Words to Share

"A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting." - Henry David Thoreau

Follow Dekalb Through The City

~ The title:
Monster Island: A Zombie Novel (OoOoo...)
~ Who penned this work?:
David Wellington
~ How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?:
Laura found it at the library book sale
~ Number of pages:
282
~ Time passed from start to finish?:
Total about two weeks. I had to take a break for a week and half in there though because I couldn't read it alone. It was scary and I'm a weenie.
~ Describe the cover:
A greenish shot of NYC with the title in huge red letters
~ In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?:
Fiction. I don't think they have a zombie section.
~ Summary of the basic plot:
Pretty standard for a zombie novel. Some disease appeared, turned people into zombies, they took over, we read the story of some survivors. It differs a bit though in the circumstances of the survivors (searching for drugs at the UN for a military leader in Africa), and twists in the plot line (a man who used medical technology to become a unique kind of zombie with cognition still intact...and an evil agenda).
~ Background information on the story/author:
The story apparently started as a series of online chapters that were then turned into this, the first novel in a trilogy. The author has a masters degree in creative writing and works as an archivist for the UN.
~ What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it):
It was O.K. The story line was a little weird, and quickly turned pretty bizarre. I also hated the way it ended...as the plot unfurled I found myself mentally fighting the direction it took, grudgingly reading page after page. Character development was rather inconsistent, and it seemed that for his level of writing he fleshed out too many characters for him to handle.
~ Which page was your favorite? Share why:
Didn't have a favorite. Maybe the last page, but only because the book was over.
~ If the story was made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters?
I don't think the characters were developed well enough for me to answer that.
~ Share a quote that was worth reading twice. Explain why:
I didn't find any as I was reading.
~ Choose your rating:
- Changed. My. Life.
- I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it
- A definite page-turner
- Good to check out but don't spend the cash (thank goodness I only spent 2 bucks)
- Why did I waste my weekend on this?
- A disgrace to paper everywhere
~ Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page.
"As for me, Osman took one look at my slept-in clothes and my haggard face and shook his head."

The Secret History of The World

~ Tell us the title:
Aftershock & others -- 19 oddities
~ Who penned this work?:
F. Paul Wilson
~ How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?:
It was a Christmas gift from my mom. Wilson is one of our shared favorite authors.
~ Number of pages:
352
~ Time passed from start to finish?:
I would say 36 hours. I didn't have much to do after Christmas
~ Describe the cover:
Images of the city, lots of black, purple, and golden tones. Nice and shiny!
~ In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?:
Fiction, maybe sci-fi?
~ Summary of the basic plot:
That's hard to say. It's a collection of short stories, all with wildly different plot lines. The author provides info on how the stories came about, and what was happening with his career at the time. I really like when authors do that.
~ Background information on the story/author:
F. Paul Wilson is a doctor...turned writer. He doesn't make his education very well known, and there is nothing about it listed on the back flap. I find this fascinating. I had no idea until I read this particular book, and I've been reading his stories for years.
~ What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it):
I loved it. I always love his work. It was very interesting to see a different side to his writing, since most of the books I've read by him all contain the same characters and continued plot line. I learned that he writes a lot like my favorite author, Neil Gaiman.
~ Which page was your favorite? Share why:
It seems more appropriate here to pick a favorite story, and that would be called Foet. It's a very thought-provoking twist on the fur and animal product industry and people's attitudes toward the living creatures they are wearing. Truly, you won't see this one coming.

~ Choose your rating:
- Changed. My. Life.
- I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it
- A definite page-turner
- Good to check out but don't spend the cash.
- Why did I waste my weekend on this?
- A disgrace to paper everywhere
~ Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page.
"You engineered me for human cells, yes, but not for just any human cells."

"The Book That Petrified The President"

~ Tell us the title: The Cobra Event
~ Who penned this work?: Richard Preston
~ How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?: I found it in a huge used bookstore in North Carolina back in October. I think it cost a dollar.
~ Number of pages: 432
~ Time passed from start to finish?: About four days
~ Describe the cover: I giant picture of a creepy looking eye. It makes sense if you read the story :)
~ In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?: In the fiction section or possibly a science section if there is one.
~ Summary of the basic plot: A crazy man has created a new biological weapon (A recombinant virus consisting of a butterfly virus, smallpox, and something causing Lesch-Nyhan-like symptoms, if that's interesting to you) and is planning to release it into New York City. Several government agencies discover the virus when he tests it on individuals, and it's a race against time to find the man and stop him before he launches his weapon.
~ Background information on the story/author: Richard Preston also wrote The Hot Zone (about Ebola) and Demon in the Freezer (about smallpox). These were nonfiction stories, but The Cobra Event is fiction. He is well known for writing exciting nonfiction about diseases. He has a PhD in English. I'm not sure what his qualifications are for writing about science, but he is quite accurate.
~ What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it): It was interesting, and alarming. What he presented seemed quite realistic and plausible. He provided background info throughout about bioweapons, that actually is nonfiction in nature. It was an interesting format for the book. I can't decide if it helped or slowed the whole thing down, however. (On a side note, if you don't know what Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is, look it up. It's a horribly horribly sad genetic disease, that hardly anyone knows about. It's research needs more funding.)
~ Which page was your favorite? Share why: Yeah...this isn't really that type of book.
~ If the story was made into a movie, who would you cast as the main characters?: Alice Austen would be Natalie Portman. Ashton Kutcher (think serious Ashton, not Punk'd Ashton) is Will Hopkins. Tommy Lee Jones would play Frank Masaccio. Beyond that, I'm not sure. Maybe Bill Pullman would be Mark Littleberry.
~ Share a quote that was worth reading twice. Explain why: Again, this wasn't really that kind of book, but I can use a quoted quote from within. "...hope is an expensive commodity. It makes better sense to be prepared." I know a lot of people may want to disagree with such a notion, but from the standpoint of bioweapons, it makes an awful lot of sense.
~ Choose your rating:
- Changed. My. Life.
- I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it
- A definite page-turner
- Good to check out but don't spend the cash.
- Why did I waste my weekend on this?
- A disgrace to paper everywhere
~ Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page: The other half of the monkeys lived, and remained healthy.