The Next Best Book Club discussion

Ok, now that I am a day behind with this....

I love this book...I hope everyone gets a chance to read it. :~)

Luckily this book was just released in Estonia, so now i can read it in my own language :) Cannot wait, heard so many good things

I loved it! I practically devoured this book. The setting is so vivid and imaginative. The characters are memorable and worth investing hours of my life. I can't wait to see how this discussion goes. I've been a member of this group for a while, but this is the first time I've done a group read selection. :)

I can't wait to read this book! I have to get it from the library, but it sounds so good. I have heard many good things about it.

It took me a couple of starts to get into the book, but once I was in I was hooked!

When I read the description, I thought, "Eh, sounds derivative, but I'll give it a try." I was wrong -- it's very original and captivating. I haven't quite finished yet, but am looking forward to finding out what happens.

Loving this! I have been trying to multi-task and read it whenever I can (reading while folding laundry or giving my baby his bottle)-I'm hooked!

Marsha I felt exactly the same way. I had picked up the book several times in the book store and then put it back because the thought of reading about kids killing kids just put me off. I thought if someone get's it for me for Christmas then I'd read it. My husband bought it for me and I was done with in 5 days. I think the author does a good job in capturing you and bringing you into what is happening with the charecters.

I just bought it on Kindle and am only 1% through. Amused by Buttercup.

I bought this on Kindle last night and am 20% through an loving this book!

I didn't think I would like this because I'm not a fan of dystopian novels. I gave it a try when another group chose it as a monthly read, and I loved it! I thought the second was even better than the first.

I am surprised by the wikipedia entry's SEE ALSO. It references - Battle Royale, The Long Walk, Catching Fire, Death Race 2000 and Escape 2000.

What about The Running Man? It's a televised "to the death" game show made to entertain a dystopian United States.

I am almost done cannot wait to see what happens at the end!

Just started today. Can't wait to finish so I can join the discussion!

Hi I read both of these books at the end of last year I enjoyed them both. When is the next one out?

The Running Man was the first thing I thought of too-funny that Wikipedia left it out.

The librarian told me the 3rd book comes out in August. Maybe I'll wait a bit to read the 2nd so I don't have a long to wait.

I've heard talk of a possible movie. With that, will it be PG or PG 13? Kind of a tough one since the books are geared toward kids.

I just started listening to this today. I'm looking forward to joining in on the discussion. I've been itching to look but didn't want any spoilers.
It has quite an interesting start to the book.

I don't want to enter the "spoilers" thread yet.
I'm not feeling the love for this book. So far, I'm finding it slow and repetitive.
The Games are outlandish. I can't imagine why a Society would do this to their children......it's Reality TV at it's very, very worst.
A little more history of The Games, their purpose and the society of The Capitol would be interesting, too.

I believe the history and the purpose of the Hunger Games was explained in the book.

Briefly....something catastrophic happened, everyone now kowtows to The Capital. If you don't, your Section is destroyed.
That may be all there is to the history. Perhaps we don't need to know more.
We'll see how the story plays out. It's good in premise but slow in execution. Perhaps it'll pick up. I'm hoping.

I can easily imagine a society doing this toward children. It keeps the workers in line. There's a lot of atrocities in the real world. Some had/have to do with children. History will show people *HAVE* been very brutal.

Honestly, reading the description alone reminded me of The Running Man.

But you aren't obligated to approve of the Capital's methods. I don't think anyone approves of the Capital.

Well, it's picking up (disc 7 of 9) and I'm curious to see how it'll end. I find that Catniss draws things out a lot in her explanations and it's very repetitive. That takes away from the story, for me anyways.
I started out finding this book rather slow and boring. It's become interesting enough to continue with the series (I think) but, as yet, I don't why it's such a big Hit. Different tastes, I guess, and I'm definitely in the minority on this one.

Petra wrote: "I started out finding this book rather slow and boring. It's become interesting enough to continue with the series (I think) but, as yet, I don't why it's such a big Hit. Different tastes, I guess, and I'm definitely in the minority on this one."

I'm the same. The first one wasn't that enticing for me but I'll give the series another chance and read the second book.

what's this book (or series) all about anyways?

I skim past the repetitive stuff. It's a habit with any novel/manga.

I would, too, if I were reading and not listening to this book.
However, that leads to the question of: Why is the book considered so wonderful if a reader has to skim by boring bits to keep the book interesting?
To me, a 5* rating is a book I look forward to picking up and can't seem to put down, at the very least. This book has almost nothing but 5* ratings. If most readers are skimming, it's not really a 5* book, is it?

Lauren, this book is about a "Game", which is televised to all the people of the country (and mandatory to watch), in which 2 teens from each of 12 Sectors are locked in an outdoor arena and only 1 can survive.

I've done the first disk . . . why was everybody so gobsmacked with the first chapter? I was entranced from the beginning.

