2012 Zombie Reading Challenge

From Book Chick City:

To sign up you MUST make a post on your blog about participating in the challenge - you then use the DIRECT URL of the post to sign up to the challenge by adding it to Mr Linky below. DO NOT just add your blog URL - this will be deleted.

You must add the button to your sidebar - make sure that it links back to this post so others can join the challenge if they wish. Easiest way to do this is to copy and paste the code displayed below!Challenge Details

• Timeline: 01 Jan 2012 - 31 Dec 2012

• Rules: There are FOUR (4) LEVELS to choose from: 

- One Chomp: Read 6 Zombie books in 2012

- Two Chomps: Read 12 Zombie books in 2012

 - Three Chomps: Read 18 Zombie books in 2012

- Four Chomps: Read 24 Zombie books in 2012

• You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

• You can join at anytime. All books read in 2012 count towards the challenge regardless of when you sign up.

• At the beginning of Jan 2012, you will find a link to specific month to add your reviews.• Audiobooks do not count, but all other formats are accepted.• Only fiction, no non-fiction.• At the beginning of Jan 2012, you will find a link to add your reviews.

I love zombies!  I had to include a zombie reading challenge for this year.  I'm going to be a bit ambitious and commit to Three Chomps (18 zombie novels).  My tentative TBR:

1. The Undead World of Oz (2009)
2. Alice in Zombieland (2011)
3. You are So Undead to Me -- Stacey Jay (Megan Berry, Zombie Settler #1) (2009)
4. Undead Much -- Stacey Jay (Megan Berry, Zombie Settler #2) (2010)
5. Generation Dead -- Daniel Waters (Generation Dead #1) (2009)
6. Kiss of Life -- Daniel Waters (Generation Dead #2) (2010)
7. Passing Strange -- Daniel Waters (Generation Dead #3) (2011)
8. Allison Hewitt is Trapped -- Madeleine Roux (2011)
9. Night of the Necromancer -- Kyle West (2011)
10. Feed -- Mira Grant (Newsflesh #1) (2010)
11. Deadline -- Mira Grant (Newsflesh #2) (2011)
12. Blackout -- Mira Grant (Newsflesh #3) (2012)
13. Zombie Blondes -- Brian James (2009)
14. Sadie Walker is Stranded -- Madeleine Roux (2012)
15. The Dark and Hollow Places -- Carrie Ryan (Forest of Hands and Teeth #3) (2011)
16. TBD
17. TBD
18. TBD

The Affinity Bridge by George Mann

Title: The Affinity Bridge (A Newbury and Hobbes Investigation)

Author: George Mann

Publisher: A Tor Book 2009

Genre: Steampunk

Pages: 333

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Steampunk

How I Got It: Borrowed from the library

Welcome to the bizarre and dangerous world of Victorian London, a city teetering on the edge of revolution. Its people are ushering in a new era of technology, dazzled each day by unfamiliar inventions. Airships soar in the skies over the city, while ground trains rumble through the streets and clockwork automatons are programmed to carry out menial tasks in the offices of lawyers, policemen, and journalists.

But beneath this shiny veneer of progress lurks a sinister side.

Queen Victoria is kept alive by a primitive life-support system, while her agents, Sir Maurice Newbury and his delectable assistant Miss Veronica Hobbes, do battle with enemies of the crown, physical and supernatural. This time Newbury and Hobbes are called to investigate the wreckage of a crashed airship and its missing automaton pilot, while attempting to solve a string of strangulations attributed to a mysterious glowing policeman, and dealing with a zombie plague that is ravaging the slums of the capital.

I loved loved loved this book!  It had everything I want in an adventure novel: great characters, witty dialogue, fast-paced action, a bit of romance, mysteries, and zombies.  Okay, confession time...  I will read almost anything with zombies.  But I have found a few that I didn't like.  This falls into the majority.  I loved the mystery surrounding the murders and the downed airship.  The zombies were a welcome addition to the mystery.

Newbury and Hobbes are an entertaining detective duo.  I loved that they didn't make Hobbes a wimpy wallflower, but gave her some strength.  She's still a lady of the time period, but she's a progressive lady.  And Newbury is the right amount of gentleman and kick ass hero.  The villains are villainous.  The danger is real.  It was a roller coaster adventure.  I can't wait to read more from Mann.

Newbury and Hobbes Investigations

• #1 The Affinity Bridge
• #2 The Osiris Ritual
• #3 The Immorality Engine
• #4 The Executioner's Heart
• #5 Case Book of Newbury and Hobbes

The Walking Dead: Book 3

Title: The Walking Dead: Book Three

Author: Robert Kirkman

Publisher: Image Comics 2010

Genre: Graphic Novel; Zombies

Pages: 304

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novels

How I Got It: borrowed from library

This hardcover features another 12 issues of the hit series along with the cover art - all in one oversized hardcover volume. Perfect for long time fans, new readers and anyone interested in reading a zombie movie on paper that never ends.

