Zombies only want you for your brains…
Hello Zombie Fans,
I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus – by S.G. Browne
What we have here is a wonderful holiday themed example of what a zombie novel can be. This book is funny, insightful, and down-right entertaining. It is the sequel to S.G. Browne’s amazing zombie love story: Breathers.
If you haven’t read Breathers you may want to pick it up. It has everything you would ever need for a proper love story. It has heart, brains, and a few more squishy bits. (Get it? Zombie humor…) Breathers takes place in a world where some of the dead just come back. It answers all the practical questions: Can Zombies speak? What about decomposition? Where can you buy embalming fluid in bulk? What are my rights as an Undead American? You get all of this plus an awesome story of raging against the machine and finding love in a unlikely circumstance.
S.G. Browne has a way of writing where something as ridiculous as an undead support group is actually kind of plausible. You find yourself saying “aww” at certain moments and laughing the next. This author is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Okay, as you may have noticed by now I am a fan of books that become movies. Actually it seems like recently just about everything on the big screen falls into that category. I found this book after watching the trailer for Warm Bodies. I vaguely remembered the plot from my search for a zombie story that was less gore more heart.
If you have seen the trailer you know that this story tries to make light of the Protagonist, R‘s, situation; you know… being the walking undead. Here is what you need to know about the plot.
This is a story of star-crossed lovers. She is a teenage girl and he is a zombie who has eaten her boyfriend’s brain. When a zombie eats a human brain, it absorbs all of its prey’s memories and in the case of “R” he absorbs the feelings this boy has for Julie. R & Julie…. ring and shakespearian bells? R’s ability to love Julie causes a change and its contagious, proving that love truly conquers all.
Click to read what I thought about the book and to watch the trailer for the upcoming movie. Read More…
The Cemetery of Lost Books
Every couple weeks I go window shopping at my local bookstore. I browse the shelves and take pictures of the covers that catch my eye. I know I know… don’t judge a book by its cover. I have been burned many many times for this particular vice, but this time it has paid off!
I have stumbled upon a series by an amazingly gifted writer, Carlos Ruiz Zafon; The Cemetery of Lost Books. He is a Spanish writer and these books have been brilliantly translated. The cemetery is also referred to as the a place for forgotten books, but that is the only inconsistency I had found.
Zafon’s writing style makes you wonder if magic truly exists. His stories are woven in a way that you wonder if it is supernatural or perhaps an illusion to detract from the man behind the curtain. It is very clever and entertaining. This extends to his characters each of whom has a back-story and easily discernible characteristics.
As I have mentioned before I enjoy when stories share the same universe. This series takes place in Barcelona over a few generations, but you get updates on the amazing characters you grew attached to in the other stories. Each book has its own story and the character is linked to the world through the cemetery and their connection to a forgotten book. I am going to explain this Fight Club style. Read More…
Cheap Date: Oct 10th
Another week and another new edition of Cheap Date has arrived! In case you are unfamiliar with this weekly article, I will recommend an allotment of nerdy entertainment that I think you should definitely check out this week and altogether it costs no more than thirty bucks. Because we all know how expensive being a nerd can be.
Head on past the jump to read my recommendations.
The Perks of Being an advanced movie review…
It is hard to maintain the feeling you get while reading a book when you watch a movie. Film is so objective that you tend to lose parts that may feel essential to the reader. It stands to reason that the perfect way to overcome that obstacle is to have the author write the screenplay then direct the movie. Now, this may not always work, but for The Perks of Being a Wallflower… it did.
Stephen Chbosky did such an amazing job of adapting his book to the big screen. I was fortunate enough to watch it early, and even talk to the man myself! Okay perhaps I should mention that there were rows and rows of movie seats between us, but he looked right at me and answered the question I managed to scrape out of my cluttered mind… so yeah, it totally counts.
There are no spoilers beyond this point so please do not hesitate! Click to read myreview.
“This moment will just be another story someday.” A Book Review with No Spoilers
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Lately, I have been asked what i thought about this book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I think the fact that the movie is coming out soon is behind the increased curiosity.
This is a straight forward YA novel, but Stephen Chbosky has made it so personal that you cannot help but connect to these characters. The protagonist, Charlie, is an innocent 15 year old boy who is trying to find his place in the world instead of observing from the edges. Read More…
What’s in my Library Bag?
I practically live at my local library, I mean it is perfect for people who possess insatiable media-based appetites. I can find that book I have been wanting to read, listen to the new album by <insert band name here>, flip through magazines that I don’t want cluttering up my coffee table, and even rent a movie to take home.
