Guest Post: Chrystal's zombie obsession!

I was so excited when Chrystal agreed to guest post here on Book Labyrinth while I'm on vacation. Chrystal is a fellow Ontarian who blogs at Snowdrop Dreams of Books (such a cool name!), and she runs an awesome weekly feature called Deserted Island that you should definitely check out.

When Ashley put a call out to bloggers for guest posts, I jumped in right away. One problem. I had no idea what to write about. But after much thinking, I realized there is only one topic that I can write about: my new obsession with zombie books!

Zombies are the new Vampires/Werewolves?

Here's the deal... I used to have a thing for vampires and werewolves. I mean with Twilight and such how could you not read about vampires and werewolves, they were everywhere. I fell in love with werewolves after reading a historical romance called The Dark One by Ronda Thompson. They both essentially were the types of books that intrigued me. I pretty much devoured anything vampish for the longest time.

But right now, I have a thing for zombie books. I'm kind of over the vampire/werewolf thing, though I do enjoy them here and there. I just have this desire to absorb every zombie book I can get my hands on. I find them fascinating and disgusting at the same time. And it's nice to read something that's not paranormal for a change.

From all of the zombie books I've been reading, I noted that each one has the zombies being created from different sources. Some are due genetic mutations in DNA, some are due to biological warfare and some books never tell you how it started. To me the source is the freakiest part – I mean what if it were possible for biological warfare to turn people into zombies?

Zombies seem to be more and more popular. I think with television shows like AMC's The Walking Dead they are becoming very dominant in pop culture. There will always be references to movies like Dawn of the Dead and to books like World War Z (which is still sitting in my TBR pile). For me it's more about the survival of the humans and how they learn to cope with the way the world has changed. The strong people will make it through and figure out how to survive, while the weak will fall. It would take a strong willed person to make it through such a horrifying ordeal. I like to think, that after all of the zombie books and movies I have absorbed, that I would make it through such an apocalypse.

My bookish suggestions for those looking to get into the zombie craze are:

• This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
• White Horse by Alex Adams
• Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

And a few that I am looking forward to reading:

• World War Z by Max Brooks
• Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry
• The First Days by Rhiannon Frater

What are some of your favourite zombie books out there? How do you think you would fare in such an apocalypse?

Thanks so much, Chrystal! I have to admit that I haven't fully gotten on board with the zombie trend. I love the philosophical meaning and themes, but they haven't become my favourite yet. However I do have to give a huge props to Carrie Ryan's trilogy. Those books were fabulous!

I look forward to reading everyone's thoughts when I get home. =)