Friday 9 March 2012

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


http://beckonedbybooks.blogspot.com/

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!

17 comments:

  1. I came around just as Mockingjay was being released, I think. I had never heard of THG, and was also new to the book-blogging world. No one would shut up about it! Seriously! Every blog I read, every book store I went into, the only think anyone talked about - ever- was The Hunger Games. So finally, after the third book was released, my fiance bought me the first one for Valentine's day. I read it immediately and then ordered Catching Fire and Mockingjay the very next day from the Book Depository. Then I didn't read them. Not for months. Because I didn't want to be disappointed, I didn't want to be let down by the second book disease, and I didn't want it to be over.

    In all, I'm so so so so so happy I read these books! I just finished rereading the series in time for the movie, and now I can't enjoy any other books I'm reading!

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  2. I didn't have a blog or anything back then. A friend that was helping me with some of my writing said I should read it, this was about four months until Mockingjay came out. I got the Hunger Games are the library, and only spent two days reading it. Two days after that I got Catching Fire. I liked the Hunger Games, but it was Catching Fire that had my stomach in knots, and mouth hanging open!!

    Beth ^_^

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  3. Sherre, I love you for this post. ^_^ Reading other people's experiences with this story is like reliving our own experience with it, except with slightly different details.

    My story: I saw it in bookstores, I saw it online, I saw postings on blogs... I never really looked into it until I started blogging. There was a bit of reluctance on my part because of the gritty nature of the novel. I finally gave in and bought it for my Nook when it was on sale. Then finally got to reading it since I wanted to read it before the movie. Once I started reading it, I was swept off my feet. And now that the movie is upon us, I am excitement squared. Going to Hot Topic this weekend for Hunger Games goodness. It's just going to be awesome. :D

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  4. Walking while reading is fun to do! I read the entire Twilight series in two days. It was madness, but memorable. :)

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  5. First of all: Welcome to Lan's blog, Sherre! It's really cool to have you here! :)

    And oh my gosh, I was the EXACT same way!! (I'm not even kidding -- we could be HG discovery twins LOL!) I know people tell you not to judge a book by its cover (and the one for THG actually isn't that bad), but for the some reason, the moment I saw it and matched it up with the synopsis, I shook my head and thought, "I am NOT reading that." It just didn't seem like something I'd read. But one of my best friends kept gushing about how amazing it was, and I finally succumbed into picking it up... and like you, I couldn't put it down!! Now it's high up on my favourites list, and I've never been so happy to have read something before in my life! (Besides Twilight, of course, since that was the series that got me into YA in the first place!)

    Thanks a million for posting this, Sherre! I love knowing that there are other bloggers out there who felt the same way about me! ;) And I LOVE how you've incorporated HG phrases into everyday life -- SO GENIUS! x)

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  6. Oh, Sherre! You are such an adorable bookish fiend. I love how you used THG lingo in your everyday life! That is true dedication.

    I'm not as huge a fan of the series, but I found out about it through my sisters-in-law and nieces who were all totally into the books. I thought the premise sounded ridiculous at first. "All of this killing is a reality TV show?! Okay, that is sensationalism for ya." But, it really ended up being very serious and very seriously cool.

    Great post!

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  7. I love your enthusiasm, Sherre! I got into the books about a year and a half ago. I was just surfing through Amazon.com looking for books and saw the description and ordered it. I'm glad I got the whole set because I loved it! My sisters both have read it as well. I like how you used the THG jargon! :)

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  8. What a great post! I bought the first book on audio after hearing about it. I had a 3 hour car ride and ended up sobbing for almost the entire ride - the beginning of the novel is so incredibly intense. I was so freaked out over the amazing writing that I immediately bought the print version so I could study every word.

    Long live Hunger Games! Thanks for sharing the obsession!

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  9. Sherre and Lan this is how I know we are soul sisters in another alternate reality somewhere. I too came very late to the HG party. I resisted for ages. "Idiots...nutcases...whateverrrrr" was my usual reaction when people went on and on about it. I'm very obsessive-compulsive when it comes to books. When something HITS me, life must cease to live while i read every single word of every single book in that series. I was like that with Harry Potter. And with Twilight. ( Im ducking as Lan throws rotten Twilight eggs at me here) One day i caved to the peer pressure and bought the first Hunger Games book. The world literally stopped for me. I read it in an hour, then ran out the door to buy the next books in the series. I ignored my children and the house and the dinner and the long-suffering husband and read all the books. I would have read the first book all over again the next day but my teenagers had picked it up and were fighting over it. My daughter has read HG countless times. My son says NOTHING can compare to it. He also uses HG as his excuse for not wanting to read anymore books ( incl. mine) cos he says "NOTHING compares to Hunger Games, so why bother?
    This house is a Hunger Games Freak zone. The husband has no clue what we are on about. Me and the two teenagers can sit and discuss for hours all sorts of stuff..like what if...and can you believe it...and why didnt she...and so on.
    We are dreading the movie. We think it will probably suck. Because NOTHING can compare to the Hunger Games books....

