Cozy November: What the World Needs Now is Hygge?

Let us welcome Chris from Chrisbookarama today.  She is here to chat about hygge.  What is that, and how does it relate to our Cozy Reading November?  Read on to find out!

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WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS HYGGE?

So, things look bleak out there. Also, it's November. November is so blah. I feel like I could use some hygge. Do you know what hygge is?

Hygge is a Danish concept, meaning "cosiness." The Danes explain it here. I really like the idea of hygge, especially since I live where the darkness of winter tends to get people down.

There's a lot of reasons to feel upset, scared, and confused. But you got to take care of yourself. Get yourself some good self-care. Maybe hygge can be a part of your own regime. I'm going to dedicate the next few months to hygge*. I'm going to indulge in warm beverages (tonight I'm drinking a hot apple cider), comforting hobbies, and, of course, cozy reads.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read yet, but I have some suggestions for you.

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. Valancy breaks free of her overbearing family and finds herself.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. A girl and her grandmother spend a summer together on an isolated island.

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. A woman goes to live on a relative's farm. High jinks ensue.

Relish by Lucy Knisley. Fooooooooood!

These are books that make me feel warm inside.

What are your favorite comfort reads? I need some suggestions!

Grab a blanket, light some candles, snuggle a favorite pet, and join me for some hygge reading.


*I feel okay co-opting hygge since my grandmother was Danish. 

BOOKS VS ???: Books to Pair With Your Favorite Beverage (And I'm Not Talking About Milk)

Today is our final piece of the month for Books vs ???, and I am excited to welcome my team member and fellow co-founder of Book Bloggers International, Tasha!  She is here to talk about books and booze, and it is perfect timing since she just released her book, The Introvert's Guide to Drinking Alone!  

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If you enjoy the occasional adult beverage, and you enjoy reading, why not combine the two and get twice the fun out of life? These are some of the best books with, about, or sponsored by alcohol I've come across.

The Drops of God by Tadashi Agi

Pairing: A Burgundy wine.

A manga about wine? Yes. This graphic novel about a young man who must find thirteen famous wines in order to inherit his father's estate has absolutely gorgeous artwork, lovable characters–I adore Shizuku and Miyabi, his friend who's training to be a sommelier–and storylines that feel like a rollercoaster ride, in a good way. But what's really going to make you love this manga is how beautifully it expresses the feeling of drinking wine.

There are some books that just grab you and make you want to recreate them in real life, and The Drops of God is one of those books. It's no wonder Decanter called this series the most influential books about wine published in the last 20 years. As soon as you read it you want try the wines the characters drink, or at least something similar (you will also want to buy a wine decanter. I'm just warning you right now).

The Brewer's Tale: A History of the World According to Beer by William Bostwick

Pairing: Stella Artois, one of the oldest still-brewed beers in the world.

It's been said civilization started so that people could have a reliable source of beer. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but it's definitely true that beer and civilization go hand-in-hand. Our earliest known recipes are for beer, and beer has been brewed at one time or another in nearly every continent on earth. In this book, William Bostwick goes back in time, not just by learning about the history of beer, but by making it. A really fun and fascinating story that travels from the hop-erific craft IPAs of today back to Babylonian brewmasters.

Waking the Merrow by Heather Rigney

Pairing: Good ol' whiskey on the rocks.

A spooky horror novel featuring mermaids, with a self-professed "functional alcoholic" as the main character. I was disappointed by the ending (spoiler alert: she quits alcohol), but the beginning was very entertaining and funny.

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

Pairing: Martinis, many many martinis.

You've probably seen this movie and noted there's a lot of drinking going on. Well, let me tell you: the amount of drinking in the movie is nothing compared to what's in the book. It's mind-boggling these people could even get out of bed.

Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold

Pairing: Gin & tonic, preferably made following the obsessively "perfect" recipe in Arnold's book.

A very sciency, precise book on the art of making cocktails. Although the audience is definitely professional bartenders, it should appeal to anyone who loves a good drink. Arnold covers everything like how to mix cocktails, make ice, invent your own cocktails, and even molecular mixology.

Shake 'Em Up! by Virginia Elliott and Phil D. Stong

Pairing: Something really old skool, like a scofflaw or a clover club.

