World War Z

 I love to own books. Though I read few books twice, I have every shelf in my house with books, have had more shelves made and filled those too. My books surround me like a cocoon. When I run my finger along the backs of my books they feel like the ribcage of an old familiar lover. Visit my shelves and you will learn much about me."    -Joe Bennett

I love reading. It's true. The boys and I decided over our Christmas dinner that we should start reading the same books so that we could have actual discussions about them with people who have read the same material and understand what the hell you are talking about. This is where "Bookworms Anonymous" was born.

As of late, I generally prefer autobiographies and non-fictions (the occasional historical fiction is also called for) and I rarely go outside of that genre. This was one of the main purposes of starting our little "book club", so that we could all take turns choosing books for everyone to read and discuss together, and read books that we wouldn't normally consider on our own. I think if we continue this tradition we will expand not only our personal libraries, but also our literary comfort zones. Yay us!


January was Danny's turn to pick our book and the place we have our dinner/discussion at the end of the month. Danny is really into the classics, so I was sure that he would choose something from Hemingway, Milner, Wilder or an author along those lines. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that his choice was a book about zombies.   (.:sound of a scratching record:.)        Say whaaaaat?

Danny's January 2012 pick

Imagine my surprise still, when I started reading the book and was hooked! This book went really quickly and was a very easy read. It is not your typical linear-storyline narrative and there is next to no character development traditionally speaking. There are no main characters (besides the obvious - zombies) and the story takes place over several years in dozens of locations.

The book is written from the point of view of survivors of the "Zombie Apocalypse" as they are interviewed by a journalist. Brooks did an amazing job of taking care of every single detail, from the science of the virus that turned normal, healthy human beings into flesh-hungry mindless drones - to the psychological effect that the virus and the 'outbreak' had on the survivors.

The book really got us thinking, and as odd as it may sound, I found myself preparing mentally for a disaster of epic proportions. I think the basic underlying messages in the book remind us to be prepared, because we truly have no idea what could happen tomorrow. The stuffed shirts over at the CDC must have read this book as well, as they have a category for Zombie Preparedness now listed on their website under Public Health Preparedness and Response. There is also a Zombie Apocalypse Store in Las Vegas that caters to Doomsdayers and conspiracy theorists. Of course they realize that this is less of a global threat and more of a means for entertainment, but it brings up a really good point. "If you are generally well equipped to deal with a zombie apocalypse you will be prepared for a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake, or terrorist attack."

Most of the interviewees had stories that overlapped with others from different parts of the world, so it was really interesting to see how the same events effected different people in different countries, terrains, and with different backgrounds. Brooks did a phenomenal job of making the book believable (well...as believable as a zombie apocalypse can be) by thinking through every single gesture and every word that was written. It's fast-paced, humorous at times, and an all-around entertaining read. I highly recommend it - but you don't have to take my word for it.