Hunger Games, Catching Fire :: Suzanne Collins

Title: Hunger Games, Catching Fire

Author: Suzanne Collins

Read: Palo Alto, CA; NYC

Format: Hardcover

On an impromptu Barnes & Noble binge, I finally picked up Hunger Games. It had been appearing at the top of my recommendations for awhile, but I'd been ignoring it because of the whole dystopia thing (I'm not so into that stuff). But friends I trust and e-tail algorithms (that I also trust) endorsed it, so I thought, why not? Smart gamble!

Because I think everyone should read these books, I won't give away too much. Basically, America (now Panem), in the not-so-distant future, is divided into 13 districts and ruled by a cruel Capital. After a failed uprising, the Capital demands that each district sacrifice a pair of teenagers, or 'tributes', to participate in the annual Hunger Games. Mandatory viewing for all citizens, the games are an intricately designed fight to the death. These novels, the first two of a trilogy, focus on District 12's tribute Katniss Everdeen as she fights her way through the games.

Told in first person, the reader sees the world through Katniss's eyes and you vividly experience her fears and motivations. Through her, we learn about the despair in the districts and the excesses of the Capital. And as she is plunged into them, the spectacle of the games plays like a train wreck: horrifying, violent, disturbing, and exciting to watch unfold.

When the end of Hunger Games came too quickly, I was glad I could quickly get my hands on the sequel (I thought it was even better than the first). And when Catching Fire came to an end, I couldn't believe I'd have to wait until August for the final installment. Ugh.

Hunger Games:

An amazing new world, 5 out of 5 stars

Catching Fire:

Somehow, even better, 5 out of 5 stars

To the Lighthouse :: Virginia Woolf

This month I tackled my first 'white whale' for 2010. These are books that for whatever reason I haven't been able to finish - despite numerous attempts.

I've been reading Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse since 1999 when the awesome Professor Phil Fisher (elbow patches and all) assigned it in my 20th Century Novel class. I'm not sure why it's been so difficult for me to read: it's only 209 pages long. This time was no easier, though, as it took me almost 4 weeks to finish, which is kind of stupidly long for a book this short.

That's not to say it isn't good; it is, of course. I'm just not sure I enjoyed it. It's the type of book that I would have appreciated much more in an academic setting. Professor Fisher would have really shown me the way. I loved that guy.

Anyway, the novel is in three parts and is ostensibly about the Ramsay family (and some friends) on vacation in the Hebrides. In part one, James - the youngest boy - desperately wants to visit the nearby lighthouse. The conversation that follows, with regard to whether the weather (!) will allow it, sheds light into the relationships and tensions within the family. Also in the house are a sycophantic colleague of Mr. Ramsey, a newly engaged couple, and uncertain young painter, Lily Briscoe, who all come together for a large dinner party at the end of section one.

Section two, or Time Passes, is meant to give the reader the sensation that ten years are going by. We learn the fates of many of the characters; most notably Mrs. Ramsay who has passed away during this period. Woolf herself described this section as an experiment and as a reader, I'd say, you get it.

The last section of the book, of course, takes place ten years after part one. Mr. Ramsay returns to the house to finally take the trip to the lighthouse. As he and the children go to the lighthouse, Lily, who has also returned to the house, more assuredly works on the painting that she was so insecure about before.

Like many modernist classics, To The Lighthouse's accomplishment is not in the narrative, but in the telling. While not that much happens in the novel, Woolf's writing vividly conveys all the emotions and tensions of the Ramsays' world.

Again, an obvious achievement (not that anyone needed me to say it). But, you know, not "fun".

4 out of 5 stars.

Nine Stories :: JD Salinger

Psych, back to the old format.

The Flannery O'Connor I read in January got me hankering for some good short stories. One of my favorite collections (books, even) is Nine Stories, which I also reread (for the billionth time) in honor of JD Salinger's recent death.

Please indulge me as I muse on Salinger. Like, most people I was first exposed to his work - The Catcher in the Rye - in my ninth grade english class. In its tone, honesty and energy, it was unlike anything I had ever read before. I loved it not just for the storytelling, but for the what it showed me about what books could do and what reading should be like.

Anyway, later that year I picked up what is if not my favorite book, then at least is in my Top 5: Franny and Zooey. As the introduction to the intricately imagined Glass family, Franny and Zooey opened the door to a style of writing that I never ceased to be in awe of, no matter how many times I reread. Salinger built his characters through simple, well-turned phrases and a humor that no writer since (in my mind) has come close to achieving. I'm not sure I can string words together to sufficiently describe what that book means to me. Let's just say when I've seen people reading it on the subway, I've actually struck up conversations about it. And I am NOT that kind of person.

My curiosity about the Glass family now engaged, my next Salinger was Nine Stories, which I read again this month. The first story of the collection, A Perfect Day for a Bananafish, is tragic and sweet and jarring. I'm the type of person that forgets what she's read before I've closed the back cover, but I remember every detail of this story and always have.

