kind of glance up at the ceiling to assure yourself that it is fiction. Don’t get me wrong, the book is far from a horror story, yet manages to make the implausible plausible.

These “first person accounts ‘as told to the author’” add more life and depth to this book than anything I’ve ever read. I’ve watched actual documentaries more boring than the events that unfold in this fictional piece of art. In addition, Brooks is adept at mixing in current events subtly. For instance, he remarks about the unpopular Gulf War that destroyed the morale of American soldiers thus making the war against the zombies even more hopeless.

If I was rich, I would singlehandedly buy every copy of this book I could find and hand them out with abandon. Everyone should read this fantastical, albeit unlikely, look at a future without humanity. Whether you’re a fan of horror and apocalyptic writings or not, World War Z should entertain you to no end. Buy it now. Trust me.

On a sidenote, several film studios have approached Max Brooks about turning World War Z into a feature film. Thankfully, Brooks has resisted all attempts and continues to push for a 12-part miniseries to air on one of the big three (Showtime, HBO or Cinemax) movie stations. In other news, Paramount did secure the right to construct a script for a World War Z movie, but they put the guy who wrote Changeling and Ninja Assassin in charge of authoring it. I won’t be holding my breath.

-Chad 2

Currently Reading:
Guinea Pig Diaries by AJ Jacobs

On deck:
Blameless in Abaddon by James Morrow

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

“That book is way more awesome than any book by that title has a right to be.”- my friend Daniel, on World War Z

Daniel is right. This book is truly amazing. I don’t throw around terms like  addictive, compelling, and emotional. World War Z is all three.

WWZ was inspired by The Good War by Studs Terkel, which is a collection of personal accounts from World War II. The novel reads like a non-fiction book, set up as a series of interviews with major and minor players in the conflict. It begins with the doctor who identified the first infection in China and discusses the radical changes that resulted from the various outbreaks throughout the world. Brooks details the experiences of government officials tasked with containing the problem, ordinary citizens who simply tried to escape, and profiteers who got rich off of fear and desperation. Brooks explores warfare and tactics, political issues, survival methods, and social upheaval. And yes, it’s about zombies. And yes, it is amazing.

Far from the typical zombie story, Brooks has crafted a biting social and political commentary that will make you cringe and laugh by turns. China refuses to acknowledge the plague, bleeding thousands of infected refugees from it’s borders. Americans remain steadfastly apathetic, putting faith in a fake vaccine until the problem is too big to be ignored. Israel locks its borders and shoots anything that moves outside the wall. Most of all, Brooks uses the novel to explore the concept of pure war, or war for its own sake. Whereas most wars end when one side meets their objective (i.e. empire-building, political revolution, unseating a dictator, etc.), a pure war will never end. Pure war is destruction and death without an objective.  Brooks illustrates this concept chapter by chapter with the inexorable moan of zombies.

Though I highly recommend WWZ, I must do so with several qualifiers.

Make no mistake: this is a horror novel. War is ugly, especially against mindless monsters who exist purely to consume and destroy. Brooks does not skip over the worst bits of human nature (and zombie nature). One section of the story dealing with those who tried to escape the zombies above the snowline in Canada turned my stomach. I almost couldn’t make it through the chapter. There’s also quite a bit of language, but it depends on which interview you are reading  (mercenaries and profiteers are the worst). In Brooks’ defense, I never felt that any of the language or violence was for shock value. The gory details are precisely what gives this novel it’s realism and emotional impact.

I loved World War Z, despite that I was sure I wouldn’t. Brooks has converted me to a fan of the zombie genre. It is not for the faint of heart, but those who can stomach it will come out on the other side amazed that it was just a novel.

Guns ‘n Gardens – How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse is the number one web show for DIY tips and tricks for living through the tough times. Each episode we’ll explore the in’s and out’s of the wasteland, including the best weapons, first aid and food production techniques that will help you and yours see another day. Survive.  Stay alive.   With Guns ‘n Gardens.

Here’s a breakdown of the basic Zombie senses. Knowing the Zombie attributes is the first step to knowing the Zombie.

The senses:

• Sight: A zombie’s sight doesn’t differ greatly to a human’s in the way that it is used. But, like many zombie senses they are more impaired due to the lack of a fully functioning, well oiled brain. The senses themselves are as they would be in a human but because the signals and messages to the brain are weakened they are of less use and are less effective. By assessing their ability to follow or chase humans it appears their sense of direction is relatively normal as is their capability to judge distances.
  

  Cross-sections of a normal brain (l) and a zombie brain (r) show the extensive atrophy of zombie brain tissue

Nevertheless, along this train of thought a theory has also been debated that if we, as humans, adopt a slower, eratic and more awkward walking style we can trick zombies in believing we’re one of them and consequently leave us alone. (This is a hypothesis Simon Pegg put into action in Shaun of the Dead to avoid any… unwanted attention from the undead.)

