The Hunger Games

I was wondering if anyone else has read the series? I'm about 100 pages from the end of the last book now. I always get caught up in the hype with these kind of things, but I have to say, the books surprised me in a good way.

For a YA series, I found it really good. It's definitely one of those ones where you have trouble putting it down. I also like how the author doesn't sugar-coat everything.

I'm about to start them myself. I typically steer clear of YA novels but I borrowed them from my sister in law, who typically has studied English in Uni and who typically has good literary taste.

She said similar things to what your impression is: the story and characterizations are quite worth the read, even though it is a YA series. Basically, you get to read a really good story in half the time it would take you to read a book with more complex language.

I'll be sure to come back and share some opinions once I've gotten through some of it.

I actually really, really like the series. And my husband - who literally never, ever reads - read the first two before the movie came out and enjoyed them too. Which is surprising for a YA novel.

Not to mention my first story, Illusoire, was totally ripped from the HG premise.

Ok, so I powered through them. All by myself in the house for the next few days, I thought it was the perfect time for a little marathon reading, but the YA-ness backfired on me, because I got through them too fast! Started yesterday at 3 ish, just finished the last book today at 5ish, and it's not even like I stayed up late last night.

Now what am I going to occupy myself with?

Anyway, I liked them. There were a few parts that I found a bit stilted and awkward and some plot points that I felt were a little bit too contrived or too easily dealt with, but I accept that some of the simplicity is likely due to the target audience. To be honest, my exposure to YA literature is pretty much limited to the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman, and of course the Harry Potter books. (I kind of skipped the whole reading level in my own reading history, going straight from reading the Babysitter's Club and Goosebumps, to trawling the shelves in my parents basement for whatever they were reading.)

The story was really good, the characters engaging and real, and most definitely worth it. Since I borrowed the books, I guess I'll have to go pick them up myself now, because I'm sure I'll probably want to re-read them one day.

One thing that I noticed and quite appreciated was the fact that despite being the hero, Katniss was not perfect. Presenting a character's flaws in first person is difficult, and I like the fact that she saw goodness and worth in others while recognizing her own flaws. And it wasn't a melodramatic "I'm an awful person and nothing about me is good" kind of portrayal that becomes tiresome quickly, but a level headed acknowledgement that in among her strengths are some areas of herself that she is really not proud of. Reading the books in such rapid fire succession as I did as well, instead of over time as they came out, her growth along the series was obvious, and well paced.

Also, she ended up with the boy I wanted her to.

That aside, I can see why so many people champion this series against its most dreaded of YA rivals, Twilight. I could write a big rant about feminism and the characters of Katniss vs. Bella, but I'm sure it's been said a million times. Unless someone wants to get into it, because honestly, I'll talk about feminism and characterizations in just about anything all day long.

D is out of town for a few days (which is why I'm all by my lonesome and bingeing on books) but I think when he comes back I might just drag him to see the movie. I think he'll like it well enough.

Yes, I liked that about the books too... and I liked how the author dealt with the effects of war; she didn't glorify anything.

Speaking of that, has anyone read Fifty Shades of Grey (the "mommy porn")? It was originally a Twilight fanfiction- the author changed the names, added a bit more to it, and is now making major money from it (which I feel mixed about). The thing is, she seems (I've only read 170 odd pages so far and haven't really enjoyed it) to have taken the whole Edward-is-a-control-freak-and-a-stalker thing even further with her character Christian Grey, and to be honest I find it a little disturbing. The main thing that bugs me is the writing in Shades of Grey, though, because the character refers to her thoughts in the third person via her "inner goddess" which I just find really, really irritating. I'm pretty sure most people don't going around thinking thoughts along the lines of "Oh, my inner goddess just told me that I should do this"!

I actually kind of like it... Although I want to punch her "inner goddess" in the face at times.

My friend suggested it, and I really, really wanted to be snobby and not like it. However, I did like it. A lot.

Yes, Christian ("Edward") is much more controlling, but Ana ("Bella") doesn't just sit back and take it. She has much more of a spine and I find her much more likable than I did anyone in the Twilight series.

As for changing names and making it original fiction... I do find that interesting. And I'm not entirely sure how I feel. I heard Stephanie Meyer said she's thrilled that James is finding success. And she said something along the lines of the story being in her, and it would have come out anyway.

It's strange because, on the one hand, the characters are SO OBVIOUSLY the same. On the other, the plot is completely and totally different.

On an unrelated note: The sex is hot.

I can't disagree with that!

I haven't actually read more because I gave it to my mother for mother's day, so I have to wait for her to finish it before I get it back lol. I've talked to quite a few others who have read it since I last put it down and everyone else has enjoyed it, so I think I will give it another go. Sometimes it does take me a while to get into a book.

Yeah, I don't quite know how to feel about turning fanfictions into original fiction. To me it doesn't seem quite right, but at least Stephenie Meyer doesn't mind. I can imagine other authors who aren't so supportive of fanfiction going ballistic though.

I loved the first book of THG.
I read it 2 or 3 years ago.