Review ♦ Zombocalypse Now

They Don’t Want Your Body, They Want Your Brains You’re a stuffed bunny and it’s the end of the world. Between you and your objective are forty or fifty zombies gorging themselves on the flesh of the living. If you disguise yourself as one of them and try to sneak past the feeding frenzy, turn to page 183. If you grab a tire iron, flip out and get medieval on their undead asses, turn to page 11. Zombocalypse Now is a comedy/horror reimagining of the choose-your-own-ending books you grew up with. You’ll be confronted with undead hordes, internet dating, improper police procedure, and the very real possibility that you’ll lose your grip on reality and wind up chewing the carpets. The zombie apocalypse has never been this much fun.

Book Title: Zombocalypse Now Type: Trade Paperback 278 Pages Author: Matt Youngmark Publication Date: August 2009 Publisher: Chooseomatic Books ISBN: 978-0-9840678-0-0 Genre: Fiction / Comedy / Horror / Action Purchase: Amazon

---

My Thoughts  
First things first, I’m guessing that pretty much everyone who was alive during the eighties knows what a choose-your-own-adventure book is. But for anyone who doesn’t here is the Wikipedia definition that sums it up pretty nicely:

Each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions in response to the plot and its outcome.

As a kid, I loved these books. As an adult I love zombies. Zombocalypse Now ties both these things together and casts the reader as a pink plush bunny. Wicked! The first chapter introduces the reader to their character (the above mentioned pink plush bunny), who is sitting in a restaurant waiting to meet up with a PerfectForeverLoveMatch.com blind date. However when she finally arrives, she only wants to talk about brrraaaaaaains. So much for finding Mrs. Right. And here is where you must make your first decision on where the plot will go. And this is when you will finally comprehend that your date is actually one of many zombies that are on the loose looking for some cerebral snacks.

I found this book to be just as much fun as the choose-your-own-adventures from my childhood, actually it was more fun because every story arc (whether I died or not) was different incorporating lots of zombie creatures and the humor was quite funny. The cover of the book states that there are 112 possible endings with at least 7 in which you don’t die. When I started reading I assumed that being a huge zombie-phile I would find those 7 positive endings with no problem at all – but I was so wrong! A lot of the twists were pretty unexpected. My favorite (so far) would have to be the one where I escape the zombies by jumping into a fishing boat and trying to find an island that’s not been touched by the zombie outbreak, but end up running out of gas, not finding land and not having any food or water. Luckily it was a fishing boat, so I cast a line and try to catch my supper – unluckily I end up catching a zombie mackerel that eats me for dinner.

Zombocalypse Now is definitely an awesome book, and fun to read more than once. Another thing that makes this book great is that it’s perfect for a long car ride. Read it aloud and have the kids decide which path to take in the story! Pink plush bunnies, zombies, undead llamas and good, clean family fun.

---

About The Author Matt Youngmark lives in Seattle. Zombocalypse Now is his first book.

---

Other Reviews

Un-Mainstream Mom Reads

Horror and Fantasy Book Reviews

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Review ♦ The 30-Second Commute

The 30-Second Commute: A non-fiction comedy about writing and working from home. The 30 Second Commute is a comic narrative about the real life of a full–time writer. Stephanie Dickison had been successfully publishing features and articles for over a decade while working a full–time job, but in December 2005, she left the secure world of a real job to tackle completing a manuscript that was close to five years old and to take on freelance writing full time. Drawing on her years as a book and pop music critic, she delves into food writing and becomes a restaurant critic for a big city Web site. She starts a blog about new products and services and soon, she and her fiancé have to consider moving due to the product piled up behind the bathroom door. Celebrity interviews, feature articles, and offers to speak about writing are just some of the highlights of what can happen when you get to live your dream. There are also the cautionary tales of what happens when you’re your own boss, saying yes to every offer that comes your way and typing hunched over a roll top desk for 14 hours a day, but mostly it is a celebration and exploration of a writer just trying to make her way in this crazy world – one word at a time.