How to party, 1930s style. This book is simply fascinating. It contains a ton of useful advice, like how to prep for a party you know will be too much for you, or how to get rid of your guests without appearing to be rude. Also: bathtub gin. This is a trip back in time to the golden age of cocktailing, but without the 21st Amendment putting a kibosh on your fun.

BOOKS VS ???: The Shining vs The Shining

Raise your hand if you are a Stephen King fan.  If that hand is raised, you will definitely want to join in the conversation today about one of King's most well-known books:  The Shining.  All of this is courtesy of Dinara Tengri.  

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Stephen King's The Shining is one of my favourite books. I have read it more times than I can remember. A Stephen King fangirl I am not. But this book has something that keeps me coming back to it time and again. And with each re-read I discover something I didn't notice before. Reading this book is like peeling layers off of an onion. A scary bloody onion.

What's interesting is that with each re-read I also become more convinced that Stanley Kubrick's take on The Shining is a very poor adaptation of a very good book.

My main complaint about the movie is not that Kubrick changed many key plot points of the book, or that he changed Wendy Torrance's hair colour from blond to black. My main issue with the movie is the characters. The people whose stories we are following. This is where King's book wins, while Kubrick's movie... Well, it gets a participation trophy.

In this rant essay, I am going to give my personal, one hundred percent subjective analysis of the characters in the book and compare them to their movie equivalents.

I should warn you beforehand, that at some point in this essay, I will get angry, and things will get messy. Let's go!

The book

The characters in The Shining are living breathing people. Throughout the book, they reveal themselves as the people they are - beautiful, flawed, plagued by their own insecurities and driven by their addictions and fears.

There is a reason for every one of these people's actions, either internal or external.

We relate to Wendy and Jack and Danny because we can see ourselves in them. In their vices and in their love for each other. Which makes Jack's gradual descent into madness all the more tragic. We get to witness him trying to fight the awesome force of the Overlook Hotel as it's slowly taking over his mind and his free will. And because we know him and can relate to him we don't want to loose him.

In the book, it's not Jack who is the monster, it's the Overlook. Far from being an archetypal haunted house, the Overlook becomes a character in its own right. It uses Jack as a disposable napkin, pitting his own alcoholism and his ego against him and his family, in its attempts to get to Danny and his psychic powers.

And while the Overlook is manipulating Jack like a macabre puppet master, Wendy and Danny choose to be active players in this game. They don't simply react to the situation that they have found themselves in. They don't stand by and watch helplessly while their husband and father is loosing his marbles. They don't let themselves be defined by their archetypes.

Just like the Overlook, alcohol is an omnipresent force in the Torrance family life, hanging above them like a storm cloud. Whether Jack is drunk or sober, his alcoholism is affecting every aspect of their lives. I think that in its core, The Shining is a book about alcoholism and domestic violence and how it can affect a family. The Overlook might as well be a bottle of whiskey. And Jack just isn't strong enough to fight it.

Even the supporting characters are strong and well-developed. King doesn't settle on surrounding the main characters with one-dimensional extras.

The Movie

The problem with the characters in the movie adaptation of The Shining is not the actors' portrayal of them, but the way Kubrick has changed them and the direction in which he's taking them.

These characters don't have a history that we as the audience get to explore. We don't know anything about them. How did they get to where they are now? What's motivating their actions?

The truth is, the characters' actions are motivated by the purpose that they serve in the movie. They each have a job to do, and that is to move the plot from point A to point B, without growing, without changing their own environment.

These characters exist in little boxes, and stay in them throughout the entire film. They don't evolve towards anything. You may say, what about Jack? Doesn't he evolve from the loving father to a homicidal monster? Well, no, not really. And King has put it perfectly in his interview with The Rolling Stone:

"In the book, there's an actual arc, where you see (Jack) trying to be good and little by little he moves over to this place where he's crazy. And as far as I was concerned, when I saw the movie, Jack was crazy from the first scene."

In the book, the Overlook is the monster. In the movie, the monster is Jack. As the audience, we know that at some point he will snap and pick up that axe. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Gone is the unpredictability that makes the book so realistic. Jack's descent into madness is not tragic, it's simply inevitable.

