Why I Love The Hunger Games By Sherre of Beckoned By Books

As much as I like to rant about The Hunger Games, it's pretty clear that I love the entire franchise to death. I talk about it incessantly and try to force persuade others to read it so I can talk about it some more. Suffice to say I am out of control excited about the movie. I thought I was a truly hardcore fan until I put out the call for guest post for The Hunger Games Tribute month and Sherre answered with this gem of a post:

I’m so glad to be doing a guest post for Lan’s blog. I stalk her blog often as she’s probably figured out already. Guess what? The Hunger games movie will be out this month and I am beyond super excited. I’ve already purchased tickets to the 12:01 movie show time, and now I’m just bouncing up and down, watching the calendar, and the clock to figure out how much time is left. The boyfriend told me I was an idiot who needs to do something else with my time, so I thought the best way would be for me to let you all know how I began my fan girl obsessive lust for all things Hunger Games. (That’s probably not what he meant when he told me to do something else, but whatever)

       It began after my high from reading Twilight for the third time in a row. I needed something good. Something that made the world around me disappear and the adrenaline rush in my veins. Something that made my heart quicken and my emotions go into overdrive. I picked up a few books at Borders (May you Rest in Peace my Beloved Borders Books) and they all sucked. Like all of them. At this point I was giving The Hunger Games series the cold shoulder. Yeah, I read the synopsis, but I couldn’t bring myself to read the book. It looked too boring, to young, too depressing. Besides, there could never be a book that will make me feel as alive as Twilight, I was sure of it. Then, something happened.

          I was surfing the internet acting like a total Twilight groupie when I came upon a Hunger Games review. “Let’s see if the book sucks as much as I think it should,” I said to myself. I read the review that discussed the awesomeness that was THG and thought, well maybe she’s biased. There’s no way this book can actually be that good. So I read another review and more and finally I got literally upset! These people have no idea what they’re talking about. The Hunger Games has to suck. Look at that cover. It’s so boring. That stupid bird in a circle, what’s that supposed to mean? They’re spending time going bird hunting or something?  Oh and let’s not get started on the synopsis. Kid’s fighting to the death on TV? Talk about depressing! Maybe they’re all getting paid to do the reviews. Yea, that’s probably it. I’ll just go out and buy the book and read the horribleness and THEN I’ll be able to tell everyone that they’re total liars and the book sucks.

          It just so happened that it was December of 2010 so Christmas was coming up. I told my mom to buy the whole series for me along with some other books and she painstakingly obliged (she made the mistake of telling me as a child that as long as I read, she would buy me as many books as I want….talk about a bad idea. You should see my stacks of books) Any who, when I got it, I started reading………..and reading………..and reading……………………………..and was finished the entire book in 9 hours straight. No food, no cellphone interruptions, no breaks of any kind. People came and talked AT me, I think. I never paid attention.

         I remember walking around with my book when I heard the doorbell ring, opening it, and letting someone in. It was a family member, I think. It could have been a stranger though, I’d have never known. The book was amazing. SUPER, FANTASTIC, SUPERB, EXCITING, OH MY #(*^@&! GOSH HOW ON EARTH DID I LIVE WITHOUT YOU SO LONG, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, PLEASE NEVER LEAVE ME, I LOVE YOU, WILL YOU MARRY ME, ID FOLLOW YOU ANYWHERE OH MY GOODNESS OH MY GOODNESS OH MY GOODNESS AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! 

         It gave me the feelings I wanted and more, but, like an obsessive junkie, I wanted more!!!! I needed more!!! So then I got the audio books. I listened to them in the car, and in my iPod over and over. (Everyone hated riding in the car with me) I started to tell random people about the awesomeness that was THG. I started incorporating random HG lingo into my daily life – “I want to show them that they don’t own me. If I’m going to go to work, I want it to be on my terms. I want to show them that I’m just not another employee in their company,” “Remember boyfriend, we’re madly in love, so it’s ok to kiss me whenever you want,” “Do well on your test little sister, and may the odds be ever in your favor.” (That’s my favorite one, because she tended to look at me and roll her eyes as if I was crazy)The rest is history. I began consuming more and more books, but Twilight, and Hunger Games will always be my favorites (not necessarily in that order). A few other books have joined their ranks in my mind, Telesa, The Mortal Instruments Series and a few others, but Twilight and the Hunger Games have, and always will hold a very special, lust-filled, obsessive place in my heart.

 ~ Thank you so much Sherre for taking the time to write up this post. Obsession really does love company because I found myself nodding to so many of the things you said. I remember not wanting to read The Hunger Games because of all the hype and because so many people were saying how graphic the killing is. I'm glad (and also a bit disturbed) that the violence didn't phase me because I would have missed out of one of the best book I've ever read. 


On that note, I'd like to invite all you guys to share your stories about when and how you decided to read The Hunger Games. Was it on your WoW lists? Or did you just stumble upon it? I came into the phenomenon very late so I wasn't around for the original hoopla. Would love to recapture that now!