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Sunday, February 21, 2010

The Hunger Games
























I haven't been really doing much reading lately. Setting aside the time to peruse a good book is a luxury these days, consumed as I am with training, sports, work, friends, relationship, family, and pets. Silly pets, to tell you the truth. Not quite as funny as those on LOLCats but darn close! My boys, Rascal and Fizzlesnitch, generally take it upon themselves to make it worth keeping them fed and pampered - for example, Fizzy will walk the tightrope of my railing between the split level living room and kitchen, a fall of about 12 feet. He will even turn around on all four paws, balancing precariously, as if he's unfazed by the prospect of meeting his doom below. These kitties have skillz, I tell ya.

So it's freezing outside. Nothing new, but it's getting old. I got two books over Christmas - "The Hunger Games" and its sequel "Catching Fire." Excellent reads. The notion of society breaking down and the only way to maintain order is by forcing different "districts" to annually send "tributes" of teenagers to compete in a battle royale to the death where only one winner can emerge.

The story follows a female, Katniss, as she enters the tourney motivated to win. Since this is set in post-modern times, every move in the tournament is televised and broadcast. It's almost as if it's a teenage version of Running Man or Survivor with quite a bloodbath involved. But the magic of the book is the insights and introspection of the character and the inequality of society - it could just as well be applied to today where people see America (the Capitol) being all lavish and abundant in resources while other countries (the Districts) are lacking.

The sequel has some interesting twists and kept me guessing. Fantastic stuff. Looking forward to the 3rd installment - coming out on 8/24/2010!

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