New mysteries set in post-Katrina New Orleans | New Orleans Book News and Reviews - - NOLA.com

http://www.nola.com/books/index.ssf/2009/09/new_mysteries_set_in_post-katr.html
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A Book is Good Company: Review of World War Z

A book is good company.
It is full of conversation without loquacity.
It comes to your longing with full instruction,
but pursues you never.
~ Henry Ward Beecher ~

Quote snagged from here.  Growing up an only child, books were usually my only company.  When I would spend the summer in Ohio between the ages of 10 and 12 I would check a hundred books a week out from the library.  Keep in mind, these were young adult books that were only between 100 and 200 pages long, but at my reading peak during those summers I could read 100 pages an hour.  Yes, I know that's hard to believe, but trust me, there isn't shit else to do in Chillicothe, Ohio when you have no money and you're not old enough to drink or have sex.  The books that I read become movies in my mind:  I make up the cast and figure out how each scene would be filmed for maximum effect, what the cinematography would look like, etc.  Reading also tends to spur my own imagination and I hope to read and write more (instead of spending all of my free time online).

I'd like to note that I've added a lot of book blogs to my blogroll in the past few weeks.  Several of these blogs do giveaways, and I've won A Wish At Midnight from Reading in Color, and a surprise book from Carleen Brice at White Readers Meet Black Authors.  Thanks guys!

And with no further ado, World War Z:  An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks is the story of the Zombie War told through numerous interview with survivors.  The interviewer is unknown - all we know of him is that he worked for the United Nations and was charged with collecting information from key players in the Zombie War, so that future generations could look upon his report and know how to handle it if the zombie virus reaches pandemic numbers again.  The UN wants cold hard facts and numbers; his report contains the feelings, emotions, tragedy and triumph.  The UN cuts all of the touchy-feely stuff out and tells him to write his own fucking book.  World War Z is that book.

I loved that this book was written from a global perspective.  We get stories from every continent in the world, excluding Antarctica, and there's even an interview from the last living astronaut who was in space during the time of the Zombie War.  It's a difficult task to write from the perspective of people who are of different cultures, ethnicities, classes, countries, societies, etc., but Brooks does it very well.  Making this book a series of interviews also gives this tale of a zombie pandemic a very realistic feel, creepily so. I thought that he touched on many different, but realistic reactions that people would have to a situation like that.  There was the millionaire who became a billionaire by selling a fake vaccine for the zombie virus, which of course led to people being less careful about avoiding getting bitten while fighting off the living dead, thereby adding to the ranks of the living dead.  There was the story of the Long Island mansion that was turned into a safe haven for celebrities who wanted to wait out the zombie war in style and in front of the cameras.  There was the story of the dogs who were used by the military to sniff out approaching zombies during battle, and to separate the living from the soon-to-be living dead when quarantining people to safety.  The feral children whose parents were killed and had been raising themselves for years, the massive changes made to global politics...there are countless stories from all walks of life in this book, and they're all haunting and human.

The only complaints that I have are that I thought that the stories were pretty male heavy, and military heavy.  Otherwise this book is a fascinating read and I'll be buying Brooks' other book, The Zombie Survival Guide, as well.  Hey, it can't hurt to be prepared for any pandemic, living or living dead.

News Briefs: CNN Special, Classism in Housing, Katrina Books, Charity Mess Continues, Pot is Safer, 1614 Esplanade, Katrina and the Prez, Mayoral Warchests,1B1NO, Sex from the Inside

CNN To Air Katrina Anniversary Specials: CNN will air special segments focusing on rebuilding efforts in New Orleans this week.

Jarvis DeBarry on class-based discrimination in the rental market in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish.

A few books on Katrina and her aftermath, New Orleans, or the South in general.

More info on the LSU Complex vs. Charity Hospital battle.  The revised plans are just wasteful.  There's half the number of buildings than was first proposed.  They want to pave people's homes over for parking and trees?

Pot is better, but you already knew that, didn't you?

Articles about President Obama and his promises to rebuild New Orleans, and the new New Orleans.

So far Murray leads with the most money raised for his mayoral race.  James Perry has raised the second highest amount of people who've declared candidacy, but Badon hasn't reported his winnings yet.

One Book, One New Orleans has chosen Gumbo Tales as it's book this year.