Book Title: The 30-Second Commute Type: Trade Paperback 192 Pages Author: Stephanie Dickison Publication Date: June 2009 Publisher: ECW Press ISBN: 978-1-55022-837-3 Genre: Non-Fiction / Memoir Purchase: Amazon

---

My Thoughts  
Becoming a full-time writer is not one of the things on my own personal life agenda, however full-time writers have always been people that I admire. I will admit that having a career that allows me to work from home is something I would love, although I’m pretty sure it’s not in my future. Honestly I have had daydreams involving me in pajamas, on my sofa, possessing the skills required to write something, anything, that would earn me a paycheck (and really who hasn’t dreamt of this?) But now after having read The 30-Second Commute I realize that my daydream is just that for me. For others with more motivation, more skill, and determination it could be a reality.

Stephanie Dickison has written this completely engaging work of non-fiction, that focuses on all the aspects of her life as a freelance writer with a goal to make it her full-time job. The 30-Second Commute is written and structured wonderfully. First of all the contents at the beginning is laid out to resemble a track list within a media player, using some familiar (to me) songs as well as ones I’d never heard of before. That made it really fun to try and guess how the chapter would relate to the song chosen as the chapter title. Another great thing about the chapters is that there is no inter-dependence between them. In other words, each chapter could be read alone, and the reader would not be left wondering. They each tell a small story. Put all these stories together and they are even more enjoyable. For me personally I like this structure which allows choice; being able to randomly choose a section to read, or reading from beginning to end.

Best of all, the stories themselves are fantastic! Although I enjoyed the entire book, it was the author’s personality that I liked best. Hearing about everything from her food writing to her multi-tasking prowess, the insights into pop culture and tidbits about family – all these subjects were interesting and helped envision where the author wanted to be as a writer. And I cannot forget to mention something that I find a terrific addition to non-fiction – visuals of any kind. Along with the track list contents page, The 30-Second Commute also contains photos, lists, informational text boxes, and even a recipe for fudge!  

This book is definitely one I enjoyed and would recommend. I’ve also been following along on Stephanies’ site The Knack where she talks about just about everything – if you are anything like me about nail polish you may want to check out her review of OPIs new 2010 line-up – I’m totally loving Jade Is The New Black!

---

About The Author Journalist, essayist, and cultural critic Stephanie Dickison has contributed to several non-fiction books and encyclopedias and has written hundreds of articles for national and international magazines and newspapers. Her feature writing has appeared in the Toronto Star, Washington Asia Press, The Writer, Pan, PCWorld.ca, MacWorldCanada.ca, and dozens of other publications. She lives in Toronto.

---

Other Reviews

My Book Views

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Review ♦ Await Your Reply

The Lives Of Three Strangers Interconnect In Unforeseen Ways  – And With Unexpected Consequences. Longing to get on with his life, Miles Cheshire nevertheless can’t stop searching for his troubled twin brother, Hayden, who has been missing for ten years. Hayden has covered his tracks skillfully, moving stealthily from place to place, managing along the way to hold down various jobs and seem, to the people he meets, entirely normal. But some version of the truth is always concealed. A few days after graduating from high school, Lucy Lattimore sneaks away from the small town of Pompey, Ohio, with her charismatic former history teacher. The arrive in Nebraska, in the middle of nowhere, at a long deserted motel next to a dried up reservoir, to figure out the next move on their path to a new life. But soon Lucy begins to feel quietly uneasy. My whole life is a lie, thinks Ryan Schuyler, who has recently learned some shocking news. In response, he walks off the Northwestern University campus, hops on a bus, and breaks loose from his existence, which suddenly seems abstract and tenuous. Presumed dead, Ryan decides to remake himself – through unconventional and precarious means.