And if in the book, alcohol becomes the major catalyst for Jack's insanity, in the movie it's just one of those details that make a better scene. The major themes of alcoholism and its consequences are downplayed to a point where they become insignificant to the plot.

As it is Jack's job in the movie to be crazy, it's Wendy's job is to react to her husband's growing insanity. King himself, in the same interview, has called the movie "misogynist", because,

 "I mean, Wendy Torrance is just presented as this sort of screaming dishrag."

While I don't agree with King that Kubrick's movie is misogynist, Duvall's weeping and shivering version of Wendy is definitely a step down from the strong and determined woman we see in the book, who fearlessly protects her son from the forces of evil.

The supporting characters are one-dimensional and they only exist to serve a purpose. Where King takes time to give the supporting characters personality and a voice, Kubrick takes that all away and turns them into extras.

My final thoughts

What I take away from King's horror novel and its famous movie adaptation is that unlike King, Kubrick was not a storyteller. After reading the book, I know what kind of story King was trying to tell, but after seeing the movie so many times, I still struggle to understand what message Kubrick was trying to convey in his film.

While the characters in King's book are living breathing people, Kubrick's characters become a part of the setting, blending perfectly with the cold and gloomy atmosphere of the film. And where King injects humanity and warmth in his characters, Kubrick sucks the life out of them.

If the book is a character study, the movie appears to be a study of light and sound effects.

If the book is a story about people, then the movie is a story about ghosts.

And if I'm allowed a few more pretentious metaphors before I'm done with this rant:

King's The Shining is like a living organism, that's always changing and evolving. Kubrick's The Shining is like a gothic painting: beautiful and mesmerising but in the end lifeless and static.

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How about you? Do you agree? Disagree? What's your favourite vs. least favourite book to movie adaptation? My two personal favourites are The Martian and John Carpenter's The Thing.

And thank you Caro, Tif and Tasha for letting me vent some of my frustrations about The Shining on your awesome blog!

You can also read:

Stephen King: The Rolling Stone Interview, by Andy Greene

What Stanley Kubrick got wrong about "The Shining" , by Laura Miller

BOOKS VS ???: Books and Musicals

I am so excited to welcome Kenya from Booked Up and Bossy today!  She is here to share a fabulously fun pairing, but I will let her tell you more about it!  Read on . . . 

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Thanks to Book Bloggers International for doing a month of posts focused on pairings. It gave me the chance to think about my two loves together. I love musical theatre. I love books. BOOM!

A lot of musicals were based on books, so if you enjoyed one of these popular shows, reading the original text isn’t a terrible idea. Though tread lightly, because just like when your favorite book becomes a movie (just say no, y’all) there are often many things reinterpreted to fit a different audience.

For the sake of brevity, I picked three of my favorite musicals for this guest post, because once I got started, I kind of got carried away and we don’t have time for that. At least, they were my favorite before I saw The Color Purple two weeks ago, which basically blew me away. You can expect another musical- book pairing post over at my blog soon.

All right. Let’s start with something easy:

WICKED

Theme: Old characters in new situations, or there’s more than one side to everyone’s story.

Wicked is a retelling of the Wizard of Oz story that tells a bit about the witches as children and teens and about how they met. They grew up with different families and different ambitions which really change their experiences and options as they get older. An obvious book to read is Wicked, the book on which this musical is based. I have to tell you, I didn’t care for it. But my love of the musical makes me want to go back and give it another try. Another obvious choice is ANY OTHER OF THE MILLION stories about Dorothy and Oz. A great one is Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page. I loved the whole series.

Less Obvious: Chris Colfer’s The Land of Stories is another great choice if you enjoy fantasy and seeing old favorite characters in a new light. These books are fun and sunny, written for middle graders. They follow twins as they discover they can enter into the land of the fairy stories their grandmother read to them as children.

Ok… my Even Less Obvious book pairing is The MadWoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell. This is the story of a girl who grows up knowing she is the last descendant of the Bronte sisters and her father, now deceased, was basically obsessed. The world thinks the family is hiding the vast Bronte fortune.  The main character knows everything about the Brontes and her father until she goes to school to live in the old tower he lived in.

MATILDA

Theme: Girls overcoming hard situations and finding their strength (especially against jerk adults).

