Help! Help!

[ceebee_eebee]

I am leaving for Punta Cana on Monday and I need beach book recommendations! I know a lot of you guys are big readers, so I'm hoping you can help me out. What I am in the mood for is CRAP. But a very specific kind of crap. I am desperate for some new virus/plague type books. Let me explain.

For beach reading I have always been HUGE into Michael Crichton but I've gone through all his stuff. I love Richard Preston's books, read those too. I love time travel back to the black death stuff like the Doomsday Book, Timeline, and the Plague Tales.

PLEASE tell me there are more books in this 'genre' that I haven't read yet. Anything fast-paced, gripping, and involving some kind of virus or plague outbreak would be SUPERB!!!

Thank you, flist!

Comments

[stunt-muppet.livejournal.com]

Ahahahaha you have picked the one genre I absolutely cannot read. Virus stories scare the living shit out of me like nothing else does. I can't even look at the book covers without wanting to pour bleach on everything. XD

There's always The Hot Zone? I think that was about an Ebola outbreak, but it was also a real-life situation from what I recall. And even if it wasn't, there were still a bunch of descriptions of people sicking up their own liquified organs and other Ebola-type crap, so...not sure how that'll go as beach reading.

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

Ha! Great. But YES, I loved the Hot Zone soooo much. That's Richard Preston and everything by him was equally as superb. Really tense, really terrifying, and very well told so that even a layperson can understand. Totally dig him. But as crazy as this sounds, reading about ebola is TOTALLY my kind of beach reading. ;)

[janissa11.livejournal.com]

I just googled Punta Cana. You should have told me you were going to, say, Muleshoe. Then I would be all, Oh no, nothing to do there, she needs reading materials! and I'd be all over that.

But I googled Punta Cana, and now I really hate you. So I won't put out. Nope. Nuh uh.

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

YOU ARE THE BIGGEST BRAT EVER!!! :P

[janissa11.livejournal.com]

But of course! What else did you expect??

Scott Sigler did a new one recently. I don't know if it's precisely what you and I both love, but it's pretty medical and gripping. (Also gory, but that's Sigler for you.)

You did read Infected and Contagious, right??

There was another one I got recently, but it was just -- so BAD, I've tried twice to read it and never made it. I can't remember the title now. If I do I'll let you know.

Otherwise I'm sort of dry lately. But seriously: the best reading about diseases is The Coming Plague. If you haven't read it and you want something that will take forever to read and yet keep you riveted, can't recommend highly enough. And if that isn't enough, you can then start on Betrayal of Trust: The Global Collapse of Public Health. The section on Russia is amazing. Also terrifying.

Hmmm. I gotta go put away groceries. If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

[janissa11.livejournal.com]

ALSO: You must read Sigler's trilogy about the Galactic Football League. I don't even like football, but I really dug the first two and I just saw the third is out. It's cheesy, violent, extremely fun reading. First one here.

[janissa11.livejournal.com]

Also, it's the Collapse of Global Public Health, damn it. ::sigh:: I'm going to go put my short ribs in the fridge and the turkey in the freezer.

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

HOW HAVE I NEVER READ THOSE SIGLER BOOKS?!?! You give me all the best shit.

[janissa11.livejournal.com]

I don't know how you missed them, but they KICK SERIOUS ASS. I love that guy. He's very Stephen King-y in style, including the knack for instant characterization.

I'm currently reading the third GFL book. It's a blast. Almost makes me interested in football.

Almost.

[killabeez.livejournal.com]

This isn't plague/virus, but I just listened to the audiobook of Stephen King's Under the Dome and was really impressed by it. Reminded me of The Stand or Andromeda Strain type tension. A good read! (And the audiobook was good, too.)

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

Oooo! Thanks! I love both the Stand and Andromeda Strain so that sounds like it would be perfect for me.

[janissa11.livejournal.com]

Seconding the rec. It's really intense, and a lot of the tension in later parts of the book comes from an unexpected source -- obvious in hindsight but hits you hard in context.

Have you read Cell? I can't even explain, but it was the most terrifying SK book I've read. I still can't reread it completely. Creeps my shit right the hell out.

He has an Amazon-only e-novella called "Ur." V. fun read.