Another winner.  I just love this series.  It hasn't topped Fables, but it's a close second as my favorite graphic novel series.  Every page is horrifying, even if you don't see any zombies.  The ever-present danger and unease comes through.  As much as I love zombies, I don't want to live in world of The Walking Dead.  I will pass, thank you very much.  We finally get to meet The Governor.  I've heard bits and pieces from other readers and fans of the television series (speaking of it start's this weekend!).  He is just as interesting and dangerous as I heard.  I love the ending (or is it?) for his character.  Plus we get see more of Glenn, Michonne, and Rick.  And we get to meet some new survivors.  I loved Dr. Stevens.  The zombie attacks were horrifying.  The quiet moments were filled with unease.  The confrontations were high tension.  All the aspects of the series that I have grown to love.  Can't wait for the next book.

The Walking Dead: Book Two

Title: The Walking Dead: Book Two

Author: Robert Kirkman

Publisher: Image Comics 2007

Genre: Graphic Novel; Zombies

Pages: 304

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novels

How I Got It: borrowed from library

This hardcover features issues #13-24 of the hit series along with the covers for each of the issues, all in one oversized hardcover volume. Continuing the tale of Rick Grimes and his band of survivors from the zombie apocalypse that has ravaged the world.

This series just keeps getting darker and darker, and I absolutely love it!  Once again, I was struck by the black and white drawings.  One would think that they wouldn't be enough for a scary zombie story.  Yet they convey the stark world the survivors now live in.  We aren't focused on the zombie but on the desperate reality of the situation.  I love that.  The characters are wonderful.  We meet some new characters in the prison.  We lose some characters.  I won't say who, but you know that people are going to die.  It's the zombie apocalypse for goodness sakes.  However, I was surprised at how many we lost in this book.  It was quite starling.  Overall it continues this feeling of uneasy.  We never know who is going to die next.  The Walking Dead is definitely not a predictable story.  I can't wait to see what's in store for the next book...

The Walking Dead: Book One

Title: The Walking Dead: Book One

Author: Robert Kirkman

Publisher: Image Comics 2010

Genre: Graphic Novel; Zombies

Pages: 304

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novels

This hardcover features the first 12 issues of the hit series along with the covers for the issues in one oversized hardcover volume. Perfect for long time fans, new readers and anyone needing a slightly heavy object with which to fend off the walking dead.

Very much in love with this series already.  The drawings, all black and white, show such emotion and movement in single frames.  It's just fantastic.  I especially loved the pages of no dialogue, but multiple single frames acting out the screen.  Just beautiful.  And I definitely agree with the black and white coloring.  Somehow it makes everything more bleak and horrifying.  Even the zombies look scarier.  s great.  Each one has its own story to tell and mysteries to solve.  But I think my favorites are Rick (duh!) and Tyrese.  Both are those kind of people anyone would be lucky to have in the zombie apocalypse.  I just hope they don't die soon.  I like them way too much.

To be honest, I watched the AMC series before reading the graphic novel.  They are alike, but not alike.  Many of the characters are the same in the beginning, but the series definitely branches off on its on at some point.  And I'm okay with that.  These are two different entities.  They can be different.  So I'll keep reading the graphic novel and keep watching the series.

Zombies vs. Unicorns

Title: Zombies vs. Unicorns

Edited by: Holly Black (Team Unicorn) and Justine Larbalestier (Team Zombie)

Publisher: McElderry Books 2010

Genre: YA Short Stories; Zombie; Paranormal

Pages: 415

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; 2011 - It Wasn't Me

It’s a question as old as time itself: Which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? This all-original, tongue-in-cheek anthology edited by Holly Black (Team Unicorn) and Justine Larbalestier (Team Zombie), makes strong arguments for both sides in the form ofspectacular short stories. Contributors include bestselling authors Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan.

Discover how unicorns use their powers for evil, why zombies aren’t always the enemy, and much more in this creative, laugh-out-loud collection that will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

This is definitely the best anthology of the year.  I love every single story included here.  Half were zombie stories (of course I would like them) and half were unicorn stories (kinda surprised I liked them).  It was really hard to narrow it down, but here are my four favorite stories:

1. "Bougeinvillea" by Carrie Ryan -- Set in the same world as The Forest of Hands and Teeth, this story was a classic post zombie apocalypse story.  Our heroine (can't think of another word, so I'm going with that) lives on an island in the Caribbean visited by pirates and traders.  Her father controls everything, but of course that never works right?  I loved how the story switched back and forth from the present and bits of her past.  We get a lot of character information in just a few pages.  And it's action packed and filled with zombie dread.  Perfect!

