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Zombies. They’re sort of like vampires, but nowhere near as popular. Why is that? Aside from the fact that their mythology hasn’t yet been sexed up and corrupted, it’s because there’s not a lot of great zombie literature. Max Brooks’s World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War puts that excuse to rest. In short, it is to the zombie genre what Bram Stoker’s Dracula is to the vampire genre. And like with Dracula, if all zombie stories henceforth would use WWZ as a template, the literary world of the living dead will be a more enjoyable place.

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The day was cloudy, cold. Drizzling drops gathered on the leaves of trees, eventually making their way down to the forest floor. We walked in silence on the well-worn, muddy path on the mountainside, between trees and boulders, the only sounds being those of our steps and the river running along side us. The mountains hid their face from passerbyes, covered in clouds, and revealing themselves only sparingly as the day suited them. After a long while, the rain ceased and we walked to a clearing on the shores of Lake Avalanche.

Just put an order in with Amazon for a few books. Wanted to know if any readers have read any of these, and if so, what did you think?

• Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting by Robert Mckee
• The Iliad and The Odyssey Robert Fagles Translation
• The Aeneid Robert Fagles Translation
• All 7 Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling
• Innocents Aboard: New Fantasy Stories by Gene Wolfe
• Storeys from the Old Hotel by Gene Wolfe
• The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich by David Bach
• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss

Yes, folks, you red that right. I’ll be heading out tomorrow morning to Montana for a 10-day vacation (flying out on the 7th. I’ll be back on the 17th). I was never part of a family that took too many vacations, so I’m not exactly a big vacation guy, but I’ve been pining for one for the past few years, and The Wife decided it was time we got going. She claims I need to “relax”. I tried to explain to her that my relaxation is sleeping, but she wouldn’t buy it, so for the sake of marital bliss, I’ll vacate.

While I am taking my laptop, I may or may not blog while I’m out there, so here’s fair warning: there may be no updates until the end-ish of the month, after I come back and things have settled some.

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“Can you help a brother out?” To a lot of you reading this that conjures up images of a guy in dirty clothes, wondering the streets or sitting on the sidewalk, hand outstretched and asking for some cash. In this case, it’s sort of like that, but not really. Actually this edition is named as such because it seems a lot of people have been asking for help lately, some of which I’ll feature here. Mostly, though, this edition contains a few articles that have caught my eyes.

By the way, if you really, really want to know what I consider a must to read, and you use Google Reader, go ahead and add me to your “Shared” list: gnorbx@gmail.com. And yes, it’s always reciprocal. If you don’t use Google Reader, then check out my Shared Items. I warn you, though, I tend to go on thematic blitzes, so if everything there looks like it’s about transhumanism or self improvement or writing or philosophy, try going back a few pages.

Anyway, here’s the new Le Linkage list of sites you should visit:

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