Book Title: Await Your Reply Type: Hardcover 324 Pages Author: Dan Chaon Publication Date: August 2009 Publisher: Ballantine Books ISBN: 978-0-345-47602-9 Genre: Contemporary Fiction Purchase: Amazon

---

My Thoughts  
Await Your Reply is one of those books in which the plot and how it unwinds structurally is the major reason why I enjoy it. This novel tells three separate stories, with the three stories being built upon in a rotation of chapters. I love this structure, but it makes it really difficult to discuss without inadvertently exposing spoilers. So to get an idea of the actual premise of Await Your Reply you need to read the summary I’ve provided above – it comes directly from the dust-jacket and does an absolutely terrific job of presenting the main ideas without spoiling anything (something I am not so good at doing.) *Have you ever thought that the persons responsible for creating book jacket summaries should get some recognition for their good work? I’ve seen some jacket summaries so full of spoilers I just about lose my mind – but the good ones really don't get the attention they deserve.* 

Now then, if you read the summary you see that this book has three main characters – Miles, a man searching for his quite possibly mad twin brother; Lucy, a young woman who takes off to make a new life for herself with her former professor; and Ryan, a young man who leaves his life behind after discovering he isn’t who he thought he was all his life. These three characters are all so different, yet there is the theme of identity, confusion and searching shared between their stories. For most of the book these stories are quite un-related except by those themes. I’m the type of reader that guesses constantly about how different narratives will become connected later on, and there were so many things running through my mind while reading this book. Many theories of relation popped into my head, but the fantastic thing for me while reading Await Your Reply is that I couldn’t get a concrete idea of how this would end. If you are like me and try to guess and tie things up while reading, this is a book that you will either enjoy terribly or it will make you crazy (in a good “OMG I need to know” kind of way!)

The last thing I want to mention is that I’ve heard many readers saying that they don’t like or don’t think they could read books that have separate narratives told in alternating chapters. If you fall into one of those groups, I’d say if you wanted to give it another shot definitely go with Await Your Reply. The chapters are short, the different narratives are easily identifiable and the writing is excellent in keeping a nice, steady flow going. So even when you start a new chapter featuring a different character there is no jarring sensation. It could be the writing or the theme or maybe how easy the characters were to become involved with, perhaps the mix of all three, but this book is a terrific page-turner.

---

About The Author Dan Chaon is the acclaimed author of Among The Missing, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and You Remind Me Of Me, which was named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Monitor, and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications. Chaon’s fiction has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories, Pushcart Prize, and The O. Henry Prize Stories. He has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award in Fiction, and he was the recipient of the 2006 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Chaon lives in Cleveland, Ohio, and teaches at Oberlin College, where he is the Pauline M. Delaney Professor of Creative Writing.

---

Other Reviews

The Bookworm

The Book Lady’s Blog

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

TSS ♦ Organizing … the blog and the books (o.O)

Haven’t done a Sunday Salon in quite awhile, and this one is basically going to be about me whining, complaining, trying to figure out what needs to be done organizationally for my blog.

First off, and most importantly I have a backlog of reviews to get settled. Review copies and ARCs that I’ve read and not reviewed have taken the top spot in must-do. Apologies to publishers and authors I am owing posts to, but they are coming. I’m hoping to get completely caught up by the middle to end of February. In the next week, I’ll be blogging about the following books:

** Just now looking at those 6 book covers I realized how weird eclectic my reading taste actually is **

---

Another post I have lined up is a look at the first 8 books in the Sookie Stackhouse series, and the short story anthology. I’d actually considered making this into a monthly type of post – since I’ve been re-reading a lot of series’ books to catch back up with newly released additions to the series’.

 

---

Challenges. That’s another biggie on my list of organizing must-do’s. I haven’t taken a really close look but I think that I may have failed to complete 3 of my 2009 challenges. But on the plus side even though the end-dates have passed, I still intend to continue with them for my own personal satisfaction. As for 2010 challenges, I’ve chosen a few to take part in, signed up, and posted my challenge posts. I feel good about the ones I’ve picked so there is another plus.