2. "The Children of the Revolution" by Maureen Johnson -- You ever read about one of those crazy cult religions and think "what's really going on there?"  Here's your story.  It has a crazy religion, an unsuspecting participant, a famous actress, a big house in the country, five little kids and a secret.  Can you guess what the secret is?  I guess before I even started reading, but that didn't make this story any else creepy.  Just how I like them.

3. "Princess Prettypants" by Meg Cabot -- Just what I would expect from the author of The Princess Diaries.  It was a fun little story with a pretty interesting unicorn.  And I'm not even a huge fan of unicorns.  It had the right blend of action, despair, and fantasy.

4. "The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn" by Diana Peterfreund -- Uber fun story.  I had absolutely not clue where the author was taking us, and that's the fun part.  Definitely check this one out.

Overall, amazing collection of stories.  Although I'm still squarely in Team Zombie, I have a new found respect for Team Unicorn.  They can really pull in the creep factor when they want to.  Kudos to you!

Autumn: The City by David Moody

Title: Autumn: The City

Author: David Moody

Publisher:

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 330

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library

The sequel to Moody's Autumn doesn't fail to live up to the first one.  This volume happens during the same time period as the first, but focuses on a group of people in the city.  We don't get a mention of what city, but that doesn't really matter.  All we need to know is it's a city somewhere in England.  And that works just fine throughout the book.  We're focused more on the survival of the characters than the setting.  Once again, the zombies are more of an ever-present threat than the focus.  This time they're even more present, constantly just outside the university buildings.

There was a wide range of characters unlike just the few we met in the first one.  My favorite was definitely Cooper, the soldier tucked away in a bunker until after the event and then left in the outside world.  He had the biggest learning curve of all the survivors, not being present during the event.  We see the event fresh through his eyes.  I loved his matter-of-fact approach to the threats and his clear thinking.  He sounds like someone I could have gotten along with.  I also enjoyed Donna, the no-nonsense office worker.  Her strength grew as the book enfolded.  She would definitely be an asset in case of a zombie apocalypse.  We even remeet Emma and Michael from the first book.  They made it out and away from the farmhouse, but they're definitely not out of danger.

Once again, we get a nonending.  There's no "happily ever after," no epilogue, no grand event and that's why I love these books.  It's like we're looking at one chapter of a greater saga.  It leaves the ending open to the imagination or horror depending on your outlook.

An ad in the  back of the book mentioned two other volumes in the series. I will have to do some research.

Autumn

• #1 Autumn
• #2 The City
• #3 Purefaction
• #4 The Human Condition
• #5 Disintegration
• #6 Aftermath

Non-Review Reads - Week of May 23, 2011

This past week I've read a few books that, all well and good.  I just couldn't think of a lot to say about them for a proper review.  Also, these volumes did not count for any reading challenge (other than Support Your Local Library, but I already have so many for that challenge). So I give you my short reviews from this week:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Pale Reflections Dark Horse Comics Aligns with BTVS season 3. Good short comic. (On a BTVS comic kick as of late, so these will show up a lot.)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: False Memories Dark Horse Comics #35-38 Aligns with BTVS season 5. Features the issue of Dawn and her "memories" of the past. We also get to see a slayer turned vampire from the past. Good storyline.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted Dark Horse Comics Aligns with BTVS season 5. Actually picks up right after the big fight with Faith. We get to see what happened to the Mayor and even glipmse Riley and the commandos moving in to Sunnydale.

I am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert Great fun book! Imagine The Colbert Report... Now expand his commentary into a 230 page book. Yep that's it! But it's oh so good. (I've got The Daily Show with John Stewart presents Earth sitting here. Think I'll tackle that for next week.)

Today in History: Disney by Eve Zibart We're going to Disney World in less than a month, so I'm in intense planning mode. This was a nice trivial diversion from the guide books. Loving it!

The Ultimate Disney Trivia Book by Kevin Neary and Dave Smith Another Disney book for some fun trivia. Unfortunately this only goes to 1992, so no newer movie trivia. Boo!

Watchmen: The Film Companion Great little book celebrating the movie.  The pictures were awesome and the interviews with the actors were insightful.

Watchmen: The Art of the Film Another beautiful book of production notes/stills/posters from the movie.  I couldn't resist either of these Watchmen books after reading the graphic novel and rewatching the movie...

Zombie High Yearbook by Jeff Busch I love zombies! Have you figured that out yet? And this was perfect fun!

