Book(s) review: "The Hunger Games" series

I have a few minutes while I procrastinate doing laundry, so I'll write this post. :)

"The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins, is a trilogy of books about a society in the future that was once the United States and is now a group of 12 districts that surround The Capitol. The districts are all poor and struggling because they provide The Capitol with goods and get next to nothing for it. At one time in the past there was a District 13, but it was blown to smithereens when it tried to start a revolution against The Capitol's ultimate control. To remember that day (and to never let the other districts forget it), The Capitol holds an annual event called The Hunger Games, where a boy and girl from each district are chosen to compete in a survival-style battle that airs live on national TV, and where the last living contestant wins (and is subsequently financially taken care of for the rest of their life.)

Katniss Everdeen, from District 12, volunteers herself to go to the games when her little sister, Prim, is chosen. She leaves Prim and her mother in the care of her best friend Gale and goes with Peeta, a boy who once saved her from starvation years ago, to the games.

Long story short: Katniss and Peeta are advised to cook up this fake romance for the viewing audience's sympathy. This works, and they go from being long shots to top contenders. In the middle of the games, The Capitol changes the rules and says that two contestants from the same district can win. So Katniss and Peeta do it, of course. Then The Capitol comes back and says, no, never mind, only one can win. Instead of trying to kill each other, Katniss and Peeta agree to both kill themselves so that there will be no winner at all.

The Capitol stops them in time, and they're considered the greatest victors of the games ever. The problem: The Capitol is pissed. The president feels that Katniss has undermined The Capitol's authority, and now warns her that she and anybody she ever cared about is in serious danger if another revolution starts.

That's just the first book. It was a quick, exciting read. The futuristic elements were a little hard to wrap my head around, but the basis of the book was interesting and compelling. So much so, I immediately borrowed the other two books in the series to find out what happens.

Book two: "Catching Fire."

This is all about Katniss and her attempts to keep a revolution from happening. Unfortunately for her, it's starting no matter what. At the same time, Peeta (whose feelings for Katniss were real) and Gale (who declares his own feelings for Katniss) are putting her in an awkward spot. This is because while she cares for both of them, she doesn't allow herself to love either. Thankfully, all that romantic triangle stuff that has been done to death in YA novels these days is a mere subplot.

So. The revolution is starting up and The Capitol attempts to quell it by doing the unthinkable: The next Hunger Games will be played by previous games winners from each district. That means Katniss and Peeta are going back into the arena. And they're super pissed about it. They form an alliance with a few from the other districts and figure out how to once again defy The Capitol by destroying the arena itself. They all know they could very well be executed for doing it, but they don't care.

When the plan is put in motion, some stuff goes wrong and Peeta and Katniss are separated. As the arena is crumbling around them, Katniss is lifted into a helicopter and flown to District 13, which exists after all. It's where the revolution has been planned underground for 75 years, and where it's going to officially start. Peeta is captured by The Capitol.

Book Three: "Mockingjay"

Katniss is thrust into life in District 13 and learns that D12 was obliterated by The Capitol after the arena was destroyed. The president of D13 wants Katniss to be the spokesperson and symbol of the revolution. She's not interested. Then The Capitol releases footage of Peeta being tortured, and she gets angry and agrees. She, Gale and some of the others with whom she formed the alliance in the games are all leading the way. They end up rescuing Peeta and some other hostages from The Capitol, and go from district to district, until all are under their control. Now they just need to take The Capitol and the revolution is complete.

It gets very political and military here, and, frankly, I was bored. Not even the triangle remained interesting enough to keep me focused. So, for the sake of this already long post, I'll give you the end: The Capitol is overthrown. Katniss wants to be the one to execute the president. Before she does it, the president of D13 (who is going to take over) says that to punish The Capitol for all the years of mistreatment of the districts, they're going to have another Hunger Games and all the contestants will be children from The Capitol. So, as Katniss aims to kill the president of the Capitol (who is dying anyway), she instead shoots and kills the president of D13.

Katniss saw what we, the reader, are supposed to see: Any government that assumes total power is bad. We cannot allow a dictatorship. We have to stand up and fight for what is right, no matter the consequences. We have to let our voices be heard and remind those who have authority that we have the power to change things if we want to. And revenge is not a justifiable reason to commit a crime.

I get Collins' message, and I appreciate that she had the guts to deliver it. I only wish she had done it as strongly in the second two books as she did in the first. The last book in particular was the least enjoyable. The best part of each of these books was when Katniss was playing in the Games. There was only a tiny snippet of that in the last book, and it felt rushed and unsatisfying.

Oh, and Katniss ends up with Peeta. (But, by then, I didn't really care.)

Thanksgiving

Wow! I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd posted. Things have been crazy, but that's how it usually is around the holidays, right?

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the prep for and anticipation of Christmas, but as far as the actual day itself, Thanksgiving wins every time. I think it's because for a day we all stop and remind ourselves of what we have. There is no other pretense. Just spend time with loved ones and appreciate your life. It doesn't get much better.

Here's this year's thankful list with serious and silly items, for all of which I'm very grateful:

1. My family, as always. I don't like all of them, but I love every last one and am so glad we're a fairly tight-knit unit.

2. My friends, who are my family.

3. My job, which gives me the freedom to be creative and the security to make rent.

4. Coffee, which makes even the worst times just a little bit better.

5. My talent. That might sound conceited, but I don't mean it that way. I truly value my imagination and the ability to play with words.

