Whatcha readin?

[Miriel]

I'm actually quite a fan of The Hunger Games (av and sig aren't giving that away enough) so I'm interested in hearing your critcisms on it. The world of Panem is so well built and the characters are engaging and the action is incredibly tense. None of these can be said about Divergent.

I loved the first two books, but the third was terrible in my opinion. I thought it was poorly written, the characters became ridiculous, and the ending just sucked. I wrote a brief review in the older book thread when Mockingjay first came out: http://home.eyesonff.com/lounge/1278...ml#post2904092

The biggest problem for me was Katniss. I hated how she kept blacking out for big chunks of the story. I understand that she went through hell, is traumatized, etc. But having such a sulky, whiny and indecisive main character did not make for a good read. I was hoping in Mockingjay she would really come into her own. But I don't think she did. And I guess that was supposed to be some sort of lesson? Like, hey look. Violence and war can smurf you up and people die. But I just thought it was hitting you over the head with it and made for a depressing, rushed, and unsatisfying end to the story. Plus, I just flat out thought the writing was way worse than it was for the first two books and I have no idea why.

Awww..... double post... I'm telling on you

I'm reading "The Art of Fielding" by Chad Harbach. I'm about halfway through. I love this book. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was recommended to me by my step-dad who knows that I'm a big fan of baseball. He said it was a great book even though he knows nothing about baseball. "What does he mean when he says he picked a one-hopper then turned a double play?"... I simply look at him with disappointment.

I adored the baseball action in the book but so far it has been the fantastic characterization that has stood out for me. Even the minor characters have plenty of charm. He's got a direct style of writing but in a way, that's what hooks you in as its also very intelligently written. Highly recommended

I really really enjoyed the first part of The Art of Fielding. Which was a surprise since I find baseball incredibly boring. But the whole thing fell apart towards the end. The baseball aspect fell away to other things that I just didn't give a tit about. Especially the stuff with Owen and the President. Everything became to affected and over worked. I could barely force myself to finish the book.

I recently finished The Magicians by Lev Grossman. It is a truly terrible book. Quite awful.