This week my haul is pretty amazing. Here is my week of figurative consumption:
BOOKS
I have been on a quest to understand the comic book world and since Batman is such a big part of 2012 I thought I would start from the beginning. First page and I feel so comfortable because an old friend from my Archie Comics days is there. Commissioner Gordon is a dead ringer for Hiram Lodge (Veronica’s father) in my humble opinion. Sorry, I am partial to tangents. The dialogue in this volume is amazingly bad! I mean he sees a light in a window and says, “A light! I should go there!” don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t take much away from “The Batman”. It is fun to see where this character we all grew up with came from and appreciate the evolution in art and writing.
What stuck out?:
The violence in this book is different than what I see in modern day heroes. Batman has no qualms about killing in the early issues and he is injured quite a few times. He gets shot and because he is human, he needs to make tactical retreats and lick his wounds. Oh and of course the Joker! He is not some lame mobster like the other villains in this volume. He is smart and has a game in place while also being insane. I immediately thought of The Dark Knight when i read it because this Joker calls his plays. Another touch I loved was the use of nerve chemicals to leave his victims with a gruesome smile. Very dark, I enjoyed it.
Please Click to see my advanced review of the new Bloc Party album and the rest of what’s in my library bag.
Ghosts: Recent Hauntings
Attention Book Nerds:
Today, I received an e-mail alert for one of my favorite authors; Neil Gaiman! The alert is for an anthology of ghost stories that he has contributed to called, Ghosts: Recent Hauntings.
“The spirits of the dead have walked among our legends, myths, and stories since before recorded history. Ghostly visitations, hauntings, unquiet souls seeking the living, vengeful wraiths, the possibility of life beyond the grave that can somehow reach out and touch us are some of literature’s most enduring icons. Now, in the twenty-first century, we are no less fascinated with phantoms than our cave-dwelling ancestors or our Victorian-age forebears. Thirty modern masters of fright and fantasy fill this anthology with shivers, chills, and spooky explorations of both sides of the veil. Be prepared to keep a light on all night!”
Don’t get too excited, this collection has 29 reprinted short stories (whomp whomp) and one grim original by Stephen Graham Jones titled “Uncle”.
That shouldn’t discourage you though. I have perused the list of authors and this anthology is pretty promising. Tim Powers for example wrote “On Stranger Tides” which was used as inspiration for the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Also the author of Bubba Ho-Tep Joe R. Lansdale has a story included. Lots more (including Gaiman goodness) after the jump. Read More…
Day Two of the Kingkiller Chronicles: The Wise Man’s Fear
The Wise Man’s Fear
As you may have read I recently finished the first book in the Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy. I was so impressed that I finished the second book; The Wise Man’s Fear, shortly after and have been trying to put into words what I thought about it. Kvothe develops greatly in this installment and it is hard to sum up because he feels like different people throughout the story.
To recap this trilogy is based on the true telling of the main hero Kvothe’s life. He recounts his life over three days (three books) to Chronicler, a traveling scribe, in order to have the truth out in the world instead of the lavish exaggerated tales. The world in which Kvothe lives contains science, magic and adventure. He attends the university (there is only one) and learns sympathy; a form of alchemical magic. This magic proves most useful in many of his adventures and helps to mold his legend.
This particular installment is filled with Mercenaries, the Fae, Sympathy and so much action you feel a bit dizzy at times. This story has a great message that is used to further the story and helps to develop Kvothe. The thing that keeps this story exciting is that Kvothe is one person in the present who is obviously lost spiritually and in the past is just a boy who is learning about life through his mistakes and amazing adventures. Neither one of these versions of our protagonist is fully realized and it is exciting to ponder where he may end up by the end.
What I got from this story… (Spoilers ahead) Read More…
Sacre Bleu: A Comedy D’Art
In July 1890, Vincent Van Gough went into a cornfield and shot himself. Or did he? Why would an artist at the height of his creative powers attempt to take his own life… and then walk a mile to a doctor’s house for help? Who was the crooked little “color man” Vincent had claimed was stalking him across France? And why had the painter recently become deathly afraid of a certain shade of blue?
A magnificent “Comedy d’Art” from the author of Lamb, Fool, and Bite Me, Moore’s Sacré Bleu is part mystery, part history (sort of), part love story, and wholly hilarious as it follows a young baker-painter as he joins the dapper Henri Toulouse-Lautrec on a quest to unravel the mystery behind the supposed “suicide” of Vincent van Gogh.
Click to read what I thought.
Call Yourself A Nerd 