• Sound: Similarly to a zombie’s sight, it doesn’t differ too much from that of a human. In the majority of zombie films zombies will react and respond to sounds. However, the kind of zombies featured in popular culture are easily confused so you’d be wise to use this to your advantage. According to the fvza zombies go deaf within a few weeks of transformation.
• Smell: With most superhuman, abnormal creatures that differ from us humans a sense is either heightened or is especially used to their advantage. The fvza states “zombies have even more receptor cells than vampires. If the wind is right, zombies can smell humans from as far as several miles away.”

• Taste: Little is known or reported on when it comes to a zombie’s tastebuds but we all know that they like to eat, is this therefore for the taste of flesh or is it a form a drug they feel dependent on? Like a Vampire needs blood perhaps? It is hard to believe that with the detriated brain of a zombie it can make a distinction between tastes. What we do know is that zombies are flesh-hungry.

• Touch: Considering the state of a zombie’s brain and the condition of their perishing flesh it is apparent that zombies possess no physical sensations. “All nerve receptors throughout the body remain dead after reanimation.” – Max Brooks. The Zombie Survival Guide

…And now you know!

I had a rotten night last night. Couldn’t get into a deep sleep. Was still just dozing at 5.53am. I did have one dream though.

I was back in the house of my childhood (I never dream about the house we moved to when I was 14), under attack from zombies. No surprises there as I’ve just finished reading the fantastic World War Z by Max Brooks. It tells the stories of the people who survived the zombie war. Even if you don’t like zombies, you should check it out because it’s so well written.

Anyway, we had sticks with sharpened ends to ram into their heads. Most of the zombies died (again) straight away. Except the middle class ones. The sticks wouldn’t go into their heads. Yesterday I had a rant at work about the ridiculousness of David Penberthy’s piece in The Punch, complaining about how no one has asked men what they think of female body image. Because, you know, middle class blokes always struggle to be heard.

Now, fact or fiction… Possible or a bit of fun… It wouldn’t hurt to know your stuff about Zombies.

Personally I think it’s more closer for comfort than we think.

Firstly, where does it begin?

The Solanum virus is touched upon in Max Brooks‘ book The Zombie Survival Guide. (It is of course to be taken with a pinch of salt, the book is essentially a fun read and should not be used for advice during the unfortunate event of a zombie attack.)

However, I maintain that this blog is a source of escapism and essentially contemplation.

According to Mr Max Brooks the Solanum virus starts like any other virus by travelling through the bloodstream, running from the point of entry and infecting the brain. The virus works away at the body, “during this period all bodily functions cease. By stopping the heart, the infected subject is rendered ‘dead’. The brain however remains alive but dormant, while the virus mutates its cells into a completely new organ. The most critical trait of this new organ is its independence from oxygen. By removing the need for this all-important resource, the undead brain can utilize, but is in no way dependent upon, the complex support mechanism of the human body into a form that bears little resemblance (physiologically speaking) to the original corpse.”

Transference – caused by the infamous ‘bite’ of those infected, but this is not the only means it can be contracted from one to another. Humans can be infected by being ’splattered by a zombie remains after an explosion’.

Famous Zombie films such as 28 days later (and sequels), Shaun of the Dead, and the first big film of its kind- Night of the living Dead concur Zombie infection is viral.

However there are differences in what caused and introduced this virus. Do you think any of them holds anything of viable substance?

2002 saw the release of 28 days later in which the characters encounter an infection that is also passed through blood (but again, not necessarily due to a bite), but this film also highlights the Scientific aspect possibly responsible for the virus’ development – ‘Neuro chemicals’ that cause anger and excessive aggression in humans.

Night of the Living Dead differs in the plot of the infection. Night of the living dead is well, just that. This film released in 1968 embodies the age-old idea that corpses rise from the dead (think ‘Thriller’). – Murderers are recently dead human beings who have returned to life and who are consuming their victims’ flesh. Experts including scientists and military generals are not sure of the cause of the reanimation, but one scientist is certain that it is the result of radiation emanating from a Venus space probe that exploded in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Differing from the two aforementioned films Shaun of the Dead is a spoof horror zombie film (and in my opinion, a bloody good one). It is uncertain throughout the film about the cause of the infection that has spread throughout london, the featured zombies possess every characteristic you’d expect from the cliché zombie idea, and unlike the previous two films one can only be infected by a bite.

So should we be prepared for the outbreak of zombie infection?

The bad news with any information or interpretation on the cause of infection, once you’ve contracted the disease of the undead there is no treatment. Hello underworld!

In my previous blog we began to delve into the possibility of the Zombie crossing and dwelling within the line of dead and undead.

This is not been written to scare or threaten, but it is an intriguing thought isn’t it?

What is a zombie? What do they seek? Are good, or evil? Dead or undead?

British actor and director Simon Pegg, who has burst into  Hollywood in recent years explains his fascination on the creatures-

“I used to lie in bed in my flat and imagine what would happen if there was a zombie attack. In fact Nick Frost (who plays Shaun’s best mate Ed in the film) and I used to plan our escape routes if it happened. Over the roof, down the street and find the nearest gun shop.”