6. Books, and also my book club, who are some of my favorite people on the planet.

7. Weight Watchers, which has helped me lose 15 pounds in the past month. (I know!)

8. Ian Somerhalder. Good Lord.

9. My health, which has stayed with me even though I haven't given it much genuine consideration until recently.

10. Mexican food, and the ability to make it myself.

11. Nature. I love being outdoors.

12. The Clinique skin care line, even though my forehead is rebelling against it at the moment.

13. Movies. Like books, they let me escape.

14. Tequila. Yum.

15. Hope. I'm still holding onto it for things I want that I don't have yet.

That's good for now. I might be inspired to write more. If not, Happy Thanksgiving!

Oops, I did it again

Well, I completed my second half marathon today. As with the first time, two years ago, there's an asterisk next to the victory time.

There's a place in the course that loops down one street and back up the next. Two years ago, I woke up with terrible back pain on the day of the race and made it to that point until I had to stop, cut across, and lay flat on my back on the sidewalk while I waited for my friends to make the loop and get me. It's the only way I could have finished. (I'm not being dramatic, either. My buddy told me that she was genuinely worried about me and thought they were going to need the EMTs to come save me at some point.)

Well, this year, I ended up doing the same thing. Not because my back was killing me and making me feel like I was about to die, but because at that point (around Mile 11) I was starting to lock up. My lower back, legs and feet were just not moving right. The second I stopped and stretched, I felt better. I waited for my friend to come back around, and then we finished together.

I don't feel the least bit guilty about stopping, stretching and waiting. I was listening to my body. The miles before that point (except Mile 10, that fucker) weren't bad. I was tired, yes, but not in pain. As soon as I felt the shift from fatigue to pain, I knew I needed to do something.

Anyway, the point is, I finished, albeit with an asterisk. I don't care. It's still an accomplishment at 12 miles than 13.1. I'm not going to lie about what I did, and I'm not going to buy a "13.1" sticker for my car. I am, however, going to enjoy getting the medal. (They ran out at the finish line and said they would send them to us. Lame.) At the moment, the idea of doing this again sounds like the worst thing ever. But... I'm pretty sure I said that exact same thing after the first one.

Book Review: "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake"

This was last month's book club selection, and I just realized I never wrote my summary. (I know y'all were on the edges of your seats for it. Ha!)

Here it is: This book is stupid.

A little girl, Rose, if I remember correctly, discovers that she has the ability to taste in food the emotions of the person who created it. This is sort of "Like Water for Chocolate"-esque. Rose learns about her mother's unhappiness and affair by eating her food. She can pinpoint where any mass-produced item is from, down to the exact factory. She can break down recipes and tell exactly where each ingredient is from.

Rose doesn't have super close friends and isn't that close to her family, either. As she grows up, she and her dad have a chance to bond more. Her brother is a lost cause. He's a genius, but basically lives like a hermit. He'll vanish for a few weeks at a time, only to reappear completely emaciated and in need of hospital care to get back to health.

Long story short: Rose discovers that her grandfather had a "gift" of smelling the emotions of people, and it damn near drove him crazy. He ended up wearing this weird mask thing in order to keep it under control. Her father has a similar thing regarding hospitals. He's scared to death to go in one because of the reaction he has to it.

So in the end we find out her brother, the genius, has found a way to break the laws of physics and turn himself into furniture. Yes, you read that right. He. Becomes. Furniture. When he's missing it's not because he's on a drug binge, or locked in a den of hookers or in a drunken stupor under a bridge somewhere. It's because he's the coat rack.

It's the stupidest thing I've ever read in my life. I am so so SO glad I checked out the book from the library and didn't actually buy it. I would have been PISSED if I'd spent money on it. The only good thing about it, in fact, was that our book club hostess was inspired to make a lemon cake from scratch as our dessert. I think we all deserved a slice after the nonsense that is this book.

Oh, and also...

Remember, remember the fifth of November...

Disneystrology

Got this book at work. Here is what my birthday character says about me:

Tigger

You never run out of energy. You're optimistic, creative, and charming. Because you're so sure of yourself and your abilities, you're shocked when things don't turn out as planned. You usually discover, after the fact, that the things you can't do, you don't like to do anyway. You never lose your childlike innocence and are shy around those you admire. Your best friends are the ones who appreciate your energy and spontaneity.

Magical Gifts

Tigger bestows everything that Tiggers like: a happy heart, good friends and a fabulous bouncing ability.

Keys to Your Success

Looking before you bounce.

Tigger's Story: "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" (1968)

Fun stuff! :)

P.S. - The universe was speaking to me today. When I was younger, I was kind of obsessed with Tigger and had a bunch of Tigger stuff. And today was a very blustery day.

National Novel Writing Month

November, along with having my favorite holiday and the lovely Fall Back I've been waiting for, also is National Novel Writing Month.

There is a movement for writers to start and finish a 50,000-word novel in one month. One. Month.

That's crazy talk. I don't have the time for that! Especially not with the kind of novel I'm writing. That requires research and lots of alone time, all of which, in my case, has to happen before and after work hours. If I didn't have the job? Totally down for it.

The idea to start writing, though, is timely for me since I'm working on a new concept as we speak. (I know I say that a lot. I make no apologies for the amount of crap rolling around in my head. It comes out when it wants. I'm just the messenger.) I'm excited about it, so hopefully the momentum to keep writing it out will continue.

Happy November! It's going to be a good month. I can feel it. :)