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  10. Is it completely unforgivable that I can't remember what made me want to read it? I read it pretty quickly after it came out. I don't even remember hearing much about it before I picked it up. I think it may have been because I read Gregor The Overlander series to my kids, and we all LOVED it more than any MG series we had read. I figured same author, but YA? Sign me up!

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  11. Gosh I really LOVE this guest post! I'm so excited to watch the movie, I'm pretty sure that I will buy the DVD and everything when they come out! I didn't expect myself to love Hunger Games that much too. I mean, with all the hype about it, I had to feel some sinister feeling on it. But oh my Gosh, the story is just every bit awesome as the reviews said! So glad that books like Hunger Games really exist in this world LOL! :D

    AMAZING guest post, Sherre! Thanks for bringing us this awesome post, Lann! It's super cool that Sherre uses Hunger Games phrases in everyday life! <3

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  12. Fun post! :)

    I'll never forget discovering The Hunger Games - I stumbled across it purely by chance in my library, nobody I knew was reading it, but I was intrigued...it was TORTURE waiting for the second book, which I liked least of the three. I took a break before reading Mockingjay, and it redeemed the series for me - I didn't necessarily enjoy it, but I thought it was a logical, honest ending.

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  13. Ha!!! It's great to see I'm not all alone in this. Like Lan said, Obsession loves company!!!! Now, when the boyfriend complains about my obsession, I can point him to this blog and say HA!!! I'm not as crazy as you think. :-P

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  14. Great post, Sherre! I especially love your adding THG-speak in to your daily life. :D :D

    I read THG on a whim, really. I was just starting to branch out of my comfort zone (fantasy and/or paranormal romance) and I didn't yet read a LOT of YA. I think I stumbled across THG on Goodreads, and I didn't even know what "dystopian" was, but I thought, "why not?"

    I read it in a day. Then I stalked my local bookstore, and ended up like hunting down copies of Catching Fire and Mockingjay in Wal-Mart. I read them in a day or two, each.

    I don't even know where to start with the trilogy as a whole. The premise is brilliant. It's gritty and scary and real - terrifying because it COULD happen. Suzanne Collins isn't writing about something THAT far-fetched, imho. And the characters. Oh my gosh, the characters, and their relationships and interactions.

    Finnick.
    Gale.

    I know I sound like a fangirl, but Finnick and Gale are two of my favorite characters EVER. I don't really write or believe in fan fiction as a general rule, though I've read one or two AMAZING ones for Fringe, Twilight, and THG...but I won't lie...I currently have five ongoing WIP's with a friend where I am the Gale to her Katniss or in one case, the Finnick to her Katniss. I adore Gale. He's MY type of character - the angsty, alpha male. I want to hug him and tell him that if I'd had MY way, the trilogy might have gone differently.

    I could go on and on and on for pages on THG, my love for it, and how Mockingjay broke my heart on so many levels buttttt this is already the longest comment ever. :D

    Molli | Once Upon a Prologue

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  15. Haha!!! I love long comments!!! (just ask Lan, I write long ones on almost every one I do) Thanks for stopping by!!! Surprisingly I havent read any Fanfic for THG, but I have for Twilight. Maybe I should check it out one day....

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  16. It is so great to know that I'm not alone out there Sherre! I was a diehard Twilight fan and went from there, reading a bunch of indie books that were recommended to me by Amazon and Goodreads. THG just kept popping up as recommended and I kept thinking "This looks stupid. There's no way I will enjoy this." I put off "wasting my money" for months. After seeing the movie previews I decided I'd go see the movie, but I absolutely refuse to see a movie if there's even the slightest chance I may enjoy the book. So... I just bought the books last weekend and finished at 5 am last night/this morning! When I wasn't reading HG, I was talking about the books. I don't think I've cried, laughed and been so emotionally involved with characters in a long time. Wow, I sound like I may need to get a life of my own. :) All I can say is that I have found a new favorite series!

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  17. Another librarian recommended it. I bought the trilogy one day in the summer holidays and read it all in three days. Like Harry Potter it's going to become a classic. If it can appeal to an old fart like me, who's not the intended audience, it can appeal to anyone.

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