So what is it exactly that he finds so appealing about them?

“It’s their strangeness. They are so slow and inept, but they don’t appear to have any motive or moral rage. They are eerie and hungry.” [full Simon Pegg interview here]

I guarantee some of you have had more of a thought about Zombies than it being just a fictitious creature, a lot of people are most scared or fascinated by things that have a glimpse or truth or possibility in it.

Of course there are many theories on zombies, and I’m more than open to comment or enlightenment.

Day 10 of NaNoWriMo is here. I am slightly behind the average numbers of words per day. Now, this is a thrilling moment and a frustrating one. This is a fantastic and thrilling moment because this is the most I have written so quickly and on one story. (I do not have word count ability on my two screenplays!!!) Not only is it the most I have written but so far there is plenty left to write. The outline I created and the brief points I wanted to cover all are included in each chapter. What makes it even more enjoyable is that things happen in the chapter I never expected. Well, I should rephrase that slightly. The beginning and end I have mapped out for each chapter. The main body seems to fill itself out through the characters and their actions. I am okay with this. Some writers might shy away. I still question my sanity when a character does something I never knew they could do. Who knew an angel could sense a soul / presence?

The frustrating part is that I am behind in word count. I am currently behind about 1,000 words. Now I did miss a day and half of writing…so, by those calculations I am ahead. But to keep my ego in check I also remind myself that 50,000 is due by the end of the month, not the day after. So, weekdays are for getting the average of 1,667 and weekends are for shooting past that. I just need to plan ahead a little better knowing that when certain events happen that require me to be there, like my fiancee’s performances!

Yes, all of that is really boring and pointless unless you are actually trying to reach the milestone of 50,000.

Back to the title of this post. While outlining and dealing with creatures of the night, zombies and vampires, on a regualr basis now for 10 days I have come across something interesting that never is explained. Vampires never eat food or drink something other than blood. I am alright with this piece of information. My brain does not require a biological explanation.

But zombies eat flesh and ,if they are lucky, also some brains. (I consider brains a delicacy for zombies, not their primary source of food.)Now to anyone that looks at the problem logically, if all a zombie dos is eat human flesh, why aren’t zombies incredibly portly creatures that roll everywhere? Their bodies are dead which means that stomach acid no longer works to break down anything ingested. This also means that all flesh consumed would just sit within the stomach cavity rotting away. So, here’s the quandry: Does a zombie take a shit? If, yes, then I am cool with zombies being known for eating machines. If, no, then here’s the next question. Does a zombie get full?

I think the reason my brain is having trouble with these questions is because no books or movies ever cover zombies shitting, getting full, or eating other zombies. We, as the audience, only know them as human eaters. They are the Terminator of the gluttony family. They never sleep and they will never stop eating until the last human is dead.

I think to put my mind at ease as I write about the zombie apocalypse and vampires protecting humans for food, zombies do shit. They do it in their panties, boxers, briefs, swim trunks, jeans, khakis, and panty hose. (I exclude thongs because it would just go past them.) They do it while they are eating and walking. And as I write this it dawns on me what a great way to track and kill zombies…follow their trails of shit. Maybe I should ask Bear Grylls to do a nice Halloween episode next year and have Max Brooks tag along.

Alright, off to my NaNoWriMo 50,000 milestone. And Happy Shitting!!!

Think about this:  Multiple views of the same story, International Politics and Zombies, can you think of a better premise for a book.  In the world that Max Brooks has created, a strange virus is infecting our present day world and it is spreading faster then any nation can cope with.   Humanity may be on the verge of extinction and no one has a clue how to stop it.

Max Brooks does a wonderful job of shifting the view of the story from a variety characters with different political and moral views.   Throughout the story, you can’t help but start to mold  your own opinion, outside that of the author’s,  of rights and wrongs committed in this world that is on the cusp of annihilation.

World War Z will draw you in as it has me and give you hours of enjoy.  Pick this up this masterpiece of undead politics and add it to your bookshelf today.

from here.

Just a quick note: Dreamworks has picked up the film rights to an  unpublished manuscript entitled Robopocalypse which “explores the fate of the human race following a robot uprising,” seemingly in the same vein as Max Brook’s World War Z, which is also being made into a movie itself. The author of the unpublished novel, which is scheduled for a 2011 release, has an interesting pedigree, including a Ph.D in robotics and has written several articles for Popular Mechanics and the novel is supposedly grounded in realism.

from here.

A shame. I feel like Benjamin Light has been slowly groping towards a warning to us fleshy humans about the robots evil plan for world domination and… well, I guess we just didn’t listen. Or get a book/movie deal out of it.

A few thoughts this day after Halloween:

Kaya, my four-year old, requested to be a zombie ballerina for Halloween.  She watched a YouTube video of someone applying zombie make-up with me and came up with the idea.  I love zombies and encouraged her.  I know some might find the idea repulsive and inappropriate to dress your kid as a flesh-eating member of the undead horde.  Halloween is a time to explore our collective dark side.  It is a time to face our fears and actually become the boogeyman, if only briefly.