Matilda is a musical about a 5- year- old bookworm who is neglected by her television- obsessed father and her ball-room dancing obsessed mother.  She teaches herself to read and spends as much time as possible reading through every book at the local library and telling stories to the librarian. She has started telling a story about great circus performers, finds a loving adult in her teacher, and finds an inner power to defeat her mean old principal. Can I tell you that I LOVED LOVED LOVED the sets and musical and just IT ALL about this show.

The Most Obvious book to read if you love this musical is Roald Dahl’s original book. There is no parallel story of the circus performers but the story is quick and cute.

Less obvious: Seraphina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty is a book about a girl who lives in the basement of a large estate on which her father works on electrical equipment. She doesn’t know why she’s a secret or anything about the rest of her family. She lives there in secret and has perfected the art of being invisible and unseen. But, then, something terrible happens and she has to come out of hiding and find the power to overcome a great darkness, the Black Cloak.

An Even Less Obvious book, if you loved the themes in Matilda, is Dime by E.R. Frank. Dime is a young teen girl who lives in poverty and the general rough life it brings. When she meets a man who says he loves her, she joins his girls who bring money into the family by working the streets. Because she’s smart, she is promoted to helping her man start working a bigger hustle. Dime has to find a way to get herself out of the messiest situation ever and get back to herself.

HEATHERS

Theme: The stuff girls do to stay on top.

Heather the Musical was based on the movie from 1988 starring 80’s cult classic stars Winona Ryder and Christian Slater both of whom later got into trouble and then dropped off the planet, I think. Anyway, the musical is about Veronica. She’s a high schooler in a school where everyone is shitty to everyone else and the three most popular girls are all named Heather. She joins their little group but hates how she has to cower to the lead Heather’s power. And then she meets a boy with fewer morals and a bad case of untreated complicated grief.

The three books that I think pair with this musical are all basically about teenagers who look really together but are really just not.

The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jennifer Knoll is told from the perspective of now- adult Ani, who is going back to her prestigious private school to talk to a reporter about “the thing that happened” when she was in school there. In trying to fit in with the popular rich kids she lost much, but she’s never really been able to tell people about everything she went through or what exactly happened on the day the school really got the shock of its life.

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight is a wonderful book about a girl who was in over her head at school. Her mother, Kate, comes to get her from school, where she has been accused of cheating, and Amelia is dead by the time she gets there. Kate is sifting through the remains of Amelia’s life to figure out what Amelia was involved in and if she ever really knew her daughter at all.

A less obvious book pairing is the haunting The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma. I don’t really want to say too much about this one. One, because it’s been a while since I read it and I’m sure I’ll mix up the details and two, because there are a few twists and turns that make this one worth reading even with only a little info.

BOOKISH BEASTS: Hobbits

We are heading into magical lands today with Paige of The Book Carousel.  The topic can be debated as to whether it falls into BOOKISH BEASTS, but it definitely fits into LITERARY CREATURES ... Hobbits!

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As a real life Hobbit, I find a strange connection between myself and those within J.R.R Tolkien’s much loved fantasy series. You’re probably wondering; “But, Paige- what on earth makes you a Hobbit?” I’ll make a list of the parallels between, shall I?

For starters, Hobbits are small creatures. Even the tallest Hobbits ‘rarely exceeded 4 feet in height.’ ^[1] Well, guess what: I’m barely 5ft. In fact, I’m 5ft and half an inch. I’m not even 5”1. How ludicrous is that.

Second of all, Hobbits are known for their love of mushrooms. Frodo himself was regularly chased out of farmer Maggot’s field for trying to nick his fungi. Farmer Maggot definitely was not a fun guy. Mushrooms are essentially my favourite food. Fried, raw, stuffed; you name it, I’ll eat it, and love it. I don’t even know why, there’s just something delicious about them- most of the time, I even pick my own mushrooms from our field. (Don’t worry, I’m always careful).

I could probably eat 6 ^[2] meals a day. (There’s no ‘probably’ about it, let’s be honest).

Now this next one might seem rather gross: but I hate wearing socks. I will only do so if it is absolutely necessary – like, if it’s freezing, or if I’m putting trainers or horse boots on.  Therefore, it isn’t hard to imagine that my feet are quite rough; and, no doubt, so are hobbits. They don’t even have shoes to wear.

