New Reads:

I've been catching up on my reading lately and one of the books I've been reading is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I know I'm a little late to the game, and that there's a whole movie out and everything now, but I've been struggling with whether or not to read this book for over a year now. I picked it up once at the bookstore because I had heard a lot of people talking about it and read the cover but it just didn't seem that interesting so I put it down. And then I heard even more people talking about it. And that got me thinking maybe I discounted it too early. I mean, if that many people are crazy for this story, maybe it isn't that bad. And so just like every other book that blows up, I decided to give it a shot (that's how I read Twilight. Remember that, Rim?) Still not sure how I feel about it yet. But I hope it's decent because as with every trilogy, I'll have to read the other books just to find out how the story resolves, whether I like it or not (that's how I read the rest of the Twilight books, btw). 

If you don't know what the story is about, and really, how could you not, here it is:

"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before -- and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love."