I realize she is just a pre-schooler.  I realize the impact such strong imagery can have.   Kaya has never been that afraid of monsters or the dark.   The real monsters are not demons, goblins, and zombies.  Those creatures do not exist.  The real monsters are human beings who do terrible things to other human beings.

Some might say we are desensitizing her to gore and violence.  I truly do not think that the case.   It is all in good fun and reflects the ancient cathartic purpose of this traditional holiday.  And… she was really freaking scary and awesome looking.

____________________

On the subject of Zombies:  Max Brooks, the author of The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, was on Sunday Morning on CBS.  He stated, “My advice for anyone wanting to write a zombie book or become a zombie fan: Get a girlfriend first.”   I am so glad that I have Gioia.

____________________

My mother thoughtfully made a dairy-free cake for Shyla to eat at my sister’s house.  She knew this brand of cake batter was usually “safe” for Shy.   Unfortunately, she wasn’t aware that lemon was one of the foods we are supposed to avoid. Before I was aware of all this, Shyla started shoveling the cake in her mouth.   When I found out the cake had lemon in it, in my usual overly paranoid response, I pulled the cake away from her.  My mom felt horrible.

That is one of the many reasons why galactosemia sucks.   The cake is probably just fine for Shyla.   Lemon doesn’t contain that much galactose.  And, the amount used was probably very small.  But, as a parent, you find yourself being hyper-vigilant.   There is so little out there to tell us what effects her diet really has.   Heck, even her blood “levels” are not that instructive because the human body produces galactose on its own.  Some kids naturally have higher levels.

She is, of course, just fine.  There is no reason she shouldn’t be.   It’s not like she chugged a glass of milk.   I just hope this anxiety over food doesn’t create more problems for my little Shy.

*Update 11/2:  Turns out my mom looked up the cake-mix on the PGC website so it was completely safe and demonstrates our level of anxiety even more.

**Update 11/4:  Well, even though it was on the PGC website, the cake is something we should avoid.  See?  Enough to drive a parent crazy.

There is surely no better day to publish the introduction of my Zombie blog into the cyber world than on Halloween.

“A zombie is a creature that appears in folklore and popular culture typically as a reanimated corpse or a mindless human being.” (thanks Wikipedia)

The concept of the ‘Zombie’ can take many forms.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein touched on the Zombie idea way back in 1818.

The idea of a rising of the dead has appeared in literature for centuries.

Nosferatu, the film, created in the 1920’s – although based on a tortured Vampire – also shines a light on the idea of a creature not quite dead, not quite living. This being the essence of a Zombie’s existence.

A zombie is not a creature of one facet or indeed one form or type… some are mindless flesh eaters, some are a derivative of a tribal idea of vodou curses, some are viral, some have to rise because hell is full… (I plan to elaborate on these intriguing beings in my future blogs so stay tuned!)

Some in fact you may see some tonight on your ghouly trips trick or treating………..

Depois de considerar o lado dos Zumbis, que tal levar em conta o seu?

Max Brooks adora zumbis. E os odeia. Por isso, em seus livros ele conta todas as maneiras de se proteger de uma invasão/contaminação zumbi. O que fazer quando o Apocalipse Zumbi ocorrer? Leia e descubra!

Além do Guide, um dos mais conhecidos entre os fãs de Zumbis, Brooks também criou outros livros sobre o assunto. Divirtam-se!

Alright, peoples, you’ve waited long enough to hear about this one! The Steve Austin Book Club is back, and more extreme than ever! Or, perhaps that is Xtreme! Mayhaps we should rename ourselves The Xteve AuXtin BooX Club, as an indicator of our new hip and happenin’ ways!

Or, not.

Anyway, this is the review of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. This review is apt to spoil the book, so if you haven’t read it and want to, you may want to skip this. There will be SPOILERS-A-PLENTY! If you have read the book, feel free to leave a comment!

Now with the preliminaries out of the way, sit back and enjoy!

World War Z is a collection of the post-Zombie War rememberances of indidual survivors throughout the world. It is ten years after the official end of the war… a time to look back. The book is presented in a series of personal stories/interviews with individuals discussing their roles and reactions as the world was plunged into a panic and near extinction of the human race. Using these personal stories, the audience follows as the events of the Zombie War are revealed in pieces, from its start within the borders of China, to the various steps taken by governments throughout the world in attempts to protect their borders, through battlefields where traditional tactics are found lacking, to the eventual steps toward survival, which rely on plans for each nation to virtually abandon most of their citizens. The stories come from average individuals, politicians, military personnel, corporate leaders, slackers, etc., etc., etc.

And… that’s about the sum of it.