Reading Challenge Finished!

Today I finished my first big reading challenge!  I feel like I have hit a milestone...  it's a great feeling of accomplishment.  You ask, what reading challenge?  Zombies, of course.  I didn't think it would take me long to read 10 zombie books, but I thought it would take longer than this.  I tried to pick up a mix of genres for my weekly reading.  Yet, I somehow always ended up with a zombie book in there.  So here's my list...  the first ten were my original picks way back in December.  As you can see, I picked up some others to ultimately finish the list.

1. The Undead World of Oz -- Ryan Thomas
2. Zombies for Zombies -- David Murphy (2/5/11)
3. Flip this Zombie -- Jesse Petersen (2/13/11)
4. Zombies vs. Unicorns - Larbalestier
5. The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan (5/17/11)
6. The Dead-Tossed Waves - Carrie Ryan (5/23/11)
7. You are So Undead to Me - Stacey Jay
8. Undead Much - Stacey Jay
9. Zombie Blondes - Brian James
10. Generation Dead - Daniel Waters
11. A Zombie's History of the United States - Dr. Worm Miller (3/2/11)
12. Autumn - David Moody (3/6/11)
13. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After - Steven Hockensmith (4/10/11)
14. Autumn: The City - David Moody
15. Hungry for Your Love - Lori Perkins (4/21/11)
16. The Living Dead 2 - John Joseph Adams (5/9/11)
17. Once Bitten, Twice Dead - Bianca D'Arc (5/16/11)

I read some really good ones in there.  I think my favorite so far is Autumn by David Moody.  Very disturbing book, but not your typical zombie gore fest.  I still have the sequel Autumn: The City to read.  But I want to take a zombie break.

There's still a question hanging in the air: Should I increase this reading challenge to 20 books and keep going?  Or just keep it here and focus on the other challenges?  Keep in mind that I will still read zombie books throughout the rest of the year, I just won't have them count for a challenge!

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Title: The Dead-Tossed Waves

Author: Carrie Ryan

Publisher: Delacorte Press 2010

Genre: Young Adult, Zombies

Pages: 404

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; May Read and Review; Zombies

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

A companion novel to The Forest and Hands and Teeth.  Sort of a sequel, but not a sequel.  I loved it. Not quite as much as the first one, but definitely a lot.   Thought it was interesting that the main character in this book, Gabry, wants most of all to stay within her little fenced in world.  She doesn't want to leave, explore the world beyond.  Mary in TFHT wants nothing more than to get away from her fences.  I liked the reversal of motivation between the two main characters.  Of course, circumstances create difficulties for Gabry and she isn't allowed to stay in her little fenced in world.  In a way the plot was predictable.  I guessed the main events throughout, but that's okay.  The book really isn't about the events.  It's about the people and their relationships.  I loved seeing how Gabry responded and grew.  I definitely like Gabry more than I liked Mary.  Mary was fairly selfish and some of the things she said and did, I wanted to scream at her.  Gabry is much more of a liakable person.  Sure, she's a coward, but she also has this need to take care of others.  I think that was the point that I connected to her as a person.

Overall, a definite must read!  Now I have to enter the land of library holds to read the third book, The Dark and Hollow Places.  Hope it's as good as the first two.

Forest of Hands and Teeth

• #0.4 What We Once Feared
• #0.5 Hare Moon
• #1 The Forest of Hands and Teeth
• #2 The Dead-Tossed Waves
• #3 The Dark and Hollow Places
• #3.5 The Dead and Empty World

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Title: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Author: Carrie Ryan

Publisher: Delacorte Press 2009

Genre: Young Adult, Zombies

Pages: 310

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; May Read and Review; Zombies

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Wow!  I am so in awe of this book.  A story of faith, hope, loss, dreams, terror.  I practically read it in one sitting.  I would have if I didn't have to do things like sleep, eat, shower, and take care of my children.  As it was, it took me two days to finish.  I couldn't get through the pages fast enough.

My mother used to tell me about the ocean.  She said there was a plcace where there was nothing but water as fara as you could see and that iw as always moving, rushing toward you and then away.

The first line hooked me.  I hadn't been told what happened or who the characters were, but I knew this was going to be a story of hope and loss.  And the book didn't fail to disappoint.  This was one of those books where I put myself completely into the world, into the main character.  I was Mary sitting in her village wondering, dreaming of the ocean.  What was it like?  Where was it?  Was it just fleeting dream?  What would it mean to leave the safety of the village?  Then I continued with Mary's journey, while the safety of the village is compromised, when her faith in her family is tested, where she goes after.  I couldn't wait to find out if she was safe or still in danger.