---

Now onto the thing that is driving me absolutely out of my mind, crazy! My books, bookcases, shelves, etc. Here’s the situation … too many books + not enough shelves = insanity, tears and denial. In the next few weeks I need to completely fix this or I may need medication and/or a straitjacket. First I need to gather all the books in the house and analyze – creating piles of ‘must-keeps’, ‘to-be-reads’ and ‘these need to go’. Funny thing is, this past semester I studied the weeding process for libraries, and got a pretty awesome grade for my final assignment which involved actually weeding books from a collection – however they were books that weren’t mine – that makes all the difference imo :P

Anyways, hopefully I can weed my own collection, and make a nice sized donation and a pile to trade for book credits. I may take photos of this epic endeavor of re-organization – maybe a before and after style montage – that’s if I can manage to not sob like a toddler the entire time :D

Happy Sunday everyone!

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Review ♦ Only True Genius In The Family

Claire’s father always said that in their family, genius skipped a generation. Maybe he was right. The daughter of a legendary landscape photographer and the mother of a painter whose career is about to take off, Claire has carved out a practical living as a commercial photographer. It may not earn her glory, but it’s paid for a good life in a beautiful house on the beach. When her father suddenly dies, Claire loses faith in the work she has devoted her life to – and worse, begins to feel jealous of her daughter’s success. But as she helps prepare a retrospective of her famous father’s photographs, Claire uncovers revelations about him that change everything she believes about herself as a mother, a daughter, and an artist…

Book Title: Only True Genius In The Family Type: Trade Paperback 292 Pages Author: Jennie Nash Publication Date: February 2009 Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 978-0-425-22575-2 Genre: Fiction Purchase: Amazon

---

My Thoughts  
There is nothing I love more than stories about families and how they work. A family is so much more intricate than even the most sophisticated type of machinery. Within the structure of a family the members are all individual gears, moving in their own unique ways. What makes families so remarkable is how these separate pieces change themselves, alter others, and find that perfect synchronicity to keep the entire thing successfully working. The Only True Genius In The Family is a story concerning a family on the edge, specifically focusing on a woman named Claire, who is daughter, mother, wife and career woman. The person she has become has been defined by how she relates to her family. But in order to be happy she needs to strip away the influences of her familial roles and find her own true self.

Claire’s recently deceased father was a world renowned photographer. Her daughter Bailey is an up and coming painter who seems destined to be a famous artist. Claire herself is a food photographer, who has always been satisfied with her job and her work. But as she watches her daughter’s artistic ability bloom, with credit going to her father, she begins to reconsider her own creativity. She no longer sees herself as an artist and her work begins to feel unimportant to her. She has always worked so hard to achieve perfection in her work, and feels as though her father and daughter get much greater results with little to no effort. Added to this mix is the fact that Claire’s husband has a very influential career in business management. Her entire family is successful using their natural talents, and she begins to doubt the existence of her own type of personal ingrained talent.

Claire’s story is told in such an amazing way, not only is this a novel about family dynamics, but also a character study of a woman on a journey of self-discovery. The characters are all so realistic, with actions and reactions that appear completely natural. The thing that is most refreshing about this story is the pure honesty of Claire’s emotions. Her thoughts, her doubts and her revelations are perfect and utterly true-to-life. Reading this book felt so much like getting to know a real family, there were no good guys or bad guys, there were only human beings trying to keep their family unit intact while still maintaining their own individuality. This story really highlighted how relations feel love, jealousy, anger, remorse, and a desire to please others while still satisfying their own inner needs.

The Only True Genius In The Family is both a simple story about one woman and a look into the intricate and delicate workings of a family. This is a book that I enjoyed from beginning to end, and I am very much looking forward to reading more from this author.    

---

About The Author Jennie Nash is the author of three books of narrative nonfiction and one novel, The Last Beach Bugalow. She lives in Torrance, California.

