Sunday, August 12, 2012

From "Catching Fire" to "Shadow of Night"

***Caution: This post about  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will contain spoilers.***

I finished up Catching Fire this morning, the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I could only hope that I would be as thoroughly amused with the second book as I was the first, and Collins did not let me down. But, by the time I got to part III of the novel, I could not believe that I was going to go back into the arena with all my favorite characters as we, basically, watch them fight for their lives once again.

That was the best twist that could've happened in the second book and I had to reread that section again to make sure I understood it right. The main character, Katniss, and her fake lover, Peeta, do indeed have to go back into the arena to fight to the death. This time, not just amongst young children from all 12 districts, but amongst previous victors of the games.

Book II might have kept me turning the pages a bit faster than Book I and that could be because I was immersed in the characters already and I didn't leave too much time in-between the two books to forget my own emotional attachment to each one of them.

I have an idea of what will happen in Book III, Mockingjay, but I can't say for sure. I can't image Collins would throw these characters into the ring for a third time. No. This time, there will probably be an all-out war.

My next books will be Shadow of Night, the second book to the Discovery of Witches trilogy by Deborah Harkness and Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor. Daughter will be the next book I read for my book club.

Stay tuned for notes and comments on both! I might squeeze in a couple of pages of Gone With the Wind  as well. Such a long book that you need to refresh your memory from time to time if you read too many books while you have one on hiatus.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Past, Present & Future Reads

If you read my last post, you can see that I wasn't able to keep up with the blog after I started reading A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I blame that on the fact that reading the book launched me into a new and exciting hobby -- reading full-time.

I'm reading more than ever now and I'm still in my book club. Here are the books I've read since my last post:

  • A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
  • Holidays on Ice - David Sadaris
  • Stories I Only Tell My Friends - Rob Lowe
  • The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
  • Revenge of the Radioactive Lady- Catherine Stuckey-French
  • The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh
  • Room - Emma Donoghue
  • The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
  • 50 Shades of Grey - E L James
  • Ready Player One  - Ernest Cline
And here are my books in progress:

  • Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
  • 50 Shades Darker (Part II of the 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy) - E L James
  • Catching Fire (Part II of The Hunger Games Trilogy) - Suzanne Collins
And the books on my list to read:
  
  • Shadow of Night (Part II of the A Discovery of Witches Trilogy) - Deborah Harkness
  • Fifty Shades Freed (Part III of the 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy) - E L James
  • Mockingjay (Part III of The Hunger Games Trilogy) - Suzanne Collins
  • Daughter of Smoke & Bone - Laini Taylor
  • Music Made By Bears  - Daniel Donatelli
      
I'm slightly bothered that so many books are coming out as trilogies, but that's great news for writers. All the books I have read so far were pretty amazing. I would have to say my favorite was indeed A Discovery of Witches and Revenge of the Radioactive Lady was on the low end of favorites. Catherine Stuckey-French did a great job telling each characters story, but the ending was a little too much "suspension of disbelief" for my taste.

Ready Player One was the book I chose for my book club to read for August. We are going to meet in two weeks to discuss and I am very excited to see if this group of women found the book interesting and fun or if it was too technical. I honestly didn't get into the book until about page 200, but I loved it from then on out. The worst part was how small the font is...very tiny.

The 50 Shades trilogy has got me hooked. It's a real page turner and I like the STORY that goes along with it as well. Aside from the plot, everything else you'll read is definitely for a mature audience. It's interesting to see how many people squirm at the thought of reading such books--and I mean squirm as in think it's grotesque and has no real structure at all. Several of them can't see past the end of their nose.

The Hunger Games was not what I expected since these books are found in the teen section of libraries. It was a quick read and Catching Fire seems like it will have the same effect. I loved the story and the "fake" romance. I would recommend these books to any adult.

All the other books I read were amazing in their own way, especially Room and The Language of Flowers

Daughter of Smoke & Bone is the next book for my book club. It looks interesting, but I honestly don't know anything about it. 

Until next time.