Brains!  Brains!  Before I had children, I had them.  Lots of them.  I was an urban professional working downtown in a job with Responsibilities.  I read Great Works of Fiction in my spare time, and, well, you get the idea.  After I had them: less so.

Now, I have a job that I love with less responsibilities and an unending thirst for books about the supernatural.  Zombies are my current obsession.  A work of zombie fiction may never be up for the Pulitzer or Nobel Prize, but it’ll almost always hit the spot after hour three of putting my 2-year old to sleep in his big-boy bed.  Here are some of my current favs:

Warm Bodies, by Isaac Marion*

Perfect for those who like their zombies with a dash of emo.  Warm Bodies tells the story of R and Julie (get it?), two star-crossed lovers.   He’s a zombie who doesn’t fit in with others of his kind, she’s a human whose been trained from a young age to fight for her survival.  Warm Bodies is a quirky and surprising read – one you’ll remember long after it’s over.  I only hope the movie captures a fraction of its warmth.

 

Devil’s Wake and Domino Falls* by Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due

A straightforward enough story that moves along at a good clip:  a band of teenaged survivors trying to make it through the day.  The second book moves away from the zombie concept quite a bit and focuses more on the relationships of the people in the group as they enter the supposed sanctuary of Domino Falls.  I found myself reaching for it after one of “those days” because of how easy it is to get lost in.

 

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman

You can’t go wrong with The Walking Dead.  I have recommended it to people who shy away from comic books – and they loved it anyway.  There is something so right about the ever changing moral landscape of this post-apocalyptic world.  The TV show isn’t half bad either.

 

John Dies at the End (on order) and This Book is Full of Spiders by David Wong

Sometimes you don’t want your zombies to be all doom and gloom.  Sometimes you just want a laugh.  It’s hard to find better than this crazy series by Cracked writer David Wong, especially if irreverence is your thing; I’d quote from it, but would offend too many readers.  Sorry.

 

If you’re a zombie buff, or even if you’ve just stumbled across one you kinda liked, please comment and let me know – I’m always looking out for my next read.  You know, the one for the next time a plastic fairy catches fire in my toaster and it feels like the end of the world.

–Patricia

*I was lucky enough to receive copies of these books via NetGalley – thank you NetGalley for keeping me in zombies these past few weeks!