The novel creates this moody atmosphere.  The forest is a living thing and not only because it is home to the Unconsecrated.  It's also a breathing entity surround the village and subsequent areas.  It seems neverending, always there, always growing.  I loved stepping into Ryan's world.

I now see why everyone in the blogosphere was raving about this book.  It has earned a place in my Top 10 of 2011.  Thankfully I picked up the next book, The Dead-Tossed Waves, so I can dive into it tonight.  The book had such an affect on me that it invaded my dreams.  I woke up last night out of a dream and felt inspired to write.  The resulting story will appear on Friday.  Tell me what you think about.  Until then, I am off to finish the chores o the night so I can get back to reading.

Forest of Hands and Teeth

• #0.4 What We Once Feared
• #0.5 Hare Moon
• #1 The Forest of Hands and Teeth
• #2 The Dead-Tossed Waves
• #3 The Dark and Hollow Places
• #3.5 The Dead and Empty World

Once Bitten, Twice Dead by Bianca D'Arc

Title: Once Bitten, Twice Dead

Author: Bianca D'Arc

Publisher: Brava 2010

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Pages: 293

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; May Read and Review; Zombies

So take a contemporary romance (complete with fairly graphic sex scenes) and combine it with a zombie action/adventure... interesting concept.  And yet, I felt this story was poorly executed.  I picked this up from the library thinking that a combo of romance and zombies would be fun.  Unfortunately I didn't buy either aspect.

The love story was predictable.  The two main characters hop into a sexual relationship within the first two days of meeting each other.  The characters separately were okay, but nothing so great.  Why is it that every woman in this romance books has had a bad relationship that causes her to hesitate (for a fraction of a second, but in her mind the entire book) getting involved with the male character?  Can we have any other type of female character, please?  And I am so sick of these books ending with the characters telling each other "I love you" and more often than that becoming engaged and/or getting married.  I would like to read a more complicated (and real) relationship.  I want to see two people actually get to know each other.  This is why I love Jane Austen.  Her romances (even being set in the early 1800s) feel more like real relationships than these modern romances.  I sometimes feel that these novels were written solely for the sex scenes.  Sort of like how many people watch porn just for the sex scenes and fast forward through anything that could be called plot.  Is it so hard to have a good story that happens to have a few good sex scenes?  Please someone give me some ideas...

As to the zombie storyline, I felt it was an afterthought.  It was like we needed something to get these two characters together, so how about a mad scientist letting zombies loose?  These zombies are supposedly a laboratory creation with the intent of creating an army.  How many times have I read that story?  Very rarely is it excuted well and that's without a romance plot.  The mad scientist was predictable. The zombie attacks were predictable.  The suspense was nonexisant.  I like my zombie books to be truly disturbng (see Autumn) or lots of fun (see Pride and Prejudice and Zombies trilogy).  Zombies as an afterthought better be prefaced by a great storyline and characters.

This book just didn't catch me at all.  I was bored halfway through, but skimmed through the rest for the action/zombie scenes hoping that somethng would get better.  Nope, pretty disappointing.  Once finishing, I found out that the books is part of a trilogy.  I had picked those up from the library to read, but think I'm going to skip them for something more interest.

If you want to read a good romance/zombie book, pick up Married with Zombies and Flip This Zombie by Jesse Petersen (1-2 of The Living Dead trilogy, 3rd comes out later this year).  David and Sarah are a great real couple who fight their way through the zombie apocaplypse.

Next up: The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Heard great things about this zombie young adult novel, so I bumped it up my reading list.

Guardians of the Dark (DNFed series)

• #1 Half Past Dead (with Zoë Archer)
• #2 Once Bitten, Twice Dead
• #3 "Smoke On The Water" in The Beast Within
• #4 A Darker Shade of Dead
• #5 Dead Alert

The Living Dead 2 edited by John Joseph Adams

Title: The Living Dead 2

Edited by: John Joseph Adams

Publisher: Night Shade Books 2010

Genre: Zombies

Pages: 496

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; May Read and Review; Zombies

Another day, another anthology.  But this one features my favorite: ZOMBIES!  According to the editor, John Joseph Adams, this anthology gives the newest of the new running the full spectrum of stories.  It definitely delivered.  I loved so many of these stories.  I like almost all of the stories.  I only disliked a couple.  Out of 43, I would say 40 were enjoyable.  That is quite a score for an anthology.