Let me start this by saying that the concept of this book is genius. I loved the premise and the style used. As an avid fan of the History Channel, I could really see this story being told through the account of eye witnesses just as much of their programming does. If there is any downside to that, it is that I think that this is one of those few occassions where the upcoming film based on this book may surpass the book in effectiveness. Why? Because the biggest complaint I have about the book seems to be a near universal complaint about it – while we are told that the stories come from various individuals, the vast majority of the stories are very much in the same voice, seemingly from the same individual. That is why I think the movie has the advantage. The various actors will lend their own spin to each vignette, allowing the audience to see a greater variance than what was afforded in the book.

I did appreciate the fact that the author knew his audience. Very little time was spent dwelling on what zombies are and trying to explain them away. Instead, he worked from a standpoint of “the people that pick this book up know what these creatures are.” It was nice to not have the lodestone of origin dragging the book down.

Now, the downside. Without an establishing of the specifics of the zombie of this book, we don’t have a firm enough idea of what these zombies are really like. And, it seems that the author forgets as well. There are times when we are told that zombies eventually decompose, and yet we are confronted with zombies in several instances that seem to have survived locked up in abandoned homes for years, no worse for wear. We are told that frozen weather will freeze zombies, yet they can walk unencumbered along the ocean floor, which rests at right about 32 degrees. (Fun science fact: the ocean, being salty, doesn’t freeze until the water hits about 28.5 degrees. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.)

There also seems to be a real lack of knowledge about military weaponry. The idea that modern weapons would be less than effective against the undead is really hard to believe. The shrapnel described in the book always somehow managed to avoid hitting the zombies in the head. There is a reason that the militaries of the world issue metal helmets to their soldiers.

I can go along, to some extent, with the laughable actions of government during a situation like this, but the overall political commentary in the book is hack-kneed and blunt to the point of near rhetoric. Everything is too surface, no depth.

I was also unimpressed with the two types of people that we were presented with in the book: the noble hero and the scummy opportunist. There didn’t seem to be any other degrees of personality. I understand that a tragedy can be a polarizing event, but there are more shades to people than this, and not having those shades made almost all the characters boring and relatively two-dimensional.

Which, now that I think about it and re-read my last complaint, is the problem I have with the book as a whole. For all the supposed individuals “interviewed” in the book, there just isn’t enough to any of them. The characters are flat, which is really what makes them all sound the same. Perhaps if the author had focused on fewer stories, we could have had a more in depth character study of each. People aren’t simply noble or evil… they are far more complicated than that.

The book wasn’t terrible, but I expected and wanted so much more from it. As I mentioned, I’m really hoping that the actors in the planned film are able to bring that little extra to this project that is sorely missing in the book. For the potential of this book and the concept, I’m giving it two and a half Running Steves.

And, here’s to hoping that the film gets moving from development limbo and into actual production!

It’s been a long while (too long) since I have been truly surprised by a book.  As a librarian, I tend to do a lot of research and review-reading before purchasing items for my library…and for myself.  Also, as an avid reader, I tend to see a lot of similar things coming out of the publishing houses at times.  If it’ll work for one author…it’ll work for 20 more, right?  However, with World War Z, Max Brooks completely floored me with utter surprise and delight.  Much like a Lobo applied to Zack’s head, Brooks cuts through the dead weight and usual clichés to produce a lively and chillingly plausible look at the near annihilation of humanity at the hands of the zombie menace. 

World War Z is presented as a collection of oral histories from some of the survivors of the zombie apocalypse.  Some are ordinary “grunts” from the war.  Some are former refugees.  Some were involved in the initial cover-ups and in the Great Panic that followed while others had a hand in the recovery effort that followed the main war.  Each of these histories follow a narrative thread that collectively tells the history of the war without getting bogged down in the usual dates and deaths that comprise traditional history books.  It is a large story told in small scale. 

The strength of WWZ is what Brooks refers to as “the human factor”. It is about how we often make a bad situation worse.  It is about how some of us try to take advantage of a bad situation…in fact, we even feel entitled to do so.  It is also about how some of us will rise above the situation…and even rise above our own foibles…to finally adapt and survive. 

While there are many individuals introduced and the vignettes are too short to delve into much character detail, the author manages to reveal so much about his characters simply through their reactions to the most adverse of adverse conditions.    Some of these stories are obvious satirical jabs at bureaucratic incompetence, political expediency, and corporate greed.  Some are harrowing stories of fear, courage, and human perseverance.  There are heroes and villains and victims, all with a story to tell.  It is a patchwork of character sketches held together by the basic premise, a loose history, and the overall theme of the work…what it means to be human.

Some highlights? The story of a young woman trapped in the emotional mind of her four-year-old self reliving the night zombies overtook her community church and she was separated from her mother.  The exploits of a cynical pharmaceutical exec living in a compound in Antarctica who hides from both the undead and the very-much-alive victims of his placebo cure for the zombie virus.  The veteran who barely managed to return from the war with his sanity intact, acerbically telling the story of how he and his comrades were nearly wiped out by “Zack” (military-speak for the enemy) and by short-sighted military protocols. 

With his very-human stories and a well-developed sense of history, Max Brooks has created a brilliant piece of imaginative fiction.

