'World War Z' by Max Brooks

World War Z, an Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks (3.0)

This book had a unique premise: instead of telling the story directly, it was told in retrospect by a journalist through survivor interviews. At times, this conceit distanced me from the story, but generally it differentiated the book from other apocalyptic zombie tales. The journalist starts with interviews focused on the early days of the virus/infestation. The interviewees range from Generals and Presidents to various common man survivors. Throughout the book, those interviewed are appropriate to the timing of the zombie war, with only a few revisited towards the end of the book. Mr. Brooks does treat this story as a historical look at a war (weapons and politics), though with more biology. It’s interesting to follow how so many misread the infection as rabies, though it makes the tale more realistic – who would think of zombies in real life? Oddly and atypically, I liked the movie ‘World War Z’ better. It had a lot of the same theories and plot points, but the direct plot of the movie kept my attention while the indirectness of the book did not hook me as well.

'Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls' by David Sedaris

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, David Sedaris (3.5)

I had heard many good things about David Sedaris’ writing – particularly how funny and erudite he is. I did enjoy his musings in this book of essays, even to the point of laughing out loud. This is one of his more recent collections with many current references. Two of my favorites were ‘#2 to Go’ about traveling in Asia (spitting, strange food, strange toilets) and ‘Health Care Freedoms and Why I Want My Country Back’ about a clueless radical conservative mother whose gay son toys with her. He convinces her to wear a t-shirt that says ‘Big Dyke’ by saying ‘dyke’ means someone who holds back the flood of encroaching socialism. Of course I resonated with the title idea: once you say you like something, you will receive multiple pieces and copies of said item. I liked owls as a kid and received many lovely owls. I still like them, but stopped telling people as I had collected enough owl memorabilia. My only complaint about this book is that some of the essays seemed to be re-hashing of his New Yorker pieces, but I don’t have actual evidence of that. I look forward to reading more of his older books.