Ninth Five Books of 2009

Sunday, May 24, 2009 by Audrey
41. World War Z, by Max Brooks. Finished April 25.
LOVED it. A novel about the upcoming zombie apocalypse, written in the style of journalistic interviews after the fact. It was so much more than just a zombie book--it's a look at how the political infrastructure can let us down in the event of an emergency. Read this book.
3 days

42. It's a Wonderful Lie, edited by Emily Franklin. Finished April 28.
Promising but ultimately disappointing set of essays about how life in your twenties isn't as great as you've always thought it was going to be. Once the section on crazy 20s sex lives started, this book really lost my interest. Ladies, there are some things that you really should just keep to yourselves.
2 weeks.

43. The Lost, by Daniel Mendelsohn. Finished May 13.
Daniel Mendelsohn writes about his search to find the stories of some ancestors who were killed in the Holocaust in Bolechow, Ukraine. The Holocaust is another topic I can't read enough about, but the personal look at the stories left behind was a new approach I haven't read much of. Janie, you'll like this.
4 months.

44. The Great Influenza, by John M. Barry. Finished May 17.
This study of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic was fascinating. It ranges from the development of the modern medical school system at the beginning of the century to the proposed epicenter of the outbreak to modern flu outbreaks (or predicted outbreaks) like the avian flu in 2003. I am so fascinated by epidemiology, and this is one of the best studies of a pandemic I've read. Highly recommended.
1 month.

45. Meet Mr. Mulliner, by P.G. Wodehouse. Finished May 17.
A collection of short stories. Very good, as always, but not one of his best. If you haven't read any Wodehouse, please start. He's one of the funniest English writers in history. IMO, of course.
4 months.
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2 comments:

trishtator said...

I love that you read World War Z! We met Max Brooks a few years ago, and got a copy of it signed - have you read Zombie Survival Guide? (the first book).

Love it!

Audrey said...

I have read the Zombie Survival Guide! It was also great.