^[3]

Last of all, I like to imagine (as do most people, I assume) that I will live a long life. I’d like to reach a ripe old age, and since Hobbits live longer than men- well, maybe I’ll live long enough to receive a letter from the King/Queen!

So, yes, the creator and owner of The Book Carousel is a real life hobbit. Take from that what you will. But enough about me; it’s time to talk about the Hobbits.

I’ve already pointed out their small stature. Their range is 2 to 4 feet, with the average height being 3”5. For scale, think of your little brother or sister or cousin or a friend’s sibling. It’s quite little, isn’t it?

 ^[4]

Look at old Bilbo, exceeding the average!

They live an unadventurous life- it was such a scandal when both Bilbo and Frodo left the Shire. That’s another reason for as to why they don’t wear shoes; besides their thick, durable skin, the Shire has soft ground, and being an unadventurous species, they rarely left the Shire.

Hobbits come in 3 types: Fallohides, Stoors and Harfoots. Each sub-species (I don’t think the term ‘breed’ is applicable here), has its own prominent characteristics.

Fallohides

-          Originate from the forest and the woodlands.

-          The tallest kind, with fairer skin and hair.

-          Skilled in hunting and language

-          It was two Fallohides who begun the expedition to the shire; hence, it can be assumed that the Bagginses are descendants of this kind.

Stoors

-          Broad and heavy

-          Crossed the Misty Mountains to find their home

-          Many moved to the Shire in the Third Age

Harfoots

-          The most common kind

-          Smaller than Fallohides, with darker skin. It is most likely that Sam is a Harfoot.

-          Far less adventurous than their brethren

-          Preferred Hobbit holes to be in mountain sides

Speaking of Hobbit holes- the portrayal of their architecture in Jackson’s films is breath taking. The Shire replica in New Zealand is a place that is on my bucket list- and it should be on yours!

Tolkien claims to be the inventor of the word ‘Hobbit’, as he expressed that “‘on a blank leaf I scrawled: 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.' I did not and do not know why.’” This is debated, for there is no official record; but this is not something that I find myself inclined to discuss. (Partly because I have absolutely no idea where I would begin research into the matter).

Tolkien has, arguably, created the most magnificent and well known fantasy series to date. Other publications with as much reverence as his could only be either Harry Potter, by J.K Rowling, and A Game of Thrones, by George R.R Martin.

So, if The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are not books you have as of yet read, I implore you to! Tolkien takes you on a magical and mythical journey, one that is full of fleshed out races like the Hobbits.

Thank you so much for reading, and also a thank you to Book Bloggers International for allowing me to write!

Sources

1 - http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/h/hobbits.html

2 – In the movie adaptation, 7 meals are listed; however, the actual quote is ‘…being fond of simple jests at all times, and of six meals a day (when they could get them).’

3 - http://middleearthquotations.tumblr.com/post/20776024508/thorin-about-bilbo-the-hobbit-an-unexpected

4 – I cannot find the original ‘Weta’ version of this, so unfortunately I can only provide this link to a Tumblr post: http://nobodysuspectsthebutterfly.tumblr.com/post/70953470349/onionjulius-theheirsofdurin-tall-for-a

5 - The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, No 163, to W.H. Auden, dated 1955

BOOKISH BEASTS: Aliens

We have covered a wide array of beasts so far this month, but today Julianne of Outlandish Lit is bringing us another literary creature that we can't seem to live without these days . . . aliens!  Read on for a little something out of this world!

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Aliens. There's so much to love about them. Why? Because we know literally nothing about them. Sure, there are some archetypes: short grays, tall grays, reptilians, alpha-draconians (and they are all fighting to control the earth and enslave the human race right now. WAKE UP, SHEEPLE). But what's so great about aliens is that they currently exist as an idea. They could be evil, they could be benevolent, they could be new to the galaxy, or they could have been here on earth ~all along~. All we really have is our imaginations to play with the idea of extraterrestrials, which makes them prime material for interesting books. So until we make first contact, here are some of the great, wildly different books about extraterrestrials you should check out that maybe you haven't before. STUDY UP, because they're coming.

