Category Archives: Hunger Games Trilogy (The)

Finished books: Hunger Games trilogy, The Spellman Files

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I finished reading The Spellman Files, by Lisa Lutz, on my Kindle, and was doing so well in the eBook format, that I finished the second and third books in The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins, on the Kindle too.

I decided I enjoyed The Spellman Files enough to finish it, although it’s put together in a quirky way and the mystery I expected never really happened.  By quirky I mean flash forwards that hold out tantalizing promises of suspense that pay off contrary to expectation.  Lots of details about protagonist Isabel Spellman’s strange and often unpleasant family, and her pushy relationship with a dentist.  The way Lutz uses past, present and future reminded me of Catch-22; she actually handled the time shifts pretty well and the method made all the establishing and exposition of her family history a lot more interesting.  Lisa Lutz’s Spellman series is high on my library list, I’d like to see if she can keep up the quirky.  The Kindle version of The Spellman Files is now $11.99 on Amazon, and later books in the series are $9.99.  So library list, or the used book store.

I had stalled on Catching Fire, the second book in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy, a couple of months ago, but gave it another try and clicked right into the story this time.  The cliffhanger ending led me right into the third book, Mockingjay.  These books repeat too many of the first book’s details and devices, but they do develop Collins’ themes of predatory political domination, violence and revenge to a satisfactory resolution.  Satisfactory only, because I felt the violence and death escalated to a horrible level, more than Collins needed to make her points about evil government and war.  The character developments were intriguing, I’m still trying to decide if they happened naturally or mainly to serve the plot.

  • I’ve never read the classic Lord of the Flies, but I want to see how its account of kids’ violence against each other compares to this contemporary popular trilogy.
  • I saw The Hunger Games movie, and thought it was very well done, largely due to Jennifer Lawrence’s excellent work in the role of Katniss.  Good job overall of showing the Capitol’s decadence and abuse of power and the tragic consequences for the tributes, without graphic violence.  I suppose the producers also want to film the rest of the trilogy; not sure how they’re going to keep up the balancing act with the rest of the material. 

Recently read books (March 1, 2012)

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In no particular order, here are some memorable books I’ve read recently:

The Little Women Letters, by Gabrielle Donnelly (library book).  A novel that imagines the lives of three sisters descended from Jo March, the main character in Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women”.  The sisters live in London near their American mother and English father, and have personalities and experiences similar to Jo, Meg and Amy from “Little Women”.  The modern day narrative is interspersed with letters from Jo that one of the sisters finds in the attic.  I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would.  I recognized Jo’s voice and many of my favorite “Little Women” memories in the letters, and the modern day sisters’ lives were interesting enough to keep my attention.

  • I need to watch “Little Women” (the one with Susan Sarandon, Winona Rider and Gabriel Byrne) again.

My Year with Eleanor:  A Memoir, by Noelle Hancock (library book).  A nonfiction book about a young journalist, floundering after she loses her cool social media job, who is inspired by a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt.  Noelle follows Eleanor’s advice to “Do one thing every day that scares you”, starting with trapeze lessons and ending with a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro.  She shares some good information about Eleanor Roosevelt’s life, as well as a lot of personal information about her own.  Surprisingly, I found Noelle’s life and her search for courage pretty interesting too. 

  • I liked the movie “Julie and Julia” (based on a book I haven’t read), and this book has a similar structure and theme.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (Kindle).  A teenage girl living in a grim and dismal future North America must participate in a game of survival to the death.  This book passed my Kindle test:  it was engaging enough to keep me reading one page after another to the end.  This is against the grain for me, and the main reason I don’t really love my Kindle.  I am a confirmed forward and back page flipper even with books I’m enjoying, and will brazenly read the end and abandon a book if I get bored with it.  I bought the other two books in the trilogy for my Kindle, but so far the second book hasn’t drawn me in.

  • After I read this book, I became aware of all the excitement and anticipation for “The Hunger Games” movie.  I’m also looking forward to seeing it.

Boy and Going Solo, by Roald Dahl (my books).  Two autobiographical books about Roald Dahl’s childhood (Boy) and his first job, in Tanzania – Tanganyika at that time – and his World War 2 service in the British air force (Going Solo).  I started rereading “Boy” as we were getting ready for our post-retirement move from northern Virginia, and brought “Going Solo” to our new home, also a reread.  I’ve read these books several times, and always enjoy them.  Dahl’s real life – his family, friends and experiences – are more engaging to me than his fiction, which I find a little heavy on the snark.  I especially liked his account of living in pre-WW2 Tanganyika, and dealing with the German population as the war began.

  • Now I need to watch “Nowhere in Africa” again, an excellent movie about a girl whose German Jewish family seeks refuge from Hitler’s Germany in East Africa.

The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara (my book).  I’ve read this before, and agreed with the novel’s stellar reputation, but I’d forgotten what a great book it is.  Shaara selected the perfect Civil War characters from both Union and Confederate sides to tell the story of the battle of Gettysburg.  Just the right amount of detail, just the right amount of emotion. 

  • After I finished the book, I wanted to watch “Gettysburg” again, bought the blu-ray extended version and spent four-plus mesmerized hours watching it.
  • I’ve also read “Gods and Generals” by Michael Shaara’s son Jeff.  This prequel to “Angels” is good, I own a copy but it’s not high on my reread list.  The movie “Gods and Generals” is pretty bad, won’t watch it again. 

Three Day Town, by Margaret Maron (Kindle).  This is the most recent book in one of my favorite mystery series, Maron’s ‘Deborah Knott’ series.  Deborah is a judge in a rural county in North Carolina, I’ve read all the books, and always enjoy reading about her and her friends and relations.  This book is set in New York City, and combines the lead characters from Margaret Maron’s two series, Deborah Knott and Sigrid Harald, who is an NYC homicide detective.  Not one of Ms. Maron’s strongest books, but I love her mysteries so much I bought this for my Kindle the day it was published.