What Are You Reading? March 2012

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Wed March 14th, 2012, 1:10 pm

[quote=""emr""]Sadly it was a limited edition of 400 books and that's it. No reeditions :/[/quote]

Phhhht. I'm working on Sister Queens by Julia Fox. Interesting, but it does feel like I'm trodding a lot of familiar and very well-worn territory.

TiciaRoma · Post by **TiciaRoma** » Wed March 14th, 2012, 8:55 pm

Lions of the West: Heros and Villains of the Westward Expansion (Robert Morgan)
Black Ships of Troy (Sutcliff)
The Emperor's Tomb (Steve Barry)
Eight Cousins (LMAlcott)

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Wed March 14th, 2012, 11:46 pm

Slowing wading through a good-sized book of Douglas Adams' works. Enjoying it greatly.

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Wed March 14th, 2012, 11:59 pm

[quote=""MLE""]But it worked well enough to keep you turning the page. If you think about it, the Harry Potter world is much more problematical, especially where it intersects the 'real' world, and as for the logistics of the Twilight series-- ![/quote]

One of the things that bothered me about The Hunger Games was the lack of information about what happened to the "old world." I'm currently reading the second book in the trilogy and I hope there is more information. Rowling did a super job creating the wizard world. I felt a sincere pang of regret that that world was gone after I finished the final book. After reading the first book of The Hunger Games trilogy, I don't feel that Collins did the same thing for Panem...yet. Hopefully, I will change my mind as I continue reading the trilogy.

Someone mentioned gladiators in relation to The Hunger Games. Today my 7th grade language art literacy students got brochures about an upcoming book fair at school and The Hunger Games was one of the books mentioned. I heard some of them talking about it and told them I had read the book over the weekend (they were quite impressed that I could read a book that fast, LOL!). They asked what the book was about and so I told them. One student said it sounded like gladiators!

annis · Post by **annis** » Thu March 15th, 2012, 12:58 am

Posted by Susan

Someone mentioned gladiators in relation to The Hunger Games.

That was me

The premise seems like a cross between gladiatorial contest and Survivor-style reality TV.

I was actually going to read the second one, but reviews seem to indicate that it's more of the same and in the meantime I've been seduced (again) by Steven Saylor's Gordianus mysteries. One blessing (or is that curse?) of the Kindle is that if you hooked on a series you can just keep clicking that "Buy" button and keep right on going and going.. Currently reading Catilina's Riddle.

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Thu March 15th, 2012, 3:23 am

[quote=""Susan""]One of the things that bothered me about The Hunger Games was the lack of information about what happened to the "old world." [/quote]

Haven't read it yet, but isn't it supposed to be post-apocalyptic? There are only so many things that could cause the level of devastation usually inherent in that phrase. Maybe she brings it up later in the series.

Alisha Marie Klapheke · Post by **Alisha Marie Klapheke** » Thu March 15th, 2012, 1:34 pm

I'm reading THE SISTER QUEENS by Sophie Perinot. It is set in my fave time period--reigns of Saint Louis and Henry III of England. Love it.

Ludmilla · Post by **Ludmilla** » Thu March 15th, 2012, 1:36 pm

Susan said: One of the things that bothered me about The Hunger Games was the lack of information about what happened to the "old world."

[quote=""LoveHistory""]Haven't read it yet, but isn't it supposed to be post-apocalyptic? There are only so many things that could cause the level of devastation usually inherent in that phrase. Maybe she brings it up later in the series.[/quote]

I'd categorize the series as more of a dystopia, though there are PA elements. For example, there is a government despite rebellions and wide-spread dissatisfaction among the populace.

I felt the world order is only explained well enough to keep the plot moving. There are some logical holes, but it provides reasons for why things are the way they are. The second and third books do give you more info on the rebellions and the mysterious 13th district becomes much more important in the final book.

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Thu March 15th, 2012, 2:32 pm

I finished Diana Giardina's Good King Harry last night. I thought it did a pretty good job; although I wish she would have provided a little more insight into Henry and Katherine (Catherine's) marriage. Did she really cheat? Was she really as nasty as Giardina claims? Too many questions.

To treat myself for reading three Henry IV and V books back to back, I started Susanna Kearsley's Marianna (the old edition not the about to be released one).

fljustice · Post by **fljustice** » Thu March 15th, 2012, 4:10 pm

Finished God, No! by Penn Jillette and I'm swearing off celebrity memoirs. I've always liked Penn and Teller and their skeptic magic, and looked forward to reading this one. Unfortunately, it was little more than a poorly organized, profanity laden series of rants. I don't have any problem with profanity, I just find that when used every third word, the writer/speaker seems inarticulate...not what you want when you're a writer!

Still working my way through my random TBR pile. Next up: Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice.