Catching Fire

Collins, S. (2009). Catching Fire. New York:  Scholastic.

Yes, I am a fan of The Hunger Games trio.  Yes, I get very excited about the movies.  I did see the recent movie.  It was good.  But of the three novels, Catching Fire is my favorite.  I teach The Hunger Games to my sophomore English class every year.  And every time I finish, I have the urge to read the subsequent novels.  Since the new movie was releasing soon, I decided to read Catching Fire, again.

Catching Fire is my favorite of the three novels.  The novel begins several months after the events of the seventy-fourth Hunger Games.  Katniss and Peeta have returned to life and made it as normal as possible.  But the Capitol is angry with the events that took place.  Now to save her own skin, Katniss must pretend to be in love with Peeta for the rest of her life.

Collins second novel is a great midpoint in the trilogy.  While The Hunger Games is used to introduce the world of Panem and the character of Katniss, Catching Fire is used to bring in the political undertones of the novel.  Katniss just wants to lead a normal life, but that isn't possible.  I would argue that the beginning of the novel moves pretty slowly.  The suspense of the games doesn't occur until much later in the novel.  Quite often, the reader is left confused along with Katniss as to the motives of other characters.  Collins uses present tense first person narration, just like The Hunger Games.  So the reader feels Katniss's emotions.

If you enjoy The Hunger Games, you MUST read Catching Fire.  And always read the novel before watching the move.  ALWAYS.  Or else the odds will never be in your favor.

The Poisonwood Bible

Kingsolver, B. (1998). The Poisonwood Bible. New York:  Harper Perennial.

Sometimes I get very tired of reading the mundane and overdone love stories.  I always enjoy a novel with a different perspective.  When two of my colleagues recommended Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, I decided to give it a chance.  Since Kingsolver is a Kentucky native whom I have never read before, I felt even more pressure.  And once in a while the novel appears on the Literature and Composition Advanced Placement exam.  I always want to find novels to recommend to my students that may assist them for the exam.  So, based on the above criteria, I just had to read The Poisonwood Bible.  And Even though it took several months to read (because of my very busy schedule), I'm so very glad that I read Barbara Kingsolver's amazing novel.

Book Signing with Jolina Petersheim

This weekend was homecoming at my former university.  My good friend Jolina Petersheim had a book signing during the day and a reading last night.  Sadly, I was unable to attend the reading, but I was able to go to the signing and finally purchase a copy of The Outcast.  I even got a personalized signed copy to add to my small collection of signed books!  It was great to catch up with Jolina and talk to her about her writings.  It seems so unreal that I sat through the same classes with a published author, and an excellent author at that.  I know I have other friends who write and are waiting to be published.  I can't wait to read their work too.  It also makes me feel a little jealous that I'm not writing like I want to.  Maybe one day.

Read my review of Jolina's debut novel, The Outcast, here.

Frankenstein

Shelley, M. (1818). Frankenstein. London.

When the name Frankenstein is mentioned everyone immediately thinks of a large green, stiff, grumbling monster with bolts sticking out of his neck. Everyone knows the quote, "It's alive!" made famous by films. 

But Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is quite different. In fact, Frankenstein isn't a monster at all. Frankenstein is a college student majoring in science. Victor Frankenstin creates a creature in his dorm room. Surprisingly, the creature isn't a bumbling fool either. He's actually very eloquent in his language. I love that Shelley creates a section to allow the creature to narrate his own story. 

Banning Books?

I have been so busy with school lately that I rarely get a chance to read, let alone post about my reading.  So for my faithful three readers, I apologize.

Today is the last day in National Banned Book Week.  I thought I would post my own thoughts on the topic.  After seeing lists of challenged books over the years, I am shocked at the desire to forbid others from reading.  I see literature as an art form.  Last time I checked, The Louvre doesn't place a blanket over Venus de Milo and Michelangelo's David doesn't wear running shorts.  In fact, both of the those sculptures are regarded as beautiful pieces of artwork--which they are.  I agree that not all books are wonderful; in fact, I have read a great deal that would have served better as a coaster for my drink rather than literature, but to forbid anyone from reading what they enjoy is just wrong.  It would be as if I stood outside a movie theatre and forced people away instead of letting them watch a rated R, B-list horror movie just because I didn't approve of the violence or sexual content.

