The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was totally blown away by this book and could not put it down. I have not ripped through a book like this in a while, not since the Twilight series… except that this was well-written. I honestly cannot explain my compulsion to keep reading the Twilight books; it was a paradox – poorly written about characters with limited range, but I needed to find out what was going to happen. With The Hunger Games, there is no question about why it is a compelling read.
The setting of The Hunger Games is a post-apocalyptic North America, now Panem, where the all-powerful Capitol controls the surrounding Districts, 1-12. As punishment for a failed rebellion and a reminder of the absolute power of the Capitol, every year each district must give a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 as tributes to participate in a televised fight-to-the-death. Viewership is mandatory for everyone in Panem.
I don’t really want to give anything else away, but this is a fascinating study of human nature, the good and the bad, wrapped up in a fantastic story. Can’t wait to tear through book 2… Catching Fire.
Having a Heat Wave
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Incredible mystery this is not. BUT. It is an actual book written by the fictional author Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion), from the ABC show Castle. I love this show. In it, Castle uses his wealth, popularity and connections to get an indefinite ride-along with Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), who pretends to hate this. Love the cast, love the chemistry, love the dialogue, and I love my cop shows. This is a win all around for me.
During the course of the show, Castle starts using Beckett as inspiration for his new character Nikki Heat. The first Nikki Heat book is Heat Wave. As a novelty item (haha, novel-ty), ABC released Heat Wave as though it is a real book by a real author, right down to an about the author, author’s picture of Nathan Fillion on the jacket cover, acknowlegdements, and dedication (same as from the show).
This. Is. Awesome.
The mystery itself is fairly easy to solve for an avid mystery reader. However, it is a fun, fast read and fans of the show will enjoy hearing the voice of Castle and how he portrays the doubly fictional counterparts of the characters in the show.
Thank you to whoever actually wrote this book. You made my day. I am thoroughly looking forward to the next installment, Naked Heat.
Zorro
Zorro by Isabel Allende
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was really interesting. It is an origin story for Zorro, but written more like historical fiction rather than your typical hero adveture story. It is clear that Isabel Allende did a lot of research so the details of this world, from Alto CA to western Europe, ensured that these larger-than-life characters were grounded in reality. It is also written in a first-person narrative, which gives the book the feeling of authenticity while you are reading, similar to Memoirs of a Geisha or The Princess Bride. You know you’re reading fiction, but it is possible to absolutely lose yourself in the story and believe in it. Now, I didn’t find it to be as exciting or funny as The Princess Bride, but I still enjoyed it. I haven’t read the original Zorro stories, so I don’t know much about the character outside of the movies I have seen: The Mark of Zorro (1920); The Mark of Zorro (1940); Zorro, the Gay Blade (1981); The Mask of Zorro (1998); and The Legend of Zorro (2005), but I liked the way Allende wove them into her story.
I would recommend this to people.
Sweden is Awesome, part 3
This is the final chapter in the story of Lisbeth Salander, created by Swedish author Stieg Larsson.
*SPOILERS* If you have not seen/read the first two, then you might not want to read on…
Lisbeth is in the hospital after being shot and buried alive by her father and half-brother. She is awaiting trial for the charge of attempted murder of her father, pending her recovery from a bullet to the head (Self-defense? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?). Meanwhile, Mikael Blomkvist is hard at work trying to build a defense for her by way of journalistic research, a little blackmail (journalist-style, of course), and getting his lawyer sister to take her case (even though that is not her field of law). In spite of the more fantastical elements and what they had to cut down to make this film a reasonable length, this is a very satisfying end to the trilogy – especially considering that it is only a trilogy because Mr. Larsson passed away before he could finish the seven books he intended to write about Lisbeth. I will always wonder what was in store for Lisbeth. Actually, I hear through the interwebs gossip that book 4 was mostly complete and book 5 was complete, but the family is in legal dispute with Stieg’s domestic partner, Eva Gabrielsson, over publishing rights and royalties. In Sweden, only family has the legal right to publish a relative’s work (probably unless otherwise stipulated by the author); on the other hand, she was his life-long partner and confidante. They never married and Mr. Larsson did not have a will, so everything went to his family as the legal default. It is complicated and messy and I am sure both sides are hurting and frustrated. Who knows if and when there will ever be a resolution, so I will endeavor just to be grateful for what we got. Thank you, Stieg Larsson.
Rating: I will own this movie someday soon.