Here were my absolute favorites:

• Seth Lindberg "Twenty-Three Snapshots of San Francisco" -- Interesting way to show live before and after the zombie apocalypse.  I connected with the characters without them ever speaking.  Great concept!  Really hit home.  Loved it.
• Karina Sumner-Smith "When the Zombies Win" -- What would the world be like after the zombies win (and they will, don't kid yourself, they won't stop)?  According to Sumner-Smith, it's a pretty depressing place.  A philosophical look at the world.  I like it.
• David Wellington "Good People" -- Classic survivor tale set in the desert in a motel.  A group goes out to check out the surrounding area.  This is going to well, right?  Watch out for the twist at the end.  A character finally realizes the definition of "good people."  Instant classic!
• Brian Keene "Lost Canyon of the Dead" -- Zombies, cowboys, and dinosaurs.... need I saw more?
• Cherie Priest "Reluctance" -- Set in the same world as Boneshaker (which I own, but haven't read yet.  steampunk fun!) during the American Civil War.  Classic story with a steampunk twist.
• Bret Hammond "Rural Dead" -- How would the Amish deal with the zombie apocalypse?  Hammond tries to answer with a great short story.

Loving me some zombies this week.  But this book definitely took me longer to read than I anticipated.  I need to be more focused in my reading.  I am going to commit myself to reading at least 1 hour day.  Hopefully that will get me back on track.  Next up: I'm thinking a romance.  As much as I love zombies, I think I need a bit of a break after 43 zombie stories.

Hungry for Your Love

Title: Hungry for Your Love

Edited By: Lori Perkins

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin 2009

Genre: Zombie; Short Stories

Pages: 368

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; April Read-a-Thon; Zombie

Finally finished!  I love zombie stories, but I really feel like I've been reading this book forever.  Like most anthologies I have mixed feelings about the stories.  Initially, I was concerned about the mix of zombies and romance.  Was I going to read zombie porn?  EWWW! Definitely not the part of the genre that I enjoy.  Thankfully only a few stories alluded to that activity.  There were a couple zombie (or zombie-ish)/human pairings and a few zombie/zombie pairings, but there were many classic survivors find love stories.  I am highlighting my top five stories (out of 21 total):

1. R.G. Hart "My Partner the Zombie" - A model private investigator, her zombie (but high functioning with unrequited love) partner, the circus, midgets, and a meglomaniac!  What a cast! Mystery, intrigue, and a great happy (if slightly improbable) ending. Really enjoyed this one.
2. Jan Kozlowski "First Love Never Dies" - A police officer stumbles into a grotesque compound owned by a former acquaintance. It has a happy ending in an appropriate conclusion kind of way.  Not happy, but satisfying.  Full of very relatable emotions, zombie infestation nonwithstanding.
3. S.M. Cross "Through Death to Love" - How can someone fall in love with a zombie?  Perhaps through speech therapy.  However it happens, you bet it's going to be slow and steady.  (hee hee get it?)  Ignoring my ridiculous puns, I liked the quiet emotions to this love story.
4. Jeanine McAdam "Inhuman Resources" - Aren't all office drones zombielike?  But what if they actually were zombies.  Could you spot the difference?  These are the questions our heroine must ask herself at the Shibboleth Insurance Agency.  And to complicate matters, she meets a mysterious, slightly geeky guy claiming to be a zombie hunter.
5. Steven Saus "Kicking the Habit" - Romeo and Juliet style story except R and J are now zombies.  I loved the subtle humor to this piece.  Zombies are hard to make humorous, but Saus definitely achieved a slightly funny, definitely engaging love story.

Dreadfully Ever After by Steven Hockensmith

Title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After

Author: Steven Hockensmith

Publisher: Quirk Books 2011

Genre: Jane Austen; Zombies

Pages: 320

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: April Read-a-Thon; Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and its prequel, Dawn of the Dreadfuls, were both New York Times best sellers, with a combined 1.3 million copies in print. Now the PPZ trilogy comes to a thrilling conclusion with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After.

The story opens with our newly married protagonists, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, defending their village from an army of flesh-eating “unmentionables.” But the honeymoon has barely begun when poor Mr. Darcy is nipped by a rampaging dreadful. Elizabeth knows the proper course of action is to promptly behead her husband (and then burn the corpse, just to be safe). But when she learns of a miracle antidote under development in London, she realizes there may be one last chance to save her true love—and for everyone to live happily ever after.

Great ending for an awesome zed filled trilogy.  I love the first Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and the prequel Dawn of the Dreadfuls.  This was a satisfying conclusion to the story.

Within the first few pages, Mr. Darcy is bitten by a dreadful.  The following story finds Elizabeth trying desperately to save him.  Lady Catherine attempting to thwart her plans while pretending to help (not really a spoiler if you remember the character of Lady Catherine).  Kitty taking a more prominent role in the family since Lydia's marriage to Wickham.  Mary becoming a self-assured woman.  Mr. Bennet trying to keep everyone focused.  And a host of new colorful characters.  Definitely my favorite character of the book had to be Bunny with his pet rabbit Brummell, comedic relief with in the presence of unmentionables.