The other eight stories are funny, heartbreaking, sentimental, but never maudlin. If I were to list the best ones, I'd just end up listing them all. But for good measure, here are two other highlights: For Esme - with Love and Squalor AND Teddy.

Read this book, it's very, very good (and read all the others too):

5 out of 5 stars

January 2010

Reading List

The Shadow of the Wind :: Carlos Ruiz Zafon (2.5 stars)
A Good Man is Hard to Find & Other Stories :: Flannery O'Connor (4 stars)
The Road :: Cormac McCarthy (4 stars)
The Mysterious Benedict Society :: Trenton Lee Stewart (3 stars)
I Capture the Castle :: Dodie Smith (5 stars) [anything goes book club selection, TG]
The Polysyllabic Spree :: Nick Hornby (4 stars) [essays, 1/6]

Best - I Capture the Castle :: Dodie Smith

Worst - The Shadow of the Wind :: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

As a whole, January was an auspicious start to a promising year of reading. Within the month, though, not so much. After dragging my feet for awhile, I finally finished Carlos Ruiz Zafon's popular novel, The Shadow of the Wind, right after New Year. At its core, it's a mystery about a book-loving boy trying to uncover the truth about what happened to a long-missing, little-known, genius writer. But unlike more successful mysteries, the unraveling doesn't come from clever plotting, but - unsatisfyingly - through Zafon's over-the-top exposition. In general, I had a lot of trouble with the author's prose style (so flowery at times my eyes got tired from rolling). I wondered how much of the 'color' I disliked was a matter of inferior translation. I was happy to hear from a Spanish-reading friend (you know who you are) that it was NOT more effective in its native form. Phew. I hate feeling like I'm missing out just because I'm monolingual.

Anyway, all this said I can sort of see why so many people like the book: it's richly drawn, moderately intriguing, etc etc. But the telling lacks subtlety and refinement and, to me, made the book ultimately put-down-able. Not a total waste, but far from a gem: 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The best read of the month was the latest book club choice, Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle. The eccentric Mortmain family are tried by the issues that plague many a period-novel family: sororal rivalry, near financial ruin, unrequited love, adolescence, etc. But, what sets this novel aside is the refreshing and charming voice of Cassandra Mortmain, who records a year or so of her family's story in journal form. For aspiring writer Cassandra, her diary is both a repository for her thoughts AND a writing exercise. It is a pure joy to read as Cassandra balances innocence and curiosity, precociousness and self-awareness. While the novel's plot is engaging and interesting in and of itself, the true victory of the novel is in Cassandra's evolution as both a writer and a young woman, demonstrated so brilliantly through her charming voice. Sweet, earnest, bright: 5 out of 5 stars. Loved.

Despite my boycott, I found a $4 copy of Cormac McCarthy's The Road this month and figured, why not? It only took a couple of hours to read and I always love to read a book that has been adapted into film. Especially films with Vigo Mortensen. Roarrrr. While I enjoyed both the film and book a lot, it definitely left me feeling all bleaky inside. I'll give the book 4 stars, but I'm a little shy to recommend it. It was so sad it made my body hurt. For some reason, I thought seeing the movie immediately would help even me out. Obviously, it just made me sadder.

What I can unequivocally recommend is A Good Man is Hard to Find & Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor. Prior to this collection, I had never read any O'Connor. Didn't even know she was a woman. The stories are darkly beautiful and precisely written and usually about, you know, damaged people in difficult situations. I know that's what all short stories are about, usually, but it's so rare to see them executed so well. If there are more like this, I'd like to read them all, please.

2010: NEW YEAR, NEW FORMAT!

While I'm proud to announce that I met my reading goal in 2009 (reading #50 at dinner on New Year's Eve, no less), I have to come clean or where I fell short as well. I'd hoped to cleverly blog about every book I read, but sadly I failed (though, I do hold on to a dream that I will back-blog about them). To be fair, I can't blame it all on laziness. Let's just be real: 50 books is a pretty ambitious goal for a 9-5er like myself. Write about them too? Sigh. That is a challenge I could not meet.

So, inspired by a recent read (Nick Hornby's The Polysyllabic Spree - thanks for the recommendation, Ant...), I'll instead chronicle my adventures through books in digest form. I'm no Michiko anyway - better (i.e., easier, less time-consuming) for me to veer my efforts away from criticizing, per se, and instead focus on just some broad thoughts. I'll also attempt to update Reading Comprehension at least monthly. I'd like to do it more often though. We'll see how that goes.

In other news, I have set a new goal for 2010. I think it's unreasonable to shoot for more than 50 books (I have other things to do, after all). So, rather than bumping up the quantity, I'll be paying more attention to what goes in my to-read stack:

2010 Goals
Read 50 new books (10 re-reads were allowed in 2009, I finished the year with 4)
Tackle 4 white whales (one every three months, ideally)
6 non-novels/stories (non-fiction or essays)
Roald Dahl's oeuvre