Book Review for 'Feed' by Mira Grant

So I have this zombie…obsession?  Infatuation?  Extreme interest?  Whatever it is.  I have it.

The sciencey side of me is just so interested in what could make zombies actually work.  I mean, every zombie fan has probably heard about the fungal infection commonly seen in ants that (to use layman’s terms) infects their brains so they climb to the highest point possible and then explodes out of their bodies and spreads the spores to the wind.  And that’s real life!!!!

I just get so excited when I learn about new diseases (or new sides to old diseases) that could possibly make zombies.  It’s incredibly fascinating to me and I’m getting excited just typing about this.

ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!!

Okay.  I need to calm down.

Ooohhhhhhhmmmmmm.

I just finished this book.  Aaaaand…it’s awesome.  And zombies.  And politics.  And conspiracies.  And plot twists (but EXACTLY HOW I WOULD HAVE ENDED IT!!!).  Agh, calming down did not work.

So this book is called Feed, and it’s written by Mira Grant.  It’s the first book in a trilogy.  And tomorrow I am getting books two and three and then locking myself in my room and forcing The Man to take care of Stormageddon for the rest of the day because ermahgerd.

Bear in mind, I was not all this excited about the book for the first…250 pages.  I know, that’s a long time to keep reading a book that you’re not all that interested in, but I’d heard good things and I wanted to figure out why.  And it was worth it.  The last 320ish pages were awesome.

The story is narrated by a blogger.  Zombies have risen, blah-de-blah, the world is moving on with life while also dealing with the constant threat of the walking dead, and bloggers have become the most reliable news source.  So this blogger and her team (brother and friend) have been selected to follow a senator on his campaign trail to become the president of the United States.  Everything’s going great, the senator is an awesome guy, and then disaster hits after one of his rallies and lots of people “go grey” and lots of people die.  The team moves on with life, continues the trail, more disaster hits (this is where it starts to become interesting).  Then conspiracies are unveiled.  Then more disasters.  Then death and destruction and disaster and intrigue and ZOMBIES!!!!!!! 

Grant’s a pretty good writer.  She went out on shooting ranges, staged fight scenes, audited epidemiology courses, and more to write this book.  The brother/sister relationship is a little strange, but forgivable.  I mean, they’re each the only person the other has, so it’s kinda understandable why they’re so attached to each other.  I don’t know where I was going with that.

Anyway.  Grant writes convincing action scenes, almost Rowling-worthy emotional scenes (but not quite – this book didn’t make me cry), and it’s easy to get caught up in her writing (after all the character introductions and stuff are done).

If you like apocalyptic/political drama/zombie/question authority books, this is a good one.

I’m just hoping books two and three can jump right into the action since we’ll already know all the characters.

ZOMBIES!

Okay, I’m done.  I promise.

Book Review - Doug TenNapel's Ghostopolis

So I got this sci-fi book called The Dispossessed  for Book Reviews-day Tuesday, but…it kinda sucked, in my opinion.  There are very few books that I won’t power through and finish, but this is one of them.  I was all excited for it too – cool title, interesting premise (scientist trying to bring two nations that hate each other together), award-winning author – I just wasn’t all that interested in her writing style.  She’s a little too flowery and philosophical for me.  Does this mean I’m uncultured?  Probably.

I DO have a book for you though.  Just be aware, it IS a kids’ book.  Because I’m uncultured. 

It’s called Ghostopolis and it’s pretty much written for 12-year-old boys, which means I love it.  You’ve got this kid who is accidentally transported to the land of the dead, the “Supernatural Immigration Task Force” detective who transports as well to try and bring the boy home, a skeleton king, Benedict Arnold, an evil dictator who has incredible powers, a touching family relationship, and poop jokes.  I mean, come on.  Who wouldn’t love this?

Oh, and did I mention it’s a comic book?  Because it is.  And it’s awesome.

The author/illustrator is Doug TenNapel, and I currently have holds on every single book of his at our public library.  His work is colorful, artistic, and full of all the necessary comic book words (FUMM, VZZZT, THUMPA-DA THUMPA-DA, PLOP, FOOM, SPLAM and more).  I guess you’d really call it a graphic novel though, because it’s 267 pages.  Seriously though, quick read - The Man is a slow reader and he had it done in just over an hour.  He also gave it a positive review, in case you were wondering.

I think I love it so much because it’s inventive, it’s really well-drawn, it’s emotional at parts, and really I think most kids would enjoy it a ton.  And adults.  Because I’m an adult.  No, it’s not all that intellectually stimulating, but still…FUN.  Much more fun than The Dispossessed, at any rate.  Stormageddon even enjoys it!

A sample from the book (and The Man’s favorite line):

Bad Guy: I have one thing you don’t have that gives me the advantage.

Good Guy: Diarrhea?

And I really can’t top that so here ends my post.  Buy this book

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Why Mars and Venus Collide – John Gray, Ph.D.

Today we’re talking about one of John Gray’s works (he of “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus” fame).  It’s not bad.  Not outstanding, but definitely not the worst relationship book I’ve read. 

Hover and Click - you remember the drill
(Oh no!  Not the drill!)

Like everybody else and their mother, I’m in the process of writing a book.  In order to create the best possible product I’ve been reading a lot of self-help relationship books, and it’s ridiculous how boring some of them are.  I mean, they should be really really interesting; you’re trying to fix your relationship – you deserve an interesting book!  However, the majority that I’ve read say what they want to say in the first couple of chapters and then repeat it over and over, with the author using plenty of stories from their time as a therapist/psychiatrist/psychologist/what have you.  The best part is, the reader has no way of knowing if those stories are true.  The author could just be making them up entirely; I have yet to find the interviews listed in the sources.  Dr. Gray does not commit the sin of potentially made-up stories to prove points, but a large portion of this book IS repetition.