Magical Me
I had a very Harry Potter couple of months back in October/November. Sorry for the delay, but there was so much to get down here! Enjoy my HP shenanigans:
BTW, the awesome Hogwarts crest above is hijacked from The Harry Potter Lexicon. Where I also learned that the latin translates as: “Never tickle a sleeping dragon.” Awesome. Administrators of HP lexicon – I really like your rendition of the crest. I used it once before, but got it somewhere random. Full credit to you, now that I know. I intend no copyright infringement and will not make any money from it. If you ask it of me, I will take it down – but pretty please don’t ask it!
First on the docket: I took a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. When I watch HP movies, I can now shout, “I’ve been there!” whenever they show Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, or Ollivanders. It’s ok to be jealous. Let it out. I went with my good friend Michele and we had tons of fun; our poor feet were not pleased, but the rest of us had a fantastic time! Only in Hogsmeade can you be walking by a dude on his cell phone and catch this snippet (and only this snippet) of conversation, “… except for my stupified gnome…” Wait… what?! Ha! <– this was pretty much our reaction. There was a pause, we looked at each other to silently verify that we actually just heard that, and then just busted up. We almost peed our pants. I could be exaggerating my memory, but I think we might have grabbed on to each other to stabalize our upright status. Anyway, Potter world was so much fun. We had tickets to both Universal parks: Studios and Islands of Adventure. HP is in Islands along with Dr. Seuss, Lost Continent (like mythology area), Arabian area, Jurassic Park, Cartoon Lagoon (comic strips), and the Comic Book area. I think I will have to do a separate blog about all that. THIS. Is my Potter segment. Shop Potter. Shop Pee-Otter. What the hell? That didn’t work at all, but 10 points to whoever can tell me what movie I am referencing there.
Right, so Potter World. If you come in Suess-side from the entrance, the first thing you see is the Welcome to Hogsmeade arch with the front end of the Hogwarts express steaming as though it has just pulled into the station and you are looking up the main street of Hogsmeade and its crazy little tumbling buildings with snow-covered rooftops (which is weird in 90 degree weather, btw). Most of the shops are just decorated window-dressing, fun to peek in for Potter aficionados. I am guessing a lot of storage is behind those, but you can go into most of your favorites. Zonkos is the first one you can visit, where they actually sell extendable ears. I think Fred and George are either making lots of galleons off of that or they are going to have some kind of lawsuit. Zonkos is attached to Honeydukes. OMG CANDY. The Three Broomsticks is the big sit-down food spot in the HP area, attached on the inside to the Hog’s Head. The staff they have working there are really fun. They make Potter related jokes, like…
cash register malfunction: Argh! Stupid muggle machine! I don’t know how you guys put up with this!
receipt printer malfunction: Sorry that took so long, there are nargles in the printer again!
Train Conductor, after throroughly examining both arms of a young man with tattoo sleeves: It’s ok; no dark mark!
The specialty drinks you can get are Butterbeer draft, Butterbeer frozen, Pumpkin Juice, Pumpkin Fizz, and Hog’s Head Brew. The Butterbeer is a soda pop. It is kind of like cream soda, but instead is caramel/butterscotch flavor soda? They float this special (and copyrighted) cream on top. Draft vs frozen, is like regular Coke vs Coke Slurpee. All down to preference. I enjoyed both and you might as well try them, just to say you did. Right? Pumpkin Juice is pretty much what it sounds, tastes a little like a holiday spiced cider and the Fizz version is the same, but carbonated. Hog’s Brew is a special Scottish Ale brewed specifically for Potter World. They have Bud and a bunch of British beers – like Stella, Guinness, Strongbow – and Hog’s Brew. Awesome. Not only can you not get these HP beverages outside of Universal, but you cannot even get them in any other part of the park. It really added to the ambiance.
The rides are great, too. Flight of the Hippogriff is the small roller coster, very gentle and no upside down bits. One thing I will say about the lines on the two big rides in Potter World is that they are almost as entertaining as the actual rides (in parts). The Dragon Challenge, formerly Dueling Dragons, is all done up as the Triwizard Tournament. I don’t want to give too much away really, but so many fun details included! The other big ride is inside Hogwarts Castle, called The Forbidden Journey. MAGICAL. As it should be, right? It combines animatronics, video, and moving ride – not a roller coaster exactly, but it is pretty great. Unless you have motion sickness issues. However, they actually offer tours of the line. TOUR OF THE LINE. Yeah. Because it is awesome. They basically have every part of Hogwarts that you want to see and a few hologram films to watch while waiting, some talking portraits, Sorting Hat, etc.