The 2008 Columbus Zombie Walk. Photo Ben French

I have the zombie fever.

This year I decided to test my makeup skills and zombify myself for the Halloween bash at Mattbo and Jona’s house. There’s something about these undead creatures that really thrills me. Growing up I can remember my parents having to call up to B & B Video in downtown Perrysburg to give the ok for me to rent movies such as Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead II and Night of the Living Dead.

Francis "Chainsaw" Gremp and Dave Frazier from Summer School.

I had a real interest in the make up and special effects of these simple movies.  I would also ride my bike up to Rite Aid to read Fangoria Magazine, never actually buying one to take home.  I much admired the work of Rick Baker, just like the characters Dave and Chainsaw in the Mark Harmon hit comedy Summer School.

I also remember when I was about 6, rushing in the house everyday at noon to watch Michael Jackson’s Thriller video on MTV. Every weekend, the buddies and I, would film zombie flicks on my parents’ vhs camcorder. The movies would typically end in wrestling matches. But, I am proud to say, that some of the cast members in our films went on to become successful actors. Second City student, Joe Pelc, and major motion picture and television actor, Sam Jaeger.

And now, as an adult, I still can’t quit. Still watching the zombie flicks like 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead (remake) and Zombieland.  Not to mention all of the new zombie videogames like Dead Rising, Call of Duty’s Nazi Zombies and Left 4 Dead.

I am not alone here.  Zombie fanfare is sweeping the nation.  Zombieland grossed over 24.7 million on its opening week.  Zombie related videogames are being pumped out by the truckload.  Many larger cities across the world host “Zombie Walks” to raise money for charity. Max Brooks, author of The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, is producing New York Times bestsellers. This makes me feel a little more normal about having a special place in my heart for these flesh eating monsters.

After doing some research online. I found some good techniques on how to zombify yourself and what to buy. Earlier today I went to Costume Holiday House to get my supplies. The three main things I found out you need is latex, a make up wheel  and fake blood.  And a few things from home like Q Tips and toilet paper.  Upon arriving at the costume store I found out they had way more things to sell then I imagined. I was kind of confused on what to buy exactly.  Luckily, two women were there that are avid zombie make up artists and active with the Columbus Zombie Walk, who collects canned foods for the Mid Ohio Food Bank.  They were very helpful and gave me advice for my specific needs.  The first thing they asked me was, what kind of zombie do you want to be?  I didn’t know what to say. Do I want to be a biological zombie? A toxic zombie? A voodoo zombie? Did I come out of the ground or was I taken over above ground? Am I fast or slow? I think I’m going to go with the classic George Romero zombie that was once buried and came to life. And I will most likely be slow.

Basic Supplies to zombify yourself:

I told the woman I wanted to wear an old suit, like I was buried in a coffin.  She remarked “Make sure you dirty up your suit. I hate unauthentic zombies.”  While the other helped me pick out my make up colors and supplies. She recommended the Ben Nye Death Wheel, it has more yellows, greens and purples.  ”I like my decay to look natural.” She said.  I never caught the two ladies’ names.  But they were very helpful and very passionate about their art.

Supply list:

• Ben Nye “Death Wheel” make up
• Ben Nye clear latex 1 oz bottle
• Ben Nye Stage Blood 2 oz bottle
• Ben Nye Thick Blood .5 oz bottle
• Ben Nye Vampire Character Base
• Mehron Tooth FX
• Mehron Barrier Spray
• Mehron Stipple Sponge
• toilet paper

Read it!
The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
Man has battled the undead for millenia. In The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks bestselling author and “Studs Terkel of zombie journalism,” Max Brooks provides the lessons that history has taught us about zombie outbreaks. This is not a list of all zombie attacks throughout history, but a chronicling of the most famous outbreaks, gruesomely illustrated in graphic novel form.

Cool Sounding
Time: October 30, 2009 from 10pm to 11:45pm
Location: SAPPHIRE LOUNGE
Street: 249 ELDRIDGE STREE
City/Town: New York, NY
Website or Map: http://newyork.going.com/re…
Phone: 212-777-5153
Event Type: zombie, dance!
Organized By: Rescue NYC
Latest Activity: Oct 9

I shivered when I woke, and wrapped my bedroll tighter around me, ready for warmth and sleep. I heard a rustling outside the tent and I sat up reached for the shotgun next to me, ready to tangle with yet another ghoul in this infinite sea of the walking dead. A head poked through the hole of the tent  I had made out of blue tarp and a couple metal pieces from a car, and I pointed my shotgun at it, ready to fire at an instant’s notice. I recognized the red Mohawk of  Jack’s and lowered my shotgun.

“Jesus, Jack, you trying to get your brains scattered across this field?” I said. “Oh shut up, it’s not my fault you’re a  trigger happy jumpy son of a-” Jack said.

“Yeah yeah, I’ve heard it all before.” I snapped back.

“Anyway, it’s time to get out of here” Jack said, pulling his head out of the makeshift tent.

