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See, books can keep you safe from zombies. (image via flickr)

You're in a situation where a zombie apocalypse is imminent, and we have the technology to band together a literary A-team to fight them off. But putting together a ragtag band of badasses isn't going to cut it, because as tempers rise, so does danger to the group. It needs to be a crew that can work together while kicking some zombie butt. 

I've selected a team of nine heroes who, together, can put an end to every zombie that strays in their path. They won't stand a chance.

At once a staple in cult horror films and an icon to mainstream culture, zombies have gone through many reincarnations in recent history. The origin of zombies in popular culture goes back as far as the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1881. Frankenstein's monster isn't exactly what we'd consider a zombie these days, but Shelley was influenced by the history and folklore of the undead. Now, zombies are practically a genre of their own and annual Zombie Walks are held in every major North American city.

Everyone has a movie or a book or a video game that first introduced the wonderful world of zombies. I'm quite nostalgic about Zombies Ate My Neighbors… but more about that game later. There are hundreds, quite possibly thousands, of examples of zombies in pop culture, but I've put together a collection of the ones from recent history with the most artistic and social impact.

Image via She Knows (who also have great tips!)

When you are watching an action movie and you see the car speeding towards the edge of a cliff before hurtling down in to water, it always seems to go through your mind…what would I do? You weigh up the options before promising yourself never to go anywhere near a cliff or water in a car.

But what if you were in this situation, what would be the most sensible thing to do? Taken from the Worst Case Scenario: Book of Survival Questions, the options are:

I play a lot of iPhone games. Sometimes, too many.

I’m frequently kept up at night, filled with turmoil and wrestling with what game I should delete to make room on my iPhone for important things and… OMG. There’s a new Final Fantasy game out?! It takes up 1.2GB of space? WHAT DO I DO?!

[Deletes entire album full of photos and treasured, precious memories]

Whew. Okay.

As someone who adores books and video games equally, I love it when I’m able to find a combination of both of those things. Whether it’s with a book that uses video games as a key plot point (Ready Player One), or a game that happens to incorporate the literary (Device 6).

Here are a few iOS games inspired by books, that you should probably start playing now.