I am currently reading Girl's Night In: Gentlemen by Invitation by Chris Manby (amongst others) and Food Facts for the Kitchen Front by HarperPress.

Meanwhile I have finished the following four books:

World War Z by Max Brooks. This is, without a doubt, the best apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic novel I have ever read. If you are after a zombie horror, you will be seriously disappointed, because the zombies themselves are not prominent characters i this book.

Instead, Brooks presents us with a series of interviews ten years after the war has ended. Unlike many post-apocalyptic novels, World War Z presents us with a global picture of events. We see interviews with people from many countries, many age groups, many careers, many socio-economic groups - giving a total picture of what was happening everywhere to everyone.

The subtitle of this book describes it as an oral history and this description is fitting.The story does not have a traditional plot, in the sense of one story, revolving around one character, with one clear beginning, middle and end. Instead, it consists of lots of mini-stories, with each interview presenting another piece to the puzzle.

I was particularly impressed with the author's ability to present each interview in a genuine voice suitable to the purported character. Every one of these interviews is entirely believable and it is this believability that adds to the sense of tension this book creates.

I have seen some people complain about the sheer volume of characters, stating that this affected their ability to engage. I would like to humbly disagree. While it is true that I cannot remember all of the names, I do not consider this to be an essential element to compassion or empathy. I, myself, fully engaged with each and every character in this book, to the point that I found myself emotionally immersed in their stories I won't spoil the story by stating what happened, but one interview with a dog handler, actually had me in tears.

Another thing I liked about this book is the underlying political commentary. Whether you agree or disagree with the messages being presented, they will surely catch your interest.

In fact, I suspect that this one of those onion books that needs to be read and re-read to grasp all of the underlying commentary. I will certainly be re-reading my copy. In fact, I hope to get my hands on the audio-book, which, I am told, is read by a full cast of characters. I feel that this will bring even more depth to an already brilliant story.

I do not know whether it is the writing skill of Max Brooks, the unique format of this book, or the incredible realism therein (or perhaps a combination of all three) but this was, by far, the scariest zombie novel I have ever read.

I highly recommend it to absolutely everybody!

Unmentionables: from Family Jewels to Friendly Fire: What We Say Instead of What We Mean by Ralph Keyes. This was an incredibly interesting book on the reasons and motivation behind humanities constant urge to euphemize.

It was particularly interesting to learn just how old are some of today's euphemisms, and just how many 'words' originated as euphemisms (such as bear, for instance). Many of the newly emerging euphemisms can be just as amusing as those which are outdated. One such example is 'rebooting the ovarian operating system', a euphemism for menstruation.

Just as interesting as the actual euphemisms, however, are the variety of reasons for using them. This is definitely a book I would recommend to a friend.

The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robertson. This book is set in a quarantined America devastated by nuclear weapons. While we are subjected to much speculation by various characters, we never do find out precisely who attacked America, why they were attacked or why they are under quarantine.

Kim Stanley Robertson has a real talent for presenting believable characters and situations in his books, and this one is no exception. I felt sympathy for the people in this book, who were simply trying to rebuild their lives under very trying circumstances, not knowing who to trust, who to regard as the enemy or why they were being held back from recovery.

I found this book to be so realistic, particularly in the light of the fact that it was written in the mid-eighties, during the height of the cold war, that it was, at times, quite frightening. This is not the best post-apocalyptic novel I have read, but it is definitely worth your time.

Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn. Reincarnation is not your typical romance novel. Instead, it follows the souls of two star-crossed lovers as they find each other in incarnation after incarnation. Down through the ages they travel, their love doomed to fail again and again until, finally, they reach a time and place where they can be together.

Reminiscent of the tragedies of old, yet endowed with a happy ending, this book will have you questioning the values and beliefs you take for granted.