Second order of business: 30-going-on-10 Harry Potter Birthday Party. It was a fairly small group of friends and family, perfect for me. One of my friend’s brought her newborn dressed as a little Gryffindor lion with an HP scar drawn on his forehead! Another friend’s 3-year-old charmed my Gram with his good behavior and need for pots and pans to make a variety of dishes using her step stool as stove burners. Speaking of my Gram, she agreed to host and she made – MADE – me a Sorting Hat, which was awesome!! I made people wear it and take a facebook quiz to be sorted into houses. We had a bunch of Gryffindors, 3 Slytherins, 3 Ravenclaws, and 0 Hufflepuffs – apparently I am not drawn or related to any average people. I made house pins for people to wear. I did dress up in my Gryffindor robes and showed off my reed wand from Potter World. We had an amazing cake from Laurie Clarke Cakes. It was in the shape of the Sorting Hat and my Aunt Lauren was confused as to why there were two Sorting Hats, because she didn’t realize that one was a cake. Sweet! Fuguratively and literally. It was lemon meringue flavor and it made me happy about life.
Third order of business: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.
*SPOILERS?* I don’t really think so. You’ve read the books, right?
HOWEVER. Continue to read at your own risk…
I went to the midnight showing, because that’s how I roll. I like to watch these movies with all of the super-fans. They are always very enthusiastic: cheering, booing, clapping, and whooping. It has become a tradition for me and it’s hard to believe that after July of next year there will be no more. HP7.1 was relatively faithful to the book. As Harry decided at the end of the previous book/film, he does not return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his 7th and final year. Instead, Harry, Ron and Hermione set out to finish what Dumbledore started: finding all of Voldemort’s horcruxes (dark magical objects that hold a piece of a soul) and destroying them so when they finally face him, he will be mortal. They don’t have much to go on and the stress takes its toll on the group. The acting abilities of the kids have grown enough to handle the dramatic or just more emotionally complex scenes that they would not have been able to tackle previously.
In addition, each book/film has grown with the children in terms of content and complexity. I bow to J. K. Rowling‘s incredible skill. With each book, she takes the writing style and storyline and grows the whole package up a little. I have read many series in my time and I don’t think I have ever seen this accomplished so successfully. Just one example of content growth is how she portrays the concept of discrimination. In the beginning, we have kids bullying each other. It happens every day and Rowling gives us plenty to think about: strong vs weak, rich vs poor, magic parents vs muggle-born. Then she puts discrimination in a Civil Rights context by showing us how magic humans treat “magical creatures of near human intelligence,” such as house elves, centaurs, giants, etc. They are treated as second class citizens because they are not human, restricted in where they can live or treated like slaves and not allowed to have wands.
In the last book/film, parallels between the Death Eaters (Voldemort’s followers) and a fascist regime (e.g. Nazi Germany) are clear as the Death Eaters take over the Ministry of Magic and implement their plan to subjugate and eventually exterminate people of non-magical descent. It is social commentary against prejudice at its worst, wrapped up in a compelling adventure. I really enjoyed this movie. I am simultaneously disappointed and understanding that they had to break the final book into two parts. Understanding because there is no way that they could have put the entire book into one film, too much action and plot to be contained in 2-3 hours; disappointed because now I have to wait 8 months, 8 MONTHS, to see the rest.
Rating: I have all the others on DVD, so…
Unseen Academicals
Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Oh, Terry. Wizards, football, and satire. You really know how to tug a girl’s heartstrings. I always enjoy a nice adventure into Discworld, so it is no surprise that I had fun with this one, is it? It wasn’t necessarily my favourite, but it was pretty well done; especially if you’ve ever been to a football game (that’s soccer to you, yanks) and experienced the fan mania with all the chanting that just… takes you over when you’re in The Shove. Aahhh, good times.
hold still
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a well thought out look at the impact of suicide from a teen perspective. The author did a good job of portraying teenage angst and drama, as well as the inward and outward effects of both depression and loss and how they impact the individuals and those around them. I can’t say that I loved this book, because I found it depressing, but it was well done and I would recommend it to anyone from teenage and up trying to understand this subject matter on a fairly basic level.
If you want to see all the reviews I have already done, or see what I’m currently reading, or what I’m planning to read (eventually) – check out my page on goodreads.
pemberliegh's chaise 