---

Other Reviews

At Home With Books Booking Mama Care's Online Book Club

Fizzy Thoughts Maw Books Blog Peeking Between The Pages

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Review ♦ One Second After

New York Times Bestselling Author William R. Forstchen Tells A Story That Might Be All Too Terrifyingly Real. A story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war that sends our nation back to the Dark Ages. A war lost because of a terrifying weapon, an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) … that may already be in the hands of our enemies. Months before publication, One Second After has already been cited on the floor of Congress as a book all Americans should read. It has been discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a realistic look at EMPs and their awesome ability to send catastrophic shockwaves throughout the United States, literally within seconds. EMPs are a weapon that The Wall Street Journal warned could shatter our nation. In the tradition of On The Beach, Fail-Safe, and Testament, this book, set in a typical American town, is a dire warning of what might be our future … and our end.

Book Title: One Second After Type: Trade Paperback 350 pages Author: William R. Forstchen Publication Date: November 2009 Publisher: Forge ISBN: 978-0-7653-2725-3 Genre: Fiction / Science-Fiction Purchase: Amazon

---

My Thoughts  
One Second After is very much the type of book that I normally enjoy – a fictional yet realistic story populated by a group of people who are trying to survive after a cataclysmic disaster has changed the way in which society itself works, or for that matter something that breaks down society from a worldwide organization into small branches of separate societies. In this book, the disaster is caused by an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse). EMPs will basically fry anything that has an electronic component, and so the survivors in this book are left without anything that requires electric power to run. The fact that EMPs are a possibility in our own reality makes this idea really scary. Living in the Maritimes I have had some experience with weather-related power outages, some lasting as long as 2 weeks, so the idea of losing all power indefinitely was terrifying to me. For all these reasons, I was sure that One Second After would be a winner of a book for me. However, sometimes when things look perfect you discover the exact opposite.

My main complaint, and the first thing that I noticed at about 25 pages in, was that the structure of this book was very disjointed. There is the main story containing narration, dialogue, all the normal things in fiction. Scattered amongst this was the scientific and technological explanations and hypotheses concerning EMPs. Both of these things were necessary to make the story work, because a reader would need to know the information in order to fully understand what was going on. However the problem that arose for me was that the style and tone changed drastically when the two met. For example, a group of town people would be having a meeting to discuss what had happened, why there was no power – casual conversations between peers – but then one of the people would begin explaining to the group the way in which EMPs worked. Automatically the tone shifted and I personally felt that the story ended and was replaced by a blurb (or several pages) of straight non-fiction. This shift was jarring to the flow and also made it seem as though the explaining person had abruptly jumped out of character. Once I realized that this was going to happen quite often, my interest in the book itself diminished.

I honestly hate to seem like I am picking apart any book, but the other problems I had also made this a less than enjoyable read. However my reviews are based on honesty, so here are a few of the more prominent complaints I had. The editing of the book itself was poor, with sentences that felt very unnatural, especially within the dialogue. It felt to me as though no one had read through the book after the first draft. Also from my point of view as a female, the women in this book were not portrayed quite as realistically or positively as I’d hoped. The mayor and some women in the put-together militia were female but they never seemed to be important to the plot. The main females fell into the roles of sick daughter, dead wife, old mother-in-law and possible love interest. Now would be a good time to mention that the story contained a whole whack of formulaic characters and relational situations. My one last complaint – and right upfront I will say it has nothing to do with my being a Canadian – it was seriously annoying that whenever something negative happened or was mentioned, a character would say something about being an American. Certain phrases like “but we’re Americans” or “but this is America” repeatedly being used got tiresome, it began to feel as though the author wanted readers to believe that the United States as presented in this book was beyond perfection and incapable of any wrongdoing. Apologies to all Americans out there, this isn’t meant as a personal criticism of your country – it would have bothered me just as much had the story been set in Canada or England or any other country in the world.

So there you have it, just a few of my thoughts about One Second After. Makes me feel like a cranky old curmudgeon but honestly I had high hopes for this book and it just fell flat for me on all levels. The description of this book, as well as the introduction mentioned the books On The Beach and Alas, Babylon – both books that share similar themes – my recommendation would be to skip this one and check out either of those instead. Then again, everyone’s taste is different and One Second After might be the perfect fit for you.

