My Addiction to Reading (yup)

I love books. My whole life they have been my constant companion, my drug of choice, my addiction. As with any relationship we have had our ups and downs. In the end though we always find our way back to each other. I never really lose my love for books so much as I misplace it behind the couch. It is always there, hiding, collecting dust and patiently waiting for me to be ready to fall in love with it all over again and I always do.

In a big way.

I feel right when I'm reading and as a writer I feel that without reading you simply can't write. That if you don’t observe and absorb what others have done before you then you cannot possibly find your own voice, your own style.

So there you have, my confession, my love. My addiction.

Reading.

All of that being said I want to let you all in on some good reads you too can enjoy!

World War Z by Max Brooks

If you like zombies and zombie books than this is the book for you. It is an “oral history” of the Zombie War. The chapters are short; the writing is snappy while sometimes being quite poignant and funny. At times you are reading along, knowing full well that what you are reading is not true, when you find yourself believing that this could in fact happen. At the very least, it is a good allegory of our times. And maybe, not so far from the truth of what would happen at the end of the world.

Jane Slayre by Charlotte Bronte and Sherri Browning Erwin

This is the “true” accounting of Jane Eyre, the one that publishers couldn’t bear but that can now come to light in our more liberal world! In this account Jane is a young girl living with her adopted family of viscous vampires. She is lucky enough to escape them by being sent away to school…with zombies! What follows is a well written and plucky account of Jane learning how to combat vampires, zombies and werewolves and more importantly, become secure in her own power and ability to stand up for herself and those she loves. It’s fun, exciting and a true work of literature!

Drink, Play, F@#k: One Man’s Search for Anything Across Ireland, Las Vegas and Thailand
by Andrew Gottlieb

In this spoof of Eat, Pray, Love our “hero” Bob Sullivan is cheated on by his wife and finds himself in search of…something. He decides to combat his blues by taking a trip to Ireland (where he drinks himself SILLY), Las Vegas (where he learns to gamble) and Thailand (where he inexplicably finds love). While this book is quite funny it has some really touching moments such as when Bob realizes that its not even the drinking that makes Ireland fun, it’s the “camaraderie and the open, accepting attitude toward friends and fun.” It is also ironic that in a search to “make fun” of the original material, Bob finds his own way to “find himself” and come back to the world a whole, happy person.