A friend of mine made a website for the co-op that he lives in.  These artist types, so creative.

Aaaaand, an MRI of a couple having sex.



I gotta say, I'm probably going to have the image in my head of him poking her insides around for a while.  Is the vaginal canal shorter than I imagined, or was he just really big?  Does this mean that when people have sex while pregnant, the penis really is poking the baby in the head (through the uterine wall)?  Ack!  Also, how much did the couple get paid to do this?

Some updates with me

I'm visiting my Mom in Maryland until Thursday and I can only pick up a wireless signal on the left side of my childhood twin bed, so posting will be a bit sparse.

She surprised me with church this morning, which is annoying. Even when I considered myself a Christian I didn't enjoy church, and while I'm not an athiest, I've seen and heard too much bad shit to trust organized religion. Also, if she'd told me before I got here, I could've at least packed an appropriate dress and shoes. I'll admit though, when the turbulence got bad on the plane ride over, I definitely prayed.

As I figured, the organic diet is not going to work here. I'm glad that I'm just starting it, and haven't completely crossed over yet.

I started reading World War Z during my 2 hour flight, and by the end of the day on Friday I had finished more than half of it. If the church service is too boring, I may whip it out. I took a break from it yesterday because someone with an imagination as overactive as mine really shouldn't be reading a realistic portrayal of the zombie war. I do want to adapt it into a film, however. And buy a gun. I'll review it when I'm done. I also have been putting off a review of District 9, which I saw on Wednesday.

I still want my fleur-de-lis tattoo, and hope that I can find a shop to do it for less than $100. I decided to wait until after my trip home so it would be completely healed when Mom comes for Christmas.

I'm feeling a little down about the acting thing. I jumped at the oppurtinuty to get $75 headshots throug a cultural center here, but I didn't really know what to expect and don't think I was prepared. I don't know if they're good enough to snag an agent. But if the pic I took with my BlackBerry has been good enough to get me cast as an extra (and an audition with Tremé), these will be good enough for me to get more of the same until I can afford better headshots. I also need to save up for acting classes and workshops. I haven't seen one advertised for less than $250. It seems like it wouldn't be worth it, but casting and talent agents sometimes observe these things and you can get work that way.

I've also been feeling down about my lack of a love life, but what the fuck else is new. I don't even want a "boyfriend", just someone to hang out and fool around with.

Lastly: I miss Biko. : (
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Library Development in New Orleans

Dear Blog:

Dsxyfemme85 thought you would be interested in this item from nola.com

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/neworleans/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1250141537109560.xml&coll=1

Dsxyfemme85
This is great. I wish they would do something with the Mid-City library. It's a depressing little library to be in such an upper-middle class neighborhood.

"Bayou" by Jeremy Love

I've been reading the online comic Bayou for over a year now. It is an amazing read and the artwork is gorgeous, I can never wait for the next updates. Here's a synopsis:

South of the Mason-Dixon Line, lies a strange land of gods and monsters. Born from centuries of slavery, civil war, innocent bloodshed, hate and strife lurks a world parallel to our own. LEE WAGSTAFF is the daughter of a poor, sharecropper in a depression-era, Mississippi Delta town, called Charon. She’s an introspective, brave child and hard labor in the fields has made her sturdy and strong. One day, Lee and her father help the sheriff retrieve the body of a boy who’d been lynched and thrown into the river. Lee dives into the depths to tie a rope around the boy. While under water, she catches a glimpse of a strange world. Ever since that day, Lee hears voices in the trees and rivers. When Lee’s playmate, Lily, is snatched by BOG, an evil inhabitant of that place she saw, Lee’s father is accused of kidnapping. The worst thing a black man could do in the 30’s was harm a white child. Lee must pursue Bog into his world in order to save her friend before her father is lynched. Lee enlists the help of a benevolent, blues-singing, swamp monster called BAYOU and together they trek across a Southern Neverland in search of Lee’s friend. Along the way, they meet several colorful characters, like BR’ER RABBIT. Lee soon realizes that Bog has some sort of hold on all the inhabitants in this world and feeds off of hatred and strife in our world. As the racial tensions grow, Bog grows more powerful, so not only are Lee’s friends and father in peril, but all of Charon.

The first few volumes are also available in hard copies on Amazon.com.