image courtesy of wikipedia.org
i’ve always enjoyed reading. when i was a young child, i literally devoured books and would read hour upon hour until it was time for bed. mystery, fantasy, fiction, science-fiction – i loved them all… well, with the exception of perhaps biographies and non-fiction. some of my favorite books include 1984, brave new world, the joy luck club, and of course, the harry potter series (sad that it’s over now though!) that said, i’ve decided that this year, i will make a conscious effort to continue to read books no matter how busy my schedule may get because at the end of the day, as one wise person once said, “take time to read – it is the fountain of wisdom.”
recently, i just finished reading a book called the hunger games by suzanne collins. it was such an exciting book with a completely riveting storyline that i consumed it in one sitting. the hunger games is a fantasy fiction novel reminiscent of books about utopian societies such as 1984 or the handmaid’s tale. Every year, the country of panem hosts a tournament called the “hunger games” which is basically a competition in which each of the country’s 12 districts are forced to send one boy and one girl “tribute” to fight each other to the death. the winner wins enough bread and food supplies for their district to last one full year. the games take place in a battle stadium full of trials that the tributes must overcome, and the entire event is televised across the nation. suzanne collins takes her readers through waves of fire, ground-shattering earthquakes, and a slew of other unexpected and extremely dangerous obstacles woven into the games by the game masters, the group of people in the government who organize and develop these brutal games every year. i don’t want to spoil the ending for those of you who haven’t read it, but i will say this: suzanne collins does a beautiful job of creating an exciting story that not only keeps the readers on the edge of their seats, but also impacts the reader in a very meaningful way. the hunger games is a book full of symbolism and jam-packed with ironies that point to how panem is, surprisingly, based off of our own modern society.
as an aside, the movie version of the hunger games is set to be released in all theaters nationwide on march 23, 2012. go watch the movie . i’ve seen the trailers, and it seems the producers have done a terrific job of bringing the book to life. but before you do that, make sure you read the book, because the hunger games will be a book that you just simply can’t put down.
happy reading!
~irin