---

About The Author William R. Forstchen has a Ph.D. from Purdue University with specializations in military history and the history of technology. He is a faculty fellow and professor of history at Montreat College. Forstchen is the author of more than forty books, including the New York Times bestselling novels Gettysburg and Pearl Harbor (co-authored with Newt Gingrich), as well as the award-winning young adult novel We Look Like Men Of War. He has also written numerous short stories and articles about military history and military technology. His interests include archaeology; he owns and flies an original WWII “recon bird.” Dr. Forstchen resides near Asheville, North Carolina, with his teenage daughter, Meghan, and their small pack of golden retrievers and yellow labs.

---

Other Reviews

Books For Breakfast

Un-Mainstream Mom Reads

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Clearing Out The Cobwebs

So how about I just sneak in and pretend I haven’t been totally MIA for the past two months? Ok? Good! Just mind the cobwebs and try not to write smart-alecky comments in the dust :P

Whoa it’s finally 2010, I’m pretty stoked even though everything I date for the next five months or so will look like this – 2009 2010 – It was pretty near 2005 before I managed to not start every date with a 19.

Anyways, hope everyone has had an amazing year. I’m a bit late to the party and my google reader resembles the fallout of a nuclear war zone. However I did see this snazzy-cool end of year questionnaire over at the fantabulous Madame Care’s! I decided to snag it seeing as how she borrowed it from my favorite fizzybeverage Jill, who also borrowed it from the original creator Savidge Reads (who is the newest awesome blog addition to feed reader.) I did change a couple of the questions up so if you want the original follow the links above.

Here we go….

How many books read in 2009?

Counting up the total makes me think I’m either a super-reader or a super-geek with no social life … but I’m super-pumped about my stats any which way! 228 books read in 2009! And to make my super-geekiness even more probable I kept track of how many pages too. That total is 64446 which is awesome because it’s palindromic and I’m all about symmetry!!

How many graphic novels versus traditional text? 

44 graphic novels and 184 traditional books. Both groups containing a mixture of genres, reading levels and types (fiction, non-fiction, memoir.)

Male/Female author ratio?

116 female. 103 male. 9 male & female. These are my favorite stats because I really wanted to read an even amount this year and ending up with more women authors was fantastic!

Favorite book of 2009?

I’ve never rated my books … hate doing it to tell the truth. It feels so unfair of me because really sometimes a truly great book just walks into my life at the wrong time. Reading so many different types of books makes it harder still cause at different times I yearn for stuff that is silly or scary or serious. If I could choose 5 books from this year that I’ve enjoyed immensely they would be Fruit by Brian Francis, Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, Tunneling To The Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson and Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards. Honorable mention should go to Patrick Ness’ Knife of Never Letting Go, damn that book broke my heart.

Least favourite?

Hurry Down Sunshine – The best example of my hopes for a book being hit by a truck and dragged for 40 miles across broken glass.

Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why?

The only book that I didn’t finish reading was Dora Borealis by Daccia Bloomfield. While reading it I just wasn’t getting pulled in. My concentration was pretty scattered at the time. Funny thing is I returned it to the library and then wrote a DNF post about it, and about a month later I bought a copy. It is a book that I am really wanting to finish when the time is right.

Oldest book read?

Shirley Jackson’s Haunting of Hill House and Edward Goreys’ Curious Sofa are two of the older ones I read this year, published in 1959 and 1961.

Newest?

Absolutely no idea! That’s one thing I would like to change about how I keep track of my books read. Right now I only list publication year, but I’m thinking of adding the months from now on.

Longest and shortest book titles?

Longest Title – 101 Questions Your Dog Would Ask Its Vet If Your Dog Could Talk by Bruce Fogle and Lalla Ward. It was published in the early 1990’s but the information inside was really helpful.