SHORT STORIES

The short story "Out of All Them Bright Stars" by Nancy Kress is a phenomenal example of the root of all alien stories. One way or another, they're a commentary on humanity. What's valuable about it, what needs to change. In this story, the aliens have made first contact and are living amongst humans. In a small vignette, the main character witnesses prejudice against an individual alien in a diner. It's so powerful. Read it online here.

This is one of the kinds of alien stories I just go crazy for. In "The Sentinel" by Arthur C. Clarke, a crew of astronauts finds a strange object on the moon surrounded by a forcefield. What's the implication of this object? Where did it come from? And what would happen if they were to break it? The ending thrills AND chills. You can read it here. 

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Though I haven't been loving all the single issue comics coming after it, Trees, Vol. 1 by Warren Ellis is so so solid. The aliens in this comic series are the strong silent type. By that I mean they are enormous tree-like columnar structures that plant themselves down in big cities, destroying a bunch of stuff, and then don't do anything. At all. What is the meaning behind them?? Is there sentience? Who sent them and where are they? This is my kind of extraterrestrial mystery.

And then there are the aliens full of personality. And in the Saga series by Brian K. Vaughan (all 5 volumes out so far are 100% worth reading), the aliens are incredibly human. Two soldiers from warring factions of a space war fall in love and have to deal with the consequences of pursuing that love. And some of the other species they run into are amazing/hilarious/grotesque. If you like aliens AND fun, you must give Saga a read.

FICTION

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor is one of the only real first contact stories on this list, and it's a great one. Something crashes into the sea near Lagos, Nigeria and an alien ambassador begins to communicate with three separate people. She promises them that they want to positively impact humans; that they just need some place to live. But convincing the rest of Nigeria of that is a whole ordeal that tears the city apart. Lagoon is another alien story that that forces us to take a look at our own world. 

Now this is my all-time favorite alien book. If you're looking for really truly original and alien aliens, you have GOT to read this. Embassytown by China Miéville. Humans live alongside the indigenous species called Ariekei on a planet. I'm not even going to try to describe the Ariekei race to you, it's too bizarre. But this book takes an amazing look at linguistics and the importance of language on this alien planet. And it is so so good.

BONUS

If you're ready for a little bit of ~serious research~ now that you know aliens are alive and well in the universe and on our planet, you should probably read Chariots of the Gods? by Erich von Daniken. This is the book that every person interviewed on Ancient Aliens read as a kid. A lot of it is farfetched, but I have to say, the thought that aliens could have shaped our past is super interesting to think about. SHOW ME PROOF THAT THEY DIDN'T. That's what I thought.

BOOKISH BEASTS: Zombies

I (Tif from Tif Talks Books) am popping in today as both the coordinator of this monthly event, as well as a writer for one of my favorite BOOKISH BEASTS . . . zombies!!  Enjoy!!

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The Undead.

The Walking Dead.

The Unconsecrated.

The Hungries.

Zombies.

I had no idea that stories about zombies could truly become so fascinating and addicting.  I can't even remember which book started it all, but I can tell you that I tend to always enjoy a book about the undead.  Here are just a few of my personal favorites . . .

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman:  For those that are unaware, The Walking Dead began as a comic series and not the fabulous TV show that is so popular these days.  Illustrated completely in black and white, readers follow a small group of individuals that are fighting to survive in a zombie-infested world.  The story line is the same between comic and show, but there are a number of differences between the two as well, which makes this fan happy to keep guessing.

World War Z by Max Brooks:  Yet another story that originated as a book before the movie.  This novel is written from multiple perspectives and reads more like a journal of accounts at the time of the zombie breakout.  The film is much different from the book, and almost dare I say, engaging because of the zombie super speed.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan:  This book is one of the first zombie books that I have ever read, or rather listened to in this case.  It was nothing what I expected from a zombie novel, including the name of the beasts themselves.  I have yet to return to this series, but I hope to in the near future after a quick re-read of the first.

The Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant:  The set of three books chronicling the lives of bloggers in a zombie apocalypse still stands as one of my all-time faves.  It follows a brother and sister through some pretty fantastical adventures as they try to find the truth behind the zombies while trying to survive.

Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry:  Patient Zero is the first of Maberry's Joe Ledger series, and features zombies as the beasts.  The rest of the series features a multitude of other beasts along the way, but it kicks off with a whirl of undead to get you hooked.