The book is fast paced yet not too fast.  The writing is less Jane Austen than the other two books, but still retains the essence of her style of writing.  The illustrations are a joy to peruse.  I loved every minute of reading it.  I'm sad to see the series end, but it's a good ending.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

• #1 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
• #2 Dawn of the Dreadfuls
• #3 Dreadfully Ever After

Autumn by David Moody

Title: Autumn (Autumn #1)

Author: David Moody

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books 2010

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 308

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; Zombies: March Fantasy Month; A to Z Titles: A

A bastard hybrid of War of the Worlds and Night of the Living Dead, Autumn chronicles the struggle of a small group of survivors forced to contend with a world torn apart by a deadly disease. After 99% of the population of the planet is killed in less than 24 hours, for the very few who have managed to stay alive, things are about to get much worse.  Animated by "phase two" of some unknown contagion, the dead begin to rise. At first slow, blind, dumb and lumbering, quickly the bodies regain their most basic senses and abilities... sight, hearing, locomotion...  As well as the instinct toward aggression and violence.  Held back only by the restraints of their rapidly decomposing flesh, the dead seem to have only one single goal - to lumber forth and destroy the sole remaining attraction in the silent, lifeless world:  those who have survived the plague, who now find themselves outnumbered 1,000,000 to 1...

Without ever using the 'Z' word, Autumn offers a new perspective on the traditional zombie story. There's no flesh eating, no fast-moving corpses, no gore for gore's sake. Combining the atmosphere and tone of George Romero's classic living dead films with the attitude and awareness of 28 Days (and Weeks) later, this horrifying and suspenseful novel is filled with relentless cold, dark fear.

One day 99% of the world's population drops dead.  A few days later, about a 1/3 of the dead get up and start walking around.  Ahhh... the zombie apocalypse, my favorite genre.  And this book was awesome!

Told from the viewpoint of a few survivors in a small English village, they struggle to understand and then make the next move. I liked that the book was told from a limited perspective.  The reader and characters have no clue if this is a worldwide phenomena or just extends to the next village.  Once three of the survivors leave the village, we don't know what happens to those remaining at the community center.  We only find out later when Carl tries to go back.  While the characters themselves are incredibly memorable, they represent more of archetypes.  Examples for the reader of how people react in extreme circumstances.  We don't need to remember to the specific character because we connect to their emotions, the struggle to live or not live in this new landscape.

The book is sufficiently scary.  More with the constant threat of the "undead" than any immediate attacks.  That would be the worst thing about the zombie apocalypse, the constant feelings of unease.  You could never feel safe, even in a barricaded farmhouse.

Overall, a very good book.  I guess the book was made into a movie a few years back and I saw it from Netflix. All I remember is watching about 15 minutes, getting fed up with the horrible sound and picture quality, and turning it off.  Sorry to the filmmakers, but it was a dud.  Thank goodness the book was awesome.

Autumn:

• #1 Autumn
• #2 The City
• #3 Purification
• #4 The Human Condition
• #5 Disintegration
• #6 Aftermath

A Zombie's History of the United States by Dr. Worm Miller

Title: A Zombie's History of the United States

Author: Dr. Worm Miller

Publisher: Ulysses Press 2011

Genre: Zombie; U.S. History

Pages: 228

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; Zombies

U.S. History and zombies in one volume?  Yes, please...

A very enjoyable "true" account of U.S. history from the zombie angle.  Who knew that zombies almost thwarted Washington's crossing of the Delaware?  Or that war in the Pacific was helped by the Berzerker's Corps (zombie unit)?  Or that Meriweather Lewis was in fact a zombie hybrid through most of the journey across the Louisiana Purchase?  I didn't.  And I call myself a history teacher.

In all seriousness, this is a great, fun parody of history.  I loved the tongue-in-cheek tone throughout most of the entries.  At times, I did find myself skimming the nonzombie history sections (I do know my fair share of u.s. history).  But that's okay, it was still immensely enjoying!

Flip This Zombie by Jesse Petersen

Title: Flip This Zombie (Living with the Dead Book 2)

Author: Jesse Petersen

Publisher: Orbit Books 2011

Genre: Zombies

Pages: 250

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombies; Support Your Local Library; A to Z Authors: P

The Zombie Apocalypse has been good to Sarah and David. Their marriage is better than ever. They communicate well, share responsibilities, and now, they're starting a business. ZombieBusters-for all your zombie extermination needs.