Shortest Title – Sum by David Eagleman. A very interesting collection of different opinions and beliefs concerning what waits for us in the afterlife.

Longest and shortest books?

The shortest at 32 pages was Neil Gaiman’s The Dangerous Alphabet, the illustrations were so beautiful that I spent lots of time looking through it. So small page count doesn’t necessarily mean less to enjoy. The longest book I read was Stephen King’s Under The Dome, with a whopping 1074 pages. But it was quite good so I flew through it like it was a pocket book.

How many books from the library?

Love my library and it shows since nearly 33% of my books read came from there. In total I read 74 books courtesy of the Halifax Public Library.

Any translated books?

Hmm … never thought to keep track of this. However I am currently reading a wonderful French-to-English translation of Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner. It’s one of the books that were chosen for this years Canada Reads event.

Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author?

I’ve got some high ones in this category mainly because of re-reading certain series’. From the Sookie Stackhouse series I read 9 by Charlaine Harris. Then I read 6 of the Kitty Norville books by Carrie Vaughn.

Any re-reads?

The first 2 or 3 from both the Sookie Stackhouse and Kitty Norville series’ were re-reads – if it’s been awhile between series books I like to reacquaint myself. Also I’m re-reading the entire Vampire Diaries series. And just cause he is so fuggin’ awesome I re-re-read Generation X and Girlfriend In A Coma by Douglas Coupland.

Favourite character of the year?

Manchee. Hands down.

How many CanLit books read?

I’m crazy excited to have read 20 books by Canadian authors this year. And also glad to have found a special section at my fave bookshop devoted to Canuck literature.

Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation?

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin – thanks to Dewey’s review and the Dewey Reading Challenge.
Queenie Chan’s Dreaming series – thanks to Kailana’s review.
Horns & Wrinkles – Great kids book I found thanks to Darla D, Natasha and Nymeth.
Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness – Chris’ review convinced me this would be amazing.

Which author was new to you in 2009 that you now want to read the entire works of?

Off the top of my head I would have to say David Almond and Joan Didion. I was introduced to Almond this year through the book Skellig and it was pure magic. And The Year of Magical Thinking was my first and definitely not last book by Joan Didion.

Which books are you annoyed you didn’t read?

I’d desperately wanted to read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. But I’m not annoyed really, it just means I have one more book to look forward to. 

Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?

Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon have both been on my to-be-read list forever. So I am glad that I knocked those two off. Although they are both first in a series books so it kinda added more to my to-be-read list. *sigh* :P

---

Happy 2010 Everyone!! Wishing you all the best in this new year!

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

2010 Reading Log

January

• A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
• Alcoholic – Jonathan Ames
• Cinema Panopticon – Thomas Ott
• Crypt-Keeping It Real – Tales From The Crypt
• Death’s Head Revisited – Twilight Zone
• Hellraiser Collected Best V.2 – Clive Barker
• Her Fearful Symmetry – Audrey Niffengger
• Locke & Key V.1 Welcome To Lovecraft – Joe Hill
• Lovecraft – Hans Rodionoff
• Monsters Are Due On Maple Street – Twilight Zone
• Odyssey of Flight 33 – Twilight Zone
• One Second After – William R. Forstchen
• Only True Genius In The Family – Jennie Nash
• Scott Pilgrim Volume 1 Precious Little Life – Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim Volume 2 VS The World – Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim Volume 3 Infinite Sadness – Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim Volume 4 Gets It Together – Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Scott Pilgrim Volume 5 VS The Universe – Bryan Lee O’Malley
• Something Wicca This Way Comes – Tales From The Crypt
• Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite – Gerard Way
• World More Full of Weeping – Robert Wiersema
• Yabba Dabba Voodoo – Tales From The Crypt
• You-Tomb – Tales From The Crypt

