I just finished The Hunger Games trilogy, wanted to be sure I've read it all before the movie! I have to admit the second book was not my favorite but the third book did redeem it quite a bit.
Currently I am in the middle of reading The Help; its better than I expected but it can get a bit annoying at times (for example I am really not that interested in Skeeter's character.)
After that I'm going back to some Jim Thompson books; I loooove me some noir books and no one can write 'dopey idiot of a man who is secretly a sadistic psychopath' like Jim Thompson (he wrote The Killer Inside Me.)
Just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I really liked it, although I saw the movie last night and I actually liked it more than the book. I may start The Girl Who Played with Fire... but I don't know if I should start something new instead.
Also, i LOVED The Help. I assumed it was overhyped but I absolutely adored it. However, I didn't like the movie at all.
I started this in December, but just picked it up again yesterday - Green Suede Shoes by Larry Kirwan. He's the Irish born frontman for Black 47, and the book is his memoir. Although I'm not a big Black 47 fan (I don't care for Larry's singing voice), he is quite a writer. I got sucked right in. Each chapter starts with the lyrics to a song, then the chapter refers back to the song or the characters in it. I may have to buy a CD before I finish the book. Fascinating if you love music or Irish life/politics.
Oh how I love my e-reader. I got BN gift cards from my sister & my dad, so I've been burning up the books.
Over the 12 day holiday:
The last two books in the Stieg Laarson trilogy. Eh, they were all right, I liked the first book best. The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson. Good story, I was into the characters, but sad story Mile 81 by Stephen King. Loved it, but short story The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan. Pretty boring, flat characters
four Samantha Moon books by J.R. Rain. Very entertaining, easy read, and super cheap. I think it was $1.99 for all four. Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey. Liked it! Will get more of his books. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Very good story. The Ninth Life of Louis Drax by Liz Jensen. Another, eh, it was all right.
I also have The Night Circus loaded, hopefully I'll get to read it this week.
Last week, I read (and finished) The Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern. Nice kind of fluffy chick lit (though not too fluffy/stupid), quite enjoyed that one.
Now, I'm on to Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman. It's OK so far, though upon starting it today, I found that (to my mind, anyway), it's written for teenage boys. Still not bad, though.
I also got 2 nonfiction books for Christmas, both of which I'm planning to read soon. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about the life of an African-American woman, whose cells were taken without her knowledge; those cells have been the foundation for many scientific works, some winning the Nobel Prize. And yet, she never knew that (so far as I can tell, anyway). The scientific community mainly knows her only as "HeLa". I'm so glad I was given this book actually... it's the story of the life of the woman behind all that scientific research that has saved so many lives.
The other book is A Train In Winter by Caroline Moorehead. (Another non-fiction.) This is about a group of French women who resisted the **** occupation in France, and who were sent to Auschwitz. Many of them died, but some of them survived - and it was their friendship that helped them through.
lissvarna - The Girl Who Played With Fire was my favorite book of the three. Definitely read it at some point!
treasureBelle - The story of Henrietta Lacks is fascinating, and the book brings up some very interesting issues related to ownership of biological samples and informed consent for genetic research. Really interesting stuff, and definitely a hot topic in the community that focuses on human scientific research. If you like the science side of the story at all, you might also be interested in reading a book called A Conspiracy of Cells. It's much older and not nearly as well written, but it tells a different and also interesting story about the HeLa cell line - how it grew like wildfire and contaminated samples in labs all over the world, and the way the scientific community reacted to internal questions and criticism regarding their results and work.
I am reading Simon Becketts "Whispers of the Dead". Great book so far! Just read his first two of the Dr. Hunter series in December and I am so loving his writing. Especially how you really do not expect the ending, both previous books it has been stunning how he twists the plot around and as youre reading youre like WHAT?? Hasnt happened like that in a while...
I'm reading Elizabeth George's "This Body of Death" .... not that I've read any of hers before ... just because it is here somehow.... but I'm enjoying it ...
The Gift of an Ordinary Day...Katrina Kenison, started it in December but was busy and just didn't get it finished. Next book will be Rescue by Anita Shreve
I enjoyed the Hunger games quite a bit but I kept feel that the story had way more potential than Suzanne Collins allowed it to have. I don't know if that makes sense. But it was like, this story has the potential to be the new dystopian novel of our time. . . a mix of 1984, Brave New World and The Lottery all in one. . . and then it kept falling short of that power. (With that being said, I majored in Literature, so sometimes I am a little too critical of novels). I enjoyed them, but at the end wanted something more from it. I am looking forward to the movie, though. The previews look amazing!
Currently I'm reading 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. . . I'm not sure if I care for it or not. I'm about 100 pages in.
I need to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I downloaded it a few months ago and haven't got around to it yet. My ebook downloading is out of control.
But it was like, this story has the potential to be the new dystopian novel of our time. . . a mix of 1984, Brave New World and The Lottery all in one. . . and then it kept falling short of that power.
Totally agree, kailpea. It was an exciting story, but I found myself comparing it to the novels you mention and it just didn't measure up. Granted, Suzanne Collins has a lot to compete with. Lois Lowry's The Giver is one of my absolute favorite novels and it is distopian children's literature. Doesn't have much in common with the Hunger Games (other than being in the same genre), but it is must read for anyone that enjoys literature (it won a Newbury medal--Lois Lowry's second). Anyways, I'm looking forward to Hunger Games movie--maybe I won't be disappointed with it like I was the book.
Fascinating if you love music or Irish life/politics.
