Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (2011)

  

I picked up this zombie romantic comedy purely because they made a movie of it and the trailer looked cute.  By the way, isn't that cover great?

This is a very endearing zombie romantic comedy--yes, zombie romantic comedy--that tells the story of R, a zombie wandering around in a zombie vs. survivalist humans world.  The story is told from R's point of view, and there are many laugh out loud moments.  When he eats the brain of a young human and falls for his girlfriend Julie, it gets a bit more serious.

But throughout, it still has lovely touches of humor. Marion does a beautiful job of getting inside R's head and still showing what he looks and sounds like from the outside.  It's thoughtful and philosophical about the end of the world in a way that most zombie, post-apocalyptic novels don't bother with--certainly not zombie movies anyway. R, Julie and her friend Nora are very endearing characters as are the complex leaders of the humans.

Really a great book and rather gentle and sweet for a book about zombies. The book was blurbed by Josh Bazell, which is an excellent readalike in tone and humor.  Interestingly, Isaac Marion is publishing The New Hunger, the prequel to Warm Bodies only as an e-book right now. 

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (2003)

Unbelievably gripping book written as a series of letters from a woman to her estranged husband. The subject of the letters is her relationship with him, but primarily the subject is their son Kevin--a very troubled young man who shot up his school. The strange thing about this book is that the subject matter is so very shocking and horrific, which is normally is found more in pulpy, mass market novels, and yet it's written at an incredibly high level, vocabulary-wise and structurally.  It's incredibly compelling, and almost like a more literary The Bad Seed.  So creepy. For a nonfiction take on a similar subject, check out Columbine by Dave Cullen.

One Day by David Nicholls (2001)

British, witty and charming novel about two friends who hook up after university and then have a Harry and Sallyish friendship. The novel checks in on their lives on the same day every day for twenty years. Great characters, insightful, realistic relationships. Really, really well written and lovely. Love this quote: “At the best of times she feels like a character in a Muriel Spark novel -- independent, bookish, sharp-minded, secretly romantic.”

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause (1997)

Well done modern werewolf story. Complex relationships and characters, and unusual look at werewolf mythology. Very good film version, as well. Interesting to see the changes they made between the book and film.  Although the film has flaws, one of them is not the casting of Olivier Martinez as the head werewolf, who is amaaaazingly hot.

Patrick Dennis - Adored Author

Of course, I completely adore Patrick Dennis's Auntie Mame.  It's witty and gay (no other word fits so well) tale featuring one of the most memorable and endearing characters of all time.  Of course, an amazing film starring Rosalind Russell.  But I think if I had to pick a desert island book out of his work, I might pick The Joyous Season.  In this novel, Dennis tells a vivid, comic tale of precocious children, wacky families, Christmas and divorce.  Why did no one make this into a movie yet?   So many beautifully cinematic, and completely hilarious scenes. I also love Tony, but at this point, Dennis's sharpness gets a little tough to take at times.  Still, there are so many scenes that stay with me for always.  Also, he's a fascinating character himself--check out Uncle Mame by Eric Myers for the full, weird story.

Little Children by Tom Perrotta (2004)

Novel about infidelity among stay-at-home spouses. Great movie as well, but the source material was definitely there to begin with. Interesting characters, complicated relationships, fascinating interior explorations.

Armistead Maupin - Adored Author

I freaking love Tales of the City.  Originally published in serial form in the SF Chronicle, these six books follow the adventures of a group of friends from the 1970s through the 1980s. Incredibly addictive.  The first book was wonderfully adapted into a tv series, with great casting.  I love the Maupin continues to write about these characters, most recently in Michael Tolliver Lives and Mary Ann in Autumn.  I could read about these characters forever.  I also loved The Night Listener, an excellent novel involving a writer and a sick boy who corresponds with him. Extremely suspenseful and heartrending. (However, not very light.)

Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks (1991)

Meditative and haunting tale of the aftermath of tragedy in a small town. Beautifully told and has a fascinating retelling of the Pied Piper story included.  Also, a wonderful movie directed by Atom Agoyan, with a fantastic soundtrack.  So compelling.  All of it.