February

• Arrival – Shaun Tan
• Atlantic Canada’s 100 Greatest Books – Adams & Clare
• Ball Peen Hammer – Adam Rapp
• Cougar Club – Susan McBride
• Dream House – Valerie Laken
• Genesis – Bernard Beckett
• Horror Story & Other Horror Stories – Robert Boyczuk
• I Kissed A Zombie and I Liked It – Adam Selzer
• Never Slow Dance With A Zombie – E Van Lowe 

March

• 101 Best Graphic Novels – Stephen Weiner
• Black Hole – Charles Burns
• Burnout – Rebecca Donner
• Courtney Crumrin Volume 1 Night Things – Ted Naifeh
• Courtney Crumrin Volume 2 Coven of Mystics – Ted Naifeh
• Courtney Crumrin Volume 3 Twilight Kingdom – Ted Naifeh
• Everafter – Amy Huntley
• Generation A – Douglas Coupland
• Good To A Fault – Marina Endicott
• Graphic Classics: Robert Louis Stevenson – Tom Pomplum
• Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
• Life Sentences – Laura Lippman
• Manga Shakespeare: Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Scream Queen – Brendan Hay
• Secret Lives of Great Authors – Robert Schnakenberg
• Stranger Than Fiction – Chuck Palahniuk
• Big Tall Wish – Twilight Zone
• Time Flies When You’re In A Coma – Mike Daly
• Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up – Twilight Zone
• Zombie Queen Of Newbury High – Amanda Ashby

April

May

•  

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

---

  Indicates CanLit

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

What’s In A Name 3 Reading Challenge

What’s In A Name 3 Hosted by Beth F 1 January 2010 – 31 December 2010 Read 6 books with titles that fit the categories.

 

	1.   A book with a “food” in the title:
	2.   A book with a “body of water” in the title:
	3.   A book with a “title (queen, president, etc)” in the title:
	4.   A book with a “plant” in the title:
	5.   A book with a “place name (country, city, etc)” in the title:
	6.   A book with a “music term” in the title:

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

TwentyTen Reading Challenge

TwentyTen Challenge Hosted by Bart’s Bookshelf 1 January 2010 – 31 December 2010 Read 20 Books from 10 categories in 2010

 

	Young Adult
	To Be Read
	Shiny & New
	Bad Bloggers
	Charity
	New In 2010
	Older Than You
	Win! Win!
	Who Are You Again?
	Up To You

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

2010 Countdown Challenge

Countdown Challenge 2010 Hosted by 3M 9 September 2009 – 10 October 2010 Read the number of books first published in a given year that corresponds to the last digit of each year in the 2000s for a total of 55 Books.

 

Books Published in 2010

Books Published in 2009

Books Published in 2008

Books Published in 2007

Books Published in 2006

Books Published in 2005

Books Published in 2004

Books Published in 2003

Books Published in 2002

Book Published in 2001

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Time Quartet Read-A-Long

2010 Time Quartet Read-a-long Hosted by Kailana 1 January 2010 – Book 1: A Wrinkle In Time – Read in January Book 2: A Wind In The Door Book 3: A Swiftly Tilting Planet Book 4: Many Waters

 

1.	3.
2.	4.

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

100+ Reading Challenge 2010

100+ Reading Challenge 2010 Hosted by J.Kaye’s Book Blog 1 January 2010 – 31 December 2010 Read 100+ Books in 2010

 

1.	51.
2.	52.
3.	53.
4.	54.
5.	55.
6.	56.
7.	57.
8.	58.
9.	59.
10.	60.
11.	61.
12.	62.
13.	63.
14.	64.
15.	65.
16.	66.
17.	67.
18.	68.
19.	69.
20.	70.
21.	71.
22.	72.
23.	73.
24.	74.
25.	75.
26.	76.
27.	77.
28.	78.
29.	79.
30.	80.
31.	81.
32.	82.
33.	83.
34.	84.
35.	85.
36.	86.
37.	87.
38.	88.
39.	89.
40.	90.
41.	91.
42.	92.
43.	93.
44.	94.
45.	95.
46.	96.
47.	97.
48.	98.
49.	99.
50.	100.

---

© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.