by Sarah Statz Cords
All right, I’ll admit, a simple Google search revealed that I am not as clever in this choice of topic as I thought I was. Links to other (undoubtedly more clever) stories on the subject are listed at the end of this post.
I noticed the other day as I was looking over new releases for the year that a good number of new horror books feature zombies. Of course, in terms of sheer output, vampire books are still walloping all competition.*
But what do you think about it? Are you getting readers as rabid about zombie books as they are/were about vampire books? (And was the trend, if it is one, started by the popular spoof Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?) Do vampire books, in all their genre-blending splendor, seem to be slowing down in popularity at all, or are they still flying off your shelves? As evidenced by the list of articles below, lots of critic and journalist types have an opinion on this phenomenon. But we’d like to know what the librarians actually working the public service desks could tell us about it!
*I still laugh when I think of a bookseller friend of mine saying, shaking his head, “We just keep waiting for the Twilight thing to pass, and it just won’t go away…”
August 2010:
Fiction-L discussion about books for a fan of zombie novels
From way back in April 2009: Time magazine, Zombies are the New Vampires
Murderati, April 2009: When There Is No More Room In Hell
Starpulse magazine, Oct. 2009: Are Zombies the New Vampires? (More of a take on movies than lit, but still.)
Sassy Librarian blog, Dec. 2009: Are Zombies the New Vampires?
Euclic Public Library Book Banter Blog, Jan. 2010: Zombies: The New Vampires
Just Press Play blog, June 2010: Lit of the Living Dead
The Guardian, Aug. 2010: The Walking Dead (a television perspective)
And, last but not least, a big thank you to the Lincoln (Nebraska) City Libraries post of a reader-submitted list of zombie books:
Zombies…the New Vampires.
I don’t think you can read the article online, but The Writer magazine just had a feature called “Go on, bring the undead to life:” http://www.writermag.com/sitecore/content/Magazine%20Issues/2010/October%202010.aspx
I’ve been reading these zombie books like crazy, and I am still scratching my head at how the trend is going to continue without becoming stale.
Better yet, Cindy–can you imagine listening to a zombie make-out scene in a book on tape? (You know I had to ask that after one of your last posts: http://www.readersadvisoronline.com/blog/index.php/2010/08/11/why-does-listening-to-a-sex-scene-feel-so-icky/).
I can’t imagine anyone kissing a zombie.
Becky,
Great distinction. I’ve never found vampires sexy at all (Team Jacob!) so it’s one I would never have made. (And Zombies may not be sexy, but they can be very funny, in movies like “Shaun of the Dead”).
Have fun at your September discussion in Downers Grove–sounds like a great program.
Sarah this is a question I am dealing with quite a bit. What I think is great about the Zombies vs Vampires debate is that while vampires have left the horror genre behind, zombies are still firmly entrenched in it. There really isn’t anything sexy about zombies. And man are they scary.
I am working on a similar post for my new horror blog http://raforallhorror.blogspot.com. It will be up shortly, but int he meantime, I will cross post this discussion there. I will also be discussing this issue in particular in Downers Grove, IL on September 21st. The public is welcome if they sign-up here http://arrtreads.org.