I relate as a guy

Mostly cuz books by girls target girls Especially in the romance department

Just because you like it, doesn't mean the book is good. Goes both ways. No need to be condescending.

I wasn't a fan of it. I like my books to be more fast paced. But I like the idea if it. I like that it's slow and realistic and written like a book documenting an event like that would be written had it actually happened. But it just isn't my style of fiction. I need more face ripping with my zombies.

... that just means the book wasn't for you. Doesn't mean the book was bad. You wanted a single protagonist in a scary story. The rest of us were excited to find incredible world building through the eyes of many individual participants.

It’s such a shame the audible narration is absolutely terrible! I have heard such good things about this book but I can’t stand the narration.

That’s fair! But even without expecting to be scared, I think the story relies on the flawed narrators too much and lacks a plot and character development, which negatively impacts my engagement with reading, because essentially, I don’t care.

In my experience, there was zero suspense since I already knew everybody recounting their stories was safe and had survived.

Yes the kid climbing down the apartment building was perhaps the best part of the book.

My favourite as well!

It's not meant to scare you...

WWZ is a phenomenal book, not because it is "scary" but because the author is PHENOMENAL at envisioning a world infested by zombies and recounting it though flawed narrators.

It's a masterpiece that wasn't setting out to accomplish what you were looking for is all.

I liked it. It didn't "scare" me, and that's not why I read it. I read it because I like sci-fi. I'm a reader, not a horror buff.

Different strokes for different folks. I don't think their is a right or wrong. I like both but also I do understand what your say as their are subtle differences which might be meaningful to your enjoyment.

I honestly think it is health in a way to enjoy what the other sex has to say.

I just did not understand the comment of you "I'm just really straight." and how that related to "favorite characters from each piece of fiction I read being male".

But sure, you can like whatever you like and do not need my permission or anybody's really. But it is interesting to analyze this.

Meh. As a white male I have only rarely read a book or seen a movie where I think that person is very much like me. Minorities seem to feel a lack when they consume media based on assumptions of how they think white people experience it. There are all kinds of anecdotes about people crying over a black superhero or whatever because they finally see themselves on the screen. The truth is (from my limited perspective) that white people rarely relate personally to the characters on screen or the page and that’s really not the goal for the reader or viewer. I would compare it to people who were adopted who feel they are missing out on something vital that every other child experiences and it’s just a false perception at its core.

Such a great book... but i was lucky enough to have the eloquent Georgina Winsberg my junior and senior year English teacher. She new the book pretty f'n well.. always would go into detail about Madame DeFarge and the other characters, which was so valuable to this stoned all ears guy for first period English.

I don't think Horror is the right genre for this book. It has a lot of mystery in terms of the origin of the plague, and suspense. Lots of shocking moments, and a decent amout of action. I really enjoyed it from what I remember.

I have a different explanation than a lot of commenters here.

If you're reading traditionally published books, the publishers select novels based on whether they think they will do well with a certain demographic. So they will push female protags in genres/books that they think will do well with women, and push male protags in genres/books that they think will do well with men.

You might just be finding that it's very difficult to find a trad publisher who decided to publish a female protag in a genre you enjoy.

As an example in an adjacent field, 99.999% of shounen anime (Pokemon, Yugi-oh, One Piece) have a male protag despite cross-gender appeal.

I loved it, and it’s one I go back to every other year or so.

I’m not entirely sure it was ever marketed as a ‘horror’ story, though. It’s loosely based on a book about the Second World War, ‘The Good War’ by Studs Terkel. It’s an account of what happened, using a journalist as a framing device, and told through first person accounts and anecdotes.

I think World War Z deals with something horrific, without being a horror. It explores a global trauma, something unimaginable, something that will leave a scar on the human psyche forever, but it’s not a sensationalist horror story.

Either way, I was interested in your take on it, so thanks for sharing!

It had some good moments. Like the kid that stayed on his computer too long and had to find a way out of his apartment. I also liked the big battle scene with the military. I guess it wasn’t that scary but I really love zombies so I enjoyed it.

Maybe, the books that you read are just bad books, or not to yojr taste. Not because of the female protagonistism. Good book is always a good book, even if the main character is litterally an orge.

I also feel with Charles Dickens in particular, his language is very morose and bleak (hehe Bleak house). It kind of emphasizes the poverty of the industrial era, imo. It can get heavy and boring at times for sure! Where’s the sunshine lol

These also came in periodicals, like TV shows for us almost. He had a certain quota plus he was creating a bigger world imagery since there werent many other forms of entertainment.

This "paid by the word" myth about Charles Dickens has been debunked many times.

A tale of two cities is a beautiful but very difficult read. You need to know some history surrounding the events of the French Revolution of 1789. Absent that, you need to read the footnotes and endnotes carefully. And you need to read the corresponding chapter summaries by Cliffnotes or Sparknotes as you go through the chapters for better understanding. It'll become easier after a while. And the book is absolutely worth sticking with until the end.

However, I would recommend starting with one of his early and more accessible works like Oliver Twist, then returning to ATOTC and adopting the approach described above. Best of luck!

Oh, then I take back a previous comment I made. Sounds like you might love Gillian Flynn if you haven’t read her.

It’s one of my favorite books. If you don’t like it, I would assume that you just won’t like Dickens.