Jane Austen - Adored Author

There's a reason that about every other book coming out is based on Jane Austen's work.  Love Austen.  Pride and Prejudice:  The gold standard for all romantic comedy novels. Much more fun than you may remember!  Filmed a number of times--the best with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.  Also love Persuasion,  which is angsty and poignant and delicious.  Also a great film with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root.  And of course, Emma, basis of my senior thesis.  Mr. Knightley is a close second to Mr. Darcy in the Great Romantic Hero competition.  Love!

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (1908)

I love the Anne of Green Gables series, but I kind of really only love the first two and a half books.  I love orphan Anne and, of course, Marilla and Matthew, and all of her adventures with her bosom friend Diana.  And her flirtation with adorable Gilbert Blythe.  But once she married Gilbert (spoiler!), the series gets deadly dull for me.  Wonderfully filmed for Canadian television in the 80s.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson (1938)

Adorable old British book about a governess who ends up being befriended by a young and beautiful starlet/singer. And happens to have some very exciting adventures along the way.  Sparkly, witty and so charming.  Also made into a charming movie starring Frances McDormand.

L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy (1990)

Unbelievably complicated and delightfully absorbing tale of corruption in the LAPD in the 1950s. Amazingly adapted into an excellent movie (good work Brian Helgeland!).  See also Big Nowhere, a prequel (sort of) to L.A. Confidential. Excellent story. Evocative portrait of L.A. in the 1950s.

Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter (1913)

Pollyanna gets a bad rap.  Her name is synonymous with a sickeningly sweetness, but Pollyanna is actually quite the manipulative little thing!  It's still sweet and attests to the power of a cheerful outlook, but it's not remotely as sappy as you think.  Also a great Disney movie starring Hayley Mills, who gets this character just right.

The Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (1995)

Preston and Child have written a series of gripping thrillers set mostly in New York City in such fascinating locations as the Museum of Natural History and the subway tunnels. In The Relic, a mysterious creature is loose in the New York Museum of Natural History. Quite the page-turner.  The Reliquary is the sequel that is even more page-turning and suspenseful than the original. Should be turned into a movie at once.  One more favorite is Cabinet of Curiosities, where a building excavation in New York City has revealed a late 19th century serial killer's stash of bodies, and now, the murders are beginning again. The authors have wonderful, practically cinematic powers of description. Very entertaining reads.

World War Z by Max Brooks (2006)

Subtitled An Oral History of the Zombie War. Very absorbing, very enjoyable, smoothly written. Interestingly enough, Max is the son of Mel Brooks. Fun fact!  Brooks also wrote The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead, also a fun read.

Timeline by Michael Crichton (1999)

Incredibly cinematic and action-packed, Crichton makes this novel about scientists traveling back in time fascinating--even the science parts.  Terribly romantic for an action/adventure novel.  I read this book and thought how on earth could they possibly screw up the movie adaptation? But they so did. With the exception of the casting of Gerard Butler, which was genius.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (2003)

Amazingly gripping tale of two U.S. Marshals investigating a disappearance at an insane asylum on an island near Boston in the 1950s. Sparely written, but compelling and twisty and creepy and exciting. Also a film--directed by Scorsese, no less.

The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons (1978)

Although Siddons is better known for genteel, Southern, women's fiction, this excellent haunted house story (told by the not entirely sympathetic next-door neighbor) proves that houses don't have to be old to be haunted.  Made into a terrible television movie starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar.

Must Love Dogs by Claire Cook (2002)

Fortyish chick with big quirky Irish Catholic family undergoes dating travails (including accidentally answering her father's personal ad). Great characters, hilarious situations, and sweet storyline.  Also a not-entirely-awful film.

Hotel Babylon by Anonymous and Imogen Edwards-Jones (2004)

A frothy, soapy, behind-the-scenes biography of a five-star British hotel, framed over the span of 24 hours. Very inside and gossipy. Great fun.  Adapted as an equally fun television series.  

Followed by a number of other ______ Babylon titles by Edwards-Jones, but none as fun as this one.