Still inside the tent, I packed up my bedroll and blankets, and pulled on my trench coat, put my pistol grip-one handed shotgun in the holster that goes from my waist to my knee and attached my freshly made nailbat with one six inch spike jutting out the left side, onto by belt.

I crawled out of my tent and kicked it down, it was trash anyway, and saw Will doing the same to his bedroll and belongings under a tree,  and he gave me a stiff nod, well I think it was, it was too dark to tell.

“Good morning, Austin.” said Will calmly, he’s always calm, something I’m quite jealous of.

“Morning, Will.”

“You seem angry.”

“Yep, gotta drag my skinny ass out of bed in the pitch dark and wait around for Swordie and Mohawk to finish getting ready” I replied with a short laugh, I was always an sucker when it came to giving stupid nicknames.

Vincent walked near, I swiveled my head in his direction, studying his build and wondering if I’d ever have to kill him in the future. He wore a sword on his belt, I can’t tell which kind, I failed World Cultures in high school, but it looks to be of Japanese type.  He wore a pack on his back, brown, not too full, to allow running and a Fedora on his head.

“Ready?” He asks, giving me an odd look, like I was checking him out or something.

“Sure, lets get this show on the road.” I said, shifting the weight of my messenger back a little to the right.

We walked single file, Will and I in the middle and Vincent in the back and Jack with his twelve gauge shotgun in front. Since we weren’t using roads, traveling mostly by woods and dirt roads, we didn’t see many ghouls, only two or three, which were promptly beheaded by Vincent or shot down by Jack.

After about four hours of walking, Will began to look pale, the pain hidden in his face, but I could tell his broken foot was bothering him, so I suggested we stop.

“I need to take a break, in about ten, twenty minutes, I’m not built for long travel. You probably could Fed Ex me faster than I can move.” Will chuckled at my joke, it’s a good thing to keep high spirits when at the end of civilized society as we know it. For another ten minutes, I kept my head down, staring at the cold ground, listening to the sounds of the forest, always alert for the moan of ghouls. I began to hear the dull thud of flesh on metal, somewhere to the east.

“Shh!” I hushed the group, “Stop! You hear that?” Nods from the three of them informed me they could. Silently, we moved toward the sound. Jack sped ahead, being the tallest, had longer strides than we did. He crouched in the bushes and motioned us over.

An overturned school bus laying on the side awaited us, and we could barely see small hands beating on the windows of the doors. The window cracked and glass pierced a small hand, and we knew they weren’t children any longer.  A quick line sped from a tree into a head of the fucked up little monsters, an arrow with a spiked tip.

I stared into the tree and saw a bow, brown, of the hunting variety, sticking out from behind a branch, I saw a head, with glasses and a caramel colored face.  Another arrow quickly followed the first. I felt a rush of nostalgia as I recognized the archer. “Will, that’s Taylor!” I whispered. “That’s not funny, I don’t want to have to kill an old friend!” He whispered back, still staring at the bus. “Not in there! Up there!” I said, pointing. “Holy shit, you’re right.”He stared at me in amazement.

“Get his attention, anyone got a mirror or something I can shine light off of?” I said to the trio.

Someone handed me a sword, I assumed it was Vincent and began to fix the light on the blade toward my oldest friend. He shot another arrow and it missed the eye socket and buried itself into the cartilage nose of a ten year old girl. He looked over to me and an odd expression covered his face. I knew he recognized me, it’s only been three years and I haven’t changed that much.

He began to quickly scale down the tree and dash over to us. As kids, he was always faster than me and that hasn’t changed. He sprinted like a cross country runner over to our position and said, “Au-Austin, W-Will? Is that you or have I gone insane?”

“It’s us” Will said.

“Wow, what a coincidence,” Taylor said, still not out of breath despite the 100 feet run he had just made.

“Yep, now lets get out of here before we turn into kindergarten snack.”

We walked in silence, not daring to speak, for fear the zombies might hear and come for us, and during Z-Day, being invisible is key. Three more hours of walking in silence gave me the time to get a closer look at my good friend.

Taylor had gotten taller, now closer to 6′6, his face hadn’t changed much, but he had gotten more muscular, as we all had to in order to survive in this hell we call a world.   He wore a black zip up jacket, blue jeans, not too tight but tight enough so that a fallen ghoul wouldn’t grab a hold and take a bite out of his calf. He wore his hunting bow across his back with a quiver filled with blue feathers at the end. He had a hatchet at his belt, free from rust, but the handle looked like it had been used to hack into a ghouls head, and a shovel next to the bow on his back. On his left side he had a 9mm pistol, and about 150 rounds of ammo.  I thought about asking him about the shovel but then I remembered what you could use it for. I began imagining him stabbing into zombie head’s with the extra sharp tip at the end. I shrugged and ignored the daydream.

We arrived at a novelty store of some kind, one with a heavy bolted door and a gate over the windows. Clearing the area of zombies who would track us, we entered the store. We separated into three groups, Will with Taylor, Jack with Vincent and me by myself. “Clear!” I half-shouted and heard similar remarks from the others, meaning there were no ghouls in the vicinity. We met in the middle of the store and Will was holding himself up on a cane.