There are lots of zombies and that means lots of customers...Except one of them doesn't want the zombies dead, he wants them alive and ready for experimentation. Mad scientists make for difficult clients and this time, Sarah and David might have bitten off more than they can chew.

Book 2 in the Living with the Dead series doesn't fail to entertain.  The first book found David and Sarah Walker dealing with a collapsing marriage and a zombie apocalypse.  This time they're back with a strong marriage and a new business venture, Zombie Exterminators, Inc.  They're joined by a slightly weird 11 year old and a creepy scientist.  As soon as the second book came out, I ran to the library (okay I didn't run, but definitely got there fast) and searched for the book.  It wasn't on the shelf!  NO!!!  I looked in the catalogue, and it was there, but in a mysterious part labeled "Popular Library."  Don't fear, I figured it out and found the recognizable hot pink cover.

All around, a rollicking good zombie killing time.  I do love zombie stories that don't take themselves too seriously.  The series does a great job at including funny one liners and pop culture references.  Very excited about this series.  A quick read, but lots of fun.  Definitely can't wait until the third book comes out.  Alas no definite date set...  Just have to wait and find out if Sarah and David find the fabled Western Wall.

Living with the Dead

• #1 Married with Zombies
• #2 Flip This Zombie
• #3 Eat, Slay, Love
• #3.5 Shambling with the Stars
• #4 The Zombie Whisperer

Zombies for Zombies by David P. Murphy

Title: Zombies for Zombies: Advice and Etiquette for the Living Dead

Author: David P. Murphy

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc. 2009

Genre: Zombies

Pages: 239

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; Zombies; A to Z Titles: Z

So you've been bitten by a zombie. Bummer.

And so begins a great self-help guide to the transition to zombie state.  I absolutely love my zombies and this great guide really prepared me for the eventual future of becoming a zombie.  The tongue-in-cheek style was awesome.  A hilarious mix of facts, hypotheticals, and downright funnies.

Included in this guide:

• How to dress for your new lifestyle
• Great tricks for getting bloodstains out of your clothes
• Handy recipes for brains
• Deep stuff concerning spirituality
• Fitness ideas for keeping you toned and somewhat energetic
• New skin-care techniques to help ward off "rotting flesh syndrome"
• Proper grooming
• How to overcome that darned zombie social stigma
• Dance steps for the motor-impaired
• Handy recipes for brains (yes, I know I'm repeating myself, but soon you'll be showing a lot more interest in brains

I would recommend this book to everyone.  We need to be prepared for the coming zombie apocalypse.  We really need more authors to write guides to help us with the future.  Pair this book with The Zombie Survival Guide and you have a great addition to your library.

2011 Zombies Reading Challenge

I love zombies!  I absolutely adore anything zombie related.  So a zombie centered reading challenge is just about perfect for me. The challenge is being hosted at Book Soulmates:

Satisfy your undying hunger - for books! The new year is beginning and we know the majority of our close friends and family are going on a diet, I know I am {Vanessa}, so we need to find an outlet for our hunger. What better substitute than books! Let's devour ZOMBIE books! I only read one Zombie book this past year and I think it's time start piling up the bodies, er, I mean books! So start devouring!

Challenge Rules & Info:

• Challenge STARTS January 1, 2011 and ENDS December 31, 2011

• Sign up by filling your info in the Mr. Linky below {If you don't have a blog, you can use your FB, Goodreads, etc}

• Read at least 10 Zombie books this year. They don't have to be ALL about Zombies, just have Zombies in them. Remember, the more the merrier! Here's a LIST of zombie books that may help :)

• The books can be print, ebooks, and audio books.

• Reread books ARE allowed, BUT, the review must be rewritten. You cannot use old reviews.

• I'll have a post up each month with the Mr. Linky to have the reviews posted.

• Challenges are open to non-bloggers. A review must be written and posted on a literary site, such as GoodReads, Amazon, etc.

• Grab a button to show your Challenge spirit!

• Lastly, have fun reading!

My choices for the challenge (with any cross listings for other challenges):

1. The Undead World of Oz -- Ryan Thomas
2. Zombies for Zombies -- David Murphy
3. Flip this Zombie -- Jesse Petersen (TwentyEleven: Hot Off the Presses)
4. Zombies vs. Unicorns - Larbalestier (TwentyEleven: It Wasn't Me)
5. The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan
6. The Dead-Tossed Waves - Carrie Ryan
7. You are So Undead to Me - Stacey Jay
8. Undead Much - Stacey Jay
9. Zombie Blondes - Brian James
10. Generation Dead - Daniel Waters (TwentyEleven: Hot Off the Presses)

Of course, I wil write reviews for all books read.  Try to keep up with me.