The most challenged books of 2012 include Fifty Shades of Grey, And Tango Makes Three, Captain Underpants, The Kite Runner, Thirteen Reasons Why, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian.  From that list, I have only read two:  Fifty Shades of Grey and Thirteen Reasons Why.  My husband has read (shockingly, he rarely reads) The Absolutely…. I do know that And Tango Makes Three is a picture book about two male penguins raising a child.  While I don't think everything should be open for children, or even all age groups for that matter, I don't think it is our right to tell others what they can and cannot read.  I very much agree that even my high school students should not read Fifty Shades of Grey, but I am not their mother.  It is a parent's responsibility to censor what children read.  That is one of the main reasons parents should read.

**Side note:  Fifty Shades of Grey is one of my least favorite books of all time.  My feelings have nothing to do with the content of the book.  I did not enjoy the characters at all.  And I feel as though the writing style was horrendous.**

I have reviewed Thirteen Reasons Why on this site before.  I thoroughly enjoyed the young adult novel.  Again, I wouldn't hand the book over to a twelve-year-old, but that is not the intended audience.  The novel is a wonderful commentary on teen suicide and its affects on others.  The writing style is creative and unique.  I would, and often do, recommend Asher's book.  It is gripping, heart-wrenching and realistic.

I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower as a teenager.  At that time, it was a very controversial book.  But after I read the book, I did not involve myself in any of the acts that the characters encountered in the book.  After reading Harry Potter and the seven things he faced as a teenager, I did not search out a dark wizard or attempt to find Hogwarts.  Even as an adult, I didn't enter into a relationship similar to center plot of Fifty Shades of Grey.  Literature, like all art forms, is a way to escape the present world.  Through books, I have been able to see the world, the past, the present and the future.  It is no one's right to take that away from me or anyone for that matter.

I guess I am lucky in my reading selections.  My parents were very sheltering in many areas, but not with books.  I was encouraged to read.  I would not be the person I am today without many of the books I have read.  I would not be an independent thinker if it weren't for Scarlett O'Hara, Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennett.  I would not be compassionate and aware if it weren't for Elie Weisel and Anne Frank.  I would be idealistic and imaginative if it weren't for Harry Potter, Lucy Penvensie and Frodo Baggins.  While neither of my parents are big readers, they allowed me to travel to places I have never and will never visit.  And I did come in contact with "unsuitable for age group" topics and subjects, but so what?  Maybe if I hadn't read about those things, in my real life I wouldn't have known how to react to uncomfortable situations if I hadn't seen them on the pages of books.

Jane Austen Ruined My Life

Pattillo, B. (2009). Jane Austen ruined my life. New York:  Guideposts. 

I love Pride and Prejudice. I have loved it from the moment I read it in my feminist literature course in college. I have watched several movies based on Austen's books. Yet I am no expect in the world of Austen. But now I want to be.

Jane Austen Ruined my Life is a modern novel about a woman, appropriately named Emma, who is a Jane Austen scholar. After the failure of her marriage, she travels to London in hopes to discover the lost Austen letters. Emma discovers a lot about Austen and herself. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It isn't the most thought-provoking piece of literature, but it is fun and lighthearted. I enjoyed seeing the references to Austen's novels and to places I have visited in London. Trying to identify Emma's Mr. Darcy was fun too. But Emma isn't like her Austen counterparts. Although Austen's characters are revolutionary for her time, the idea of true love is overdone in today's society. Emma is a modern woman who does differ from her idol's creations. 

Essentially Jane Austen Ruined my Life made me want to be knowledgable in Austen's work. So I'm currently reading an old copy of Emma. Next will be Sense and Sensibility and I plan to finish with Pride and Prejudice. I have never read multiple novels by an author consecutively other than serial writings. With me luck that I can stick with my plan!

The Paris Wife

McLain, P. (2011). The Paris wife.  New York:  Ballentine.

Ernest Hemingway is a name known worldwide for many different reasons.  Hemingway was a known alcoholic and notorious play boy.  He was part of the Lost Generation, which included voices such as Fitzgerald, Stein, Pound, Eliot, during the 1920's.  It was a time of breaking the rules to find oneself.  Hemingway was a love 'em and leave 'em kind of man.  But the first woman who trapped his heart was a woman named Hadley Richardson.  Together, the opposites lived a whirlwind life and tried to find consistency in a world full of chaos.

Paula McLain tells the story of the first of Hemingway's wives in her 2011 novel, The Paris Wife.  The novel is completely fiction but based on actual events of the Hemingways' life together.  McLain assumes Hadley's voice to tell the story through first person.  McLain truly and fully develops Hadley's character to the point that it seems that she's a dear friend telling a story.