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	04/30 Jamie is currently reading: 1984 (Paperback) by George Orwell bookshelves: currently-reading, year-of-dystopic-literature-	my rating:
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	04/30 Jamie is currently reading: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (Hardcover) by Max Brooks bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
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July 24

Jamie gave

to:
Vox (Paperback)
by Nicholson Baker

my rating:

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Jamie read and liked Yulia's review of Vox:

"What surprised me about this book was just how boring it was. I'd purchased it in college, after having gotten to know (as much as one can know someone you can't trust) over several months of almost daily calls the random phone sex caller at my coll...more "

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June 28

Jamie read and liked Ellen's review of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War:

"This book was initially recommended to me by several people in the office and since I love zombies and apocalyptic themes, well, I was pretty excited. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations and I struggled to finish it. (I'm going to w...more This book was initially recommended to me by several people in the office and since I love zombies and apocalyptic themes, well, I was pretty excited. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations and I struggled to finish it. (I'm going to write this review under the assumption that the reader has some inkling about the story and how it's constructed.)

There are two issues that killed it for me. Firstly, most of the characters had the same--or similar--voice. Of course this is partly to do with the fact that the voices all originate from the mind of one individual, the author. Also, the more journalistic/interview approach to constructing the narrative limits how much color the author can impart on any given character. Q and A is inherently dry, no matter how exciting the events described are intended to be. This is a minor gripe, though, and one that can be lived with.

A more serious complaint, however, is that this book can be seen as completely lacking any and all dramatic tension that a person (or, me) expects from a survival horror-themed story. The primary draw--the zombie war and how humanity survived--is such a compelling hook, but it's told...by the people who survived. As in, past tense, as in we are left with their impressions of things that happened to them. Basically, then, the story devolves into an excercise in basic exposition: "And then this happened, and then that happened." And so the author is free to weave his story without any pesky things like character development, story arcs, plotting, and personal details that are shown and not told. It seems to me like an extraordinarily easy (maybe even lazy) way to tell a story.

One other minor point: For me, accounts of survival when the victims are real have meaning that allows them to transcend the limitations described above. WW2 Holocaust survivors' accounts, for example, can take your breath away. The difference is, of course, that they were real events that happened to real people.

Since all the classic storytelling elements are dispensed with, we're basically left with the author's views on our current world, particularly and naturally, the wars and our culture(s). However, it's my view that there are dozens of books written about these subjects already; books that haven't needed to sex the discussion up with a horde of shambling undead.

So, in summary, if I'm going to read an apocalyptic recounting of the end of civilization as we know it, I want to read about people in real time, struggling to survive, not being told how people surivived after it was over.

(It is all a matter of taste, mind, as I know half a dozen people whose views I cherish, who absolutely loved this book.) Thanks for reading this! :D

...less "

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New comment on El's review of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

Jamie wrote: "I felt precisely the same way about this book--while I enjoyed it enough, I was stuck on (and disapp...more "

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Jamie read and liked El's review of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War:

"The world was almost brought to complete destruction during what is later referred to as the Zombie War. Max Brooks fancies himself a survivor and takes it upon himself to travel the world and interview others. The book is in an interview layout, a...more The world was almost brought to complete destruction during what is later referred to as the Zombie War. Max Brooks fancies himself a survivor and takes it upon himself to travel the world and interview others. The book is in an interview layout, a rather interesting approach to this sort of book. The subtitle itself, An Oral History of the Zombie War, illustrates that it is and will only be in a Q&A format. This is simultaneously the book's greatest strength and its biggest weakness.

On one hand Brooks visits the far reaches of the world, encorporates politics (the chapter specifically regarding who was to blame for the outbreak and the subsequent war was by far my favorite and probably the most important when looking at our own government and military personnel) and environment all in one neat little package, all the while creating this background of a war that did not exactly exist (metaphorical comparisons excluded as I think George Romero has drilled it into our heads that we, the humans, are the real zombies, etc.). There is so much room for a great imagination. And he almost makes it, he was oh so close... but then with all of these fantastic back-drops (China and Australia and some places I may not be able to find on a map) all of the characters he "interviews" have similar tones. They all read the same way. In real life, no two people would tell their accounts of any life-changing or life-threatening experience the same way. If nothing else one person's inflection is different from the next person's. Unfortunately for Brooks there is very little contrast from one person to the next. I find it hard to believe, even following the Zombie War, that someone living in Cape Town Province in Southern Africa would more or less sound exactly like someone living in Troy, MT in the US.

Despite the blustered attempt at an entire book written in Q&A, Brooks still managed to tell a pretty decent and convincing story. His zombies were rather chilling and more than once I had to put down my lunch until I found a "safer" paragraph. I feel I learned a thing or two about what to do in a zombie attack should one, erm, actually occur. For instance if a person turns zombie while they're in the car, their IQ will not be high enough to allow them to get out of the car as they will not be intelligent enough to unbuckle the seatbelt or open the car door. However, as a human walking beside a car in which a zombie will remain forever, one must be careful as the zombie inside the car is still able to moan which, I learned, is a call to other zombies not stuck inside their cars to come and snag you. Food for thought anyway.

I'm stuck between giving this 3 or 4 stars. The lack of character distinction is the most disappointing part of the book and because I am a stickler for those sorts of things I finally decided upon the 3. Still a good read, especially for true fans of the zombie subculture....less "

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Jamie gave

to:
Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife (Hardcover)
by Irene Spencer

my rating:

read in June, 2008

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June 03

Jamie joined the Dystopias and Social Critiques group.

Jamie made a comment in the group Dystopias and Social Critiques—dystopias for a year topic:

Jamie wrote: "Just joined the group--and I have joined you already... I decided 2008 would be my year of dystopic ...more "

New comment on Bobby's review of No Country for Old Men

Jamie wrote: "sweet. After I read The Road and John read Blood Meridian, we started stocking up on McCarthy books...more "

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May 12

Jamie added a quote:
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." — Dr. Seuss

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Jamie's favorite quotes

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."
— Albert Einstein

tags: einstein, human, humor, infinity, nature, philosophy, science, stupidity, universe

2226 people liked it

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."
— Dr. Seuss

tags: inamorata, love

1125 people liked it

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
— Douglas Adams (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe)

tags: humor, scifi

967 people liked it

"Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life."
— Terry Pratchett

tags: humor

482 people liked it

"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."
— Robert A. Heinlein

tags: love

429 people liked it

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Jamie's groups (recent posts)

Books I Loathed — 918 members — last activity 18 hours, 28 min ago
This is a public forum for people to kvetch (cleanly, please) about books they absolutely hated, and for others to respond. Though nonfiction is certa...more

Dystopias and Social Critiques — 143 members — last activity 5 days ago, 02:23PM
This is a group for all the fans of Dystopias out there. Share your favorite dystopias, get new recommendations, and talk with other fans about this...more

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