I'll do another disk tomorrow - maybe even more.

My only question, so far, is 'why?'

Why would a government hold these games? The people don't seem to have much money, so there's no financial benefit.

Unless the people are 'forced' to spend their money going to the games.

Second disk down . . .

It's really good.

If you really think about it, this idea of people being forced to attend 'killings' isn't an impossible scenario.

We have, for instance, been shown films where the Taliban force people to attend executions, as if it were a spectator sport.

Anyone else on this? In what other ways do those in 'authority' play with people's minds?

Carly wrote: "If you really think about it, this idea of people being forced to attend 'killings' isn't an impossible scenario.

We have, for instance, been shown films where the Taliban force people to attend..."

Yes. I agree, though no offense intended, but I think American people are somewhat oblivious to how harsh the world really is.

Well, I'm not American, but had you said 'Canadian' I might be offended - ha ha!

Really - here in the 'western world', we are oblivious to the harshness of the world. We think it couldn't happen here . . . remember that day in 2001?

Everybody was scared sheetless, Canadians included - and the rest of the world said 'so?' . . . what's the big deal? It happens everywhere . . . but we don't realize it till it happens to us.

Until we get hit by a terrorist attack, a tsunami, an earthquake, a flood, we have no grasp of the horror.

Our governments have a lot of power - they really can do whatever they wanna' do, at any time. We're lucky the people who run those governments were raised here in civilized countries.

Mind you, I should say we 'were' oblivious - that's something 911 did for us. It made us more aware of our vulnerability - and of the hardship suffered in other countries, poorer places than ours.

Before 911, Afghanistan was (for me), just a placed where you dragged your bare feet along dusty roads and the women wore veils. I knew there was a lot of suffering there, but had no idea of how oppressed they were.

Now, when the news comes on about some poor village cowering under attack, plague, extreme weather, I turn up the sound - I wanna' know what's happening.

Even if there's nothing I can do, I want to be aware of it.

I remember in 1994 I was taking a course at a school provided by the government - there were many people there who came from Sri Lanka . . . as I became an advanced computer student, I was expected (and gladly did so) to encourage the newbies to use the computer programs and complete creative projects.

I put everybody onto writing their biographies to date . . . I will never forget the girl who fell into my arms, sobbing - she was so afraid to do the wrong thing - thought if she didn't get through the course she'd be sent home where the Muhadjeen (Taliban or whoever) would get her as soon as she stepped off the plane.

I became aware of people from different parts of the world; I came to understand why the men couldn't shake hands with me . . . how difficult it was for them when they went out on job search and were interviewed by women.

We often gripe when we see instances where our constitutional freedom is interfered with - but we don't realize how lucky we are. We can walk down the street holding the arm or hand of our husbands - nobody's gonna' shoot us for it.

We can show as much of our bodies as we want - pretty well, anyway - we can choose what to wear. A man can wear a beard or shave it off anytime he wants to. A woman can choose to wear a dress, skirt or a pair of pants - in church, if she pleases!

If I wanted to shave my head bald tomorrow, and have tattoos applied that say 'up the establishment!', I can do it.

(I don't think I will though . . . heh! heh!)

But think of it . . . the freedom we have.

But still, there are ways in which we watch people die . . . we have no choice - it's always there to see.

Oblivious? I think anyone in nearly any part of the world could be oblivious. Or even delude themselves.

In the modern world, I feel especially in America there's such a drive/push for rights, freedoms and a good lifestyle that anything directly against that is appalling. But honestly the world HAS such crimes even now and heck...

Go back to the Roman Era during the Gladiators. It isn't a new thing to introduce blood sport. It HAS happened. It isn't unbelievable.

These games controlled the districts as a punishment for rising up against them. It created fear and pit others against each other. For the Capitol, some joined in the rah-rah for the blood sport and others genuinely helped the teens.

Honestly, I could see this type of society building post-apocalypse.

Yes, Tanja - there's a good point - the Gladiators.

I'm on the 7th disk now - there's 8, all told.

I haven't checked this thread since end of January, but like Tanja, The Hunger Games reminded me of the Gladiator games. Not just the bloodsport, but how, if a "champion" refused to pick up a weapon, elements would be introduced to force them to fight. If the action became too boring, elements would be introduced to ramp up the action. Scarier to think of forcing children to participate in such "sport," but not so far-fetched if you think of how popular Gladiator games were.

My 15yr old brother, who isn't a big reader (yet!), read this with me and we both loved it. The cover should come with a warning though, indicating that once you start you pretty much give up everything else to find time to race through it. Same goes for Catching Fire. I don't read "suspense" books very often, but these were both top-notch.

On a separate note, I read an interview with the author where she mentioned consciously basing the book on the rituals of ancient Rome and Greece.

An entertaining read, with memorable characters and great action! The arena is wild!