#max brooks

The TL:DR of it is that essentially Israel recognizes the danger of the zombie virus much earlier than most other nations, and is therefore one of just a handful of countries to survive the threat. In the book we hear from a member of the Israeli intelligence community who was among the first to notice and deliver the information to the government, (where I am at currently in the book) and if I remember right we also hear from some Palestinians who are let into Israel as part of Israeli preparation, under the condition that they are thoroughly scanned for infection.

So, in recent years I've been kind of bad at reading books. I used to be an avid reader, but I've dropped off quite a bit since university. I tend to just whip out the phone instead and scroll these days, so I decided that for this semester at my workplace, since it's a 50-minute train journey both ways, I'd make a change. I'd permit myself to scroll in the morning, just to catch up on news and Tumblr and stuff, but on the way home, I'd read a book. And I read eight books in that time - I honestly can't remember the last time I read eight books on the trot, I'm really proud of myself ☺️. So here's a little summary of what I've been reading:

Big thanks to my pal @consultingzoologist for recommending Becky Chambers' "Wayfarers" series to me 🥰. I think I may have found a new favourite author (and she has a new book coming out at the end of this year, just in time for my birthday!). I'm in love with this expanded universe and all the characters in it. I think "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" is my favourite of the four - I went into it expecting some kind of hard sci-fi epic fantasy, but it's actually a wonderfully warm and cosy story. I'm a sucker for found family crews full of lovable characters going on episodic adventures together. "Record of a Spaceborn Few" is probably my second-favourite - the Exodus fleet actually sounds like a pretty cool place to live and Becky creates amazing lore and culture as to how all these humans live among the stars. She also invents so many different and interesting alien species she gives "Doctor Who" a run for its money. They should make a TV anthology series out of these books, I'd watch the shit out of it

I bought "Station Eleven" years back but only got a quarter of the way through it, so this time I was determined to finish it. I did enjoy it, I just wish it had focused more on The Travelling Symphony and the Museum of Civilization, I could've honestly read entire books about just those side stories. It also really makes me want to check out the HBO miniseries. I picked up "Beautyland" after it got an enthusiastic recommendation on a podcast I listen, but similarly I only got a little way into it before dropping off and not coming back. Having now finished it, I'd say the second half is where it really soars. It has these really beautifully-written passages about what it means to be human and is infused with this sense of melancholy that grows and grows, but doesn't make it too bleak to read. Also the main character is aroace, which is cool

"Lanny" is a strange one. I like fantasy books that try and personify the natural world and dive into the ways we as humans are destroying it and the wrath this might inspire in turn. This is definitely a quick read, more of a novella than any other the other books I read, but I'm still not sure what to make of it. It has a sinister undertone throughout, and the second half of the book is definitely very tense, though I'd be lying if I said the ending didn't feel a little anticlimactic. It does have some lovely prose and is short and sweet enough, so I'd still recommend it.

And then I finished with "World War Z." I'm what the Japanese call a tsundoku - I buy books and then neglect to actually read them. This one has been sitting unread on my bookshelf for years, so I finally decided to give it a whirl. I really enjoyed the epistolary style, with each chapter being comprised of interviews with survivors. I liked how much thought Max Brooks put into the different means and methods humanity could go about battling the zombie plague (the coolest and scariest one was the divers who have to go down to the ocean floor to deal with the hordes that are still hunkering down there) and, ultimately, turn the tide, though it comes at a terrible cost (the poor whales, for one 😢). It's bleak and terrifying, but also hopeful too, and a lot better than the movie (incidentally, because they shot that movie in Glasgow, I can't watch it without getting sucked out of the drama because I keep recognising certain landmarks - "That's not Philadelphia, that's George Square!")