“Haha. I knew you’d end up a pimp.” I joked.

“Hey, it’s your fault for not checking the gas when you had the chance.”

“That cane is a little different than most. It’s a bit thicker and the handle’s is a bit jerky.”

He gripped the handle and slid out a inch and a half blade.

“Woah, I didn’t know this was a sword.” He said.

“Hell, keep it, it serves two purposes, keeping you steady and keeping you alive.”

“Yeah… I think I will.”

“I’m worn out, guys. I’m going to sleep.” Taylor said from somewhere in the back. “Alright you guys, get some sleep, I’ll keep first watch. I’ll wake Swordie in a couple hours.” I said

“Goodnight and good luck.” said Will.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a cigarette and black Zippo  lighter. I lit up and smoked. First I had in two weeks.

Damn I have no willpower.

In my sleep I hear a voice, it’s echoic, and distorted, but it sound familiar. It’s Austin.”Uh, Will? You should wake up,” he says in a panicky tone. My eyes slowly open, I see Austin, he had his hand on my shoulder, apparently he was shaking me. I rolled over on my back and see the barrel of a shotgun aimed at my head, I am instantly awake. Shit! I think to myself. What happened while I was asleep?

“G-Get up,” the boy says (he can’t be older than 15). He waves the shotgun barrel over to the wall behind me where Austin stands with his hands up. I comply, slowly getting up off of the bed and back away to where Austin is standing. “L-Listen,” he starts moving the barrel closer to us, as if to prove that he is a major threat, “if you give me your supplies you’ll go unharmed, if not . . .” he let the sentence drop, as if for dramatic effect. Not knowing any other way out of the situation I kneel down and take a strap of each pack into my left and right hands.

“Stop!” Austin barks at me, I comply. “Put them down Will.” I listen.

“D-Dammit, if you give me the supplies I’ll leave and you’ll keep your lives,” he says. Moving the shotgun back and forth between the torsos of Austin and I, as if he didn’t know which of us was the greater threat.

Austin, keeping his cool and not getting pissed off, says. “Please, we aren’t like the zombies, we still have full function of our thoughts, we can negotiate. Will and I have enough supplies for three people and, as you can see, we’re a group of two. If there is something you need than please tell me, we’d be more than happy to give it to you.”

The boy took his shotgun in his right hand finger still on the trigger. “I-I need medicine,” he stops and pulls up his left sleeve revealing a chunk of flesh missing from his forearm. “One of those bastards bit me. I just need a First-Aid Kit.”

“Alright,” I say, and kneel down by the packs again and ug around in Austin’s backpack until I found one of the white tins with the little red cross. I got up, and held out my hand for the guy to take the kit. He takes it and puts it in his belt and walks out thanking us for the medicine.

“One more ghoul for the slaughter,” I say.

“Don’t be so gloomy,” Austin says bumping me in the arm with the back of his hand.

“I’ll go on watch now. You need some rest, you may be strong, but you’re useless if you’re tired.”

“You’re right, goodnight, and goodluck.”

I picked up my M1 I had against the wall behind where we were standing. At any moment I could have grabbed my M1 and put a bullet in that kid’s brain, but my God damned morals got in the way. I pulled out on of the wooden chairs from the kitchen and sat in the room. My legs crossed rifle in my lap, then lit a cigarette. First I had in two weeks.

Damn, I have no willpower.

As I sat there my eyes got heavy and I drifted away to the land of dreams, this is the first time I’ve ever fallen asleep during my shift.

The idea of ‘the zombie’ is one linked with gruesome horror films (like Night of the Living Dead) and spoof movies (such as Shaun of the Dead)- and of course, you can believe what you want- but there’s nothing wrong with entertaining the idea that the walking dead may indeed, in some form, walk among us.

He comes from the grave, his body a home of worms and filth. No life in his eyes, no warmth of his skin, no beating of his breast. His soul, as empty and dark as the night sky. He laughs at the blade, spits at the arrow, for they will not harm his flesh. For eternity, he will walk with the earth, smelling the sweet blood of the living, feasting upon the bones of the damned. Beware, for he is the living dead.

- OBSCURE HINDU TEXT, CIRCA 1000 B.C.E.

As touched on in my first blog- there are several definitions and interpretations of what a zombie is…

• A voodoo spell that raises the dead?
• An animated corpse that feeds on human flesh?
• A voodoo snake god?

Either way, the creature now commonly refered to as a ‘Zombie’ in popular culture may be something we need to pay more attention to… with a world of epidemics – the most recent being swine flu – and a world getting a more advanced grasp of science… is a ‘Zombie’ so far-fetched?

Many directors and authors have explained their Zombie theme as a metaphor or representation of fears in society- fear of illness, fear of viruses, fear of the uncontrollable etc.    

Zombie autopsy

Will there become a time the reality overtakes the metaphor?…