Last, but not least, I am currently in the midst of listening to another zombie novel that has the potential of becoming another all-time favorite . . .

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey:  When I first began reading this novel, I had no idea that zombies would come into play.  But, they do, and it is in such an unique and different way that I quickly fell into the story.  I was saddened when the audio expired on me, but I shouted a quick cheer when I just received a notice that I was able to check it out again this week.  I can't wait to dive back in and find out what happens next.

This list is just the beginning!  What other zombie novels have you hungry for more?

BOOKISH BEASTS: Technology

Today, we are taking a bit different turn in our BOOKISH BEASTS feature.  Please welcome Dinara Tengri who explores technology as a beast.

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Technology is not a traditional monster in literature in movies, but it's one of the most popular. Unlike werewolves and vampires, robots and AI are not living things. They're nothing but wires and circuits. And maybe that's what makes them so frightening. They've been created by us, and yet we cannot fully understand them.

If you look at the lore, most of the books and movies share the same basic ideas. Either the technology is just evil, and wants to destroy/enslave humanity. Or, we have become too dependent on it and run the risk of becoming helpless and obsolete.

The first scenario is perfectly realised in movies like Terminator and Matrix. Both these movies tell the story of our creation becoming smarter than us and turning against us.

The other scenario is illustrated in Isaac Asimov's Robot novels. The robots in Asimov's books are governed by the Three Laws of Robotics and they can't willingly hurt humans. All they want is to serve and to help us. But the humanity runs the risk of turning into helpless babies with robot nursemaids waiting on our every need.

Are there any other reasons we find technology so frightening in science fiction, other than the obvious fear of becoming a slave or a spoiled baby? Take the short story, The Veldt, by Ray Bradbury, for example. Bradbury didn't bad-mouth technology itself, but he often asked the question: what will happen if technology will become such a huge part of our lives that it will be more important to us than our friends and family?

The Veldt is about a family that lives in a "smart" house in a not too distant future, and this house does everything for them, like cooking their dinner and tying their shoelaces. But the crowning achievement of this house is the children's Nursery. It's a room that can transform itself according to your wishes and imagination. If you want to play in Alice's Wonderland, the room will read your telepathic signals and create Wonderland, replicating every sight, sound and smell that you're thinking about. If you want to spend a day in the African Veldt, it will give you the Veldt, complete with the hot blazing sun, and the bloodthirsty lions.

At first, the parents are happy to give their children this Nursery, because the children are a little psychotic and the parents think it will help them to get more Zen. Pretty soon, though, they get a feeling that something's wrong, because the children only want to play in the Veldt. This goes on for weeks, and the parents start to worry that the kids may be stuck in the same pattern. But it's not just that they don't want to change the Nursery from the Veldt to something else, say a green forest. There is something about that Nursery, something about that Veldt that feels wrong. Something that is unsettling and alarming to the parents. The smells are too strong, the "sun" is too hot, and the lions look way too real. They're just 3D projections, but the way they're looking at you from the distance while munching on some carcass, makes you think that they're actually there, in flesh. The parents even arrange for their friendly neighbourhood psychologist to come and take a look at the Nursery. In the meantime, they decide to lock it off, which enrages the children. That same night, the parents hear a scream, somewhere in the house. A scream that sounds a little too familiar.

I won't spoil the rest of the story because it's one of those stories that you must experience for yourself.

The Nursery isn't the real monster in this story. But it is a reflection of the children's innermost desires and dreams. A projection of their imagination. The adults - both the parents and the psychologist feel ill at ease in that room, as if there is something sick in the atmosphere, and it's the reflection of how the children really feel on the inside.

Are the children stuck in a destructive loop? They get more psychotic and isolated in the Nursery because it gives them everything they need, even replacing their parents. And the more psychotic they get, the more real the Veldt becomes. It's like the Nursery feeds on the kids' negativity.

Just like vampires and werewolves, technology is only as scary as we want it to be. And I want it to be really scary. I want it to be a reflection of ourselves. I want the lines between virtual reality and "real" reality blurred. I want the relationship between humans and the machines to be complicated.

Lastly, I really recommend listening to the audio version of The Veldt, narrated by none other than Leonard Nimoy. Check it out on Youtube. I listened to it myself to prepare for this article.