All that aside, i just had to tell you about the last two books i've read - neither are remotely related, but both were entirely awesome. First up we have " The Hour I First Believed " by Wally Lamb:
I'd read Wally's two previous books - which is what recommended me to this one in the first place - but i wasnt quite prepared for the emotional shock to the system this book would have on me. Its uses the real life event of the Columbine High shootings as the cornerstone of one mans search for what is " real " in his life - facing the lies of his past, the pain of his present and the unknown of his future. I'll admit that the last few chapters of this book had me in tears and i dont remember any other booking ever having that physical effect on me before. The weight of the themes in this book was heavy indeed, but left me feeling so much lighter for having shared the protagonists journey.
In contrast, i've just this morning finished " Pride and Prejudice and Zombies " by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.
This was too awesome. The original " Pride and Prejudice " is the quintessential literary classic that everyone feels like they should read, or should have read, or has lied about reading ( truth be told, i've read it, own it and love it ) so when i finally got the chance to read this mash up of classic Austen and zombies, i jumped at the chance. Verdict? Its like the original " Pride and Prejuice " only blood-thirstier. Which is to say that it retains all the charm of the original story, the same witty banter between characters, the same fiesty tomboy-ish Elizabeth and same haughty Mr Darcy - only most of the characters are trained in martial arts and kill the undead in their spare time. Far from detracting from the original story, i think anyone who has attempted Austen's version and found it too " old fashioned " to get through might enjoy this zombified version, and might want to give the old version a second shot. And whats even better ? I hear its being made into a movie!
So what about you all? Are you big readers, and can you recommend any good reads?
I've never read Pride & Prejudice (watched the movie though! Ooh, sexy wet-shirt-man-scene (is it sad that's about all I remember?)), but I think I'm going to have to read this one. I love gothic fiction, so most of my favourites are a little old / too disturbing for most people's tastes. But hey, if you're enjoying a zombie P&P mash-up, I can recommend House of Leaves. It's a new (relatively new) book. I read it a few years back, and I thought it was very original, it stuck with me.
ReplyDeleteAside from that ... the best recent read would be 'The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are'. A book about evolutionary psychology, but pop science enough to work as leisure reading. I did find the author pushing the science to his own agenda a bit, but it gave me a lot to think about.
I read the original P & P - in fact, I did Sense & Sensibility as my Review of Personal Reading in high school . . . but a fellow blogger gave me the zombie P & P at our edinburgh meet up, and I haven't been able to get into it yet. Maybe someday.
ReplyDeleteAre you on goodreads? Get yourself on there if not. x
Oh yeah Im a reader, I usually blog about whatever Ive recently read - hope you keep blogging your reads too, I love drawing inspiration from what everyone else is reading. BTW I haven't read either of the books you blogged about. Im not really into zombies, vampires etc, but the other book sounds awesome - Ill put it on my to read list.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I looove reading too, and am always looking for a good read. I will def give the zombie P&P a go. I am one of those who just couldn't get into the original, even though I like to rad a pretty wide range of books, so this could def be a good introduction.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think I am going to check out that book Nadiah mentioned, The Moral Animal...it sounds exactly like something I would enjoy. I'm off to add it to my wish list now!