I could probably sum up the entire book right now.  Ready?

Men: Your woman needs to be seen, heard and supported.  Don’t interrupt and try to fix her problems when she’s talking, just make “supportive noises” (no, seriously, that’s what it says).

Women: Your man needs time to de-stress after work.  Also, if you want him to do something, tell him in clear and specific terms – men love projects.

Both: Keep yourself happy and fulfilled.  It is your job to make sure you’re happy; it is your partner’s job to make sure you’re happier.  When arguing, make sure you validate what they’re saying and clarify so you don’t misinterpret what they’re saying.

Aaaand…that’s it.  He also promotes his other books/website/diet a lot.  Haha…his diet…It’s all about “oxygenating your cells” and “de-toxifying your cells so they can allow more good hormones in.”  Psuedo Science at its worst.  Want some diet advice?  Eat more veggies, especially the leafy greens.  Eat more fruit.  Eat more whole grains.  Drink more water.  Those four things should make up the majority of your diet.  Done.

In all honesty though, his message is a good one.  From the research I’ve done I’d say his advice is pretty darn sound, and he’s not annoying/pompous/boring, so his book is an easy read.  You’ll even get a few laughs out of the process!  I mean, not on purpose, but still.

See, somewhere in the middle of the book is where he got me laughing.  For one, he is convinced that ALL women have a running point system in their heads, and that women always give themselves points for every tiny thing they do for their husband, and their husbands earn points only for the big things they do.  It’s ridiculous.

Another source of entertainment is what he believes all women want to be happy.  Now, I understand that this is a book about gender differences, but his views are a little antiquated.  My favorite example is from his list “One Hundred Ways a Man Can Raise a Woman’s Oxytocin Levels:” Get a small TV or radio for the kitchen.  His “One Hundred Ways for a Woman to Create Oxytocin on Her Own” is pretty good too, with suggestions such as: cook a meal with a friend and clean up together, ask someone to carry something, participate in a PTA meeting, and learn and practice a new diet plan or cleansing program for better health (oh, you so sneaky Dr. Gray!).  There’s another suggestion in the book (I’m struggling to find what list it’s in) that men should buy their wives fancy guest soaps to make them happy.  Because that’s what would really excite me – The Man coming home with a new guest soap.

So if you’re looking for a relationship-help book with mostly sound advice and a few snigger-worthy moments, this is a good one to read.  It’s definitely not the worst you can do.

The Mating Season – P.G. Wodehouse

Do you remember back in the day when the internet was shiny and new and “Ask Jeeves” was the search engine of choice?  The image next to the search bar was a nicely-dressed, well-groomed butler.  Did you ever wonder where Jeeves got off being such a know-it-all?

Wonder no more!

I was first introduced to Wodehouse’s work through my little sister, albeit in an indirect manner.  In his younger days Hugh Laurie did a television show called “Jeeves and Wooster.”  And it is wonderful.  The show is based around 1925 or so and focuses on one of the ‘idle rich’ – Wooster – and his manservant Jeeves.  Wooster is a bit of an ass (his words, not mine), and Jeeves is a wealth of knowledge who often uses Wooster as a pawn to accomplish certain things.  If you are good at deciphering strong and fast British accents, this is the show for you.  In fact, try it out right now!  If you hover over the picture it can take you to Amazon's website, where you can watch it online!  

The first few minutes are kinda meh, but stick it out; totally worth it!

So the covers of the DVDs all say that the series is based off a series of books by P.G. Wodehouse, and as a bibliophile I decided that I needed to get my hands on some of those books.

The first book I read was called The Mating Season.  Not only is the plot delightfully farcical, but the characters are well-done, the vocabulary is stimulating, and the voice of Wooster (the narrator) is ridiculously fun.

For example:

“I say ‘the ghost of Jeeves’ because in that first awful moment that was what I had the apparition docketed as.  The words ‘What ho!  A spectre!’ trembled on my lips, and I reacted rather like the heroine of Murder At Greystone Grange on discovering that the Thing had come to doss in her room.  I don’t know if you have ever seen a ghost, but the general effect is to give you quite a start.

“Then the scent of bacon floated to the nostrils, and feeling that it was improbable that a wraith would be horsing about the place with dishes of eggs and b., I calmed down a bit.  That is to say, I stopped upsetting the tea and was able to mutter.  It is true that all I said was ‘Jeeves!’ but that wasn’t such bad going for one whose tongue had so recently been tangled up with the uvula, besides cleaving to the roof of the mouth.”

In this particular story, Wooster is asked by his aunt to stay with a family in the country.  His frenemy Gussie is supposed to go as well (ordered by Gussie’s fiancée), but is jailed at the last minute.  To save Gussie’s good name Wooster goes to the house pretending to be Gussie.  Then the real Gussie shows up and has to pretend to be Wooster.  In the middle you have about four pairs of star-crossed lovers all mixed up in each other, a hunting song, the “coshing” of a policeman, dog-snatching, movie stars, and much else.  And you can get it in paperback form from Amazon super cheap! 

Hover and click.  Hover and click.

In this case I really don’t know if the book is better than the television series.  On one hand, the book can go more in depth and you get even more Wooster (my favorite part), but Hugh Laurie does such an awesome job of capturing Wooster’s voice and Stephen Fry is the best Jeeves ever.  My advice?  Partake of both.  You will not regret it.