Hunger Games Ramblings

Last night a couple of my friends rented out a couple theaters to do an advanced screening of The Hunger Games, meaning we got to see it at eight rather than midnight! I hate spoilers so I am simply going to say that the movie swept me up and took me to places that had previously only existed in my mind and I left happy. 

I chose not to re-read the books (again) because I was afraid with it fresh in my memory I would be annoyed more at the details they could not fit into the movie. After the movie was over and I was home in bed I kept thinking about Katniss and her journey and my own Hunger Games memories.

I read The Hunger Games September 25, 2008 (at least that is when I added it to my Goodreads) I looked up to see when The Hunger Games came out September 14th so a week and a half before I read it. All I knew about The Hunger Games was it was getting buzz from authors and it was highly addicting. When I was reading it for the first time my sister Debbie along with her husband Russ, son William and baby daughter Gracie were living with me in my two bedroom condo while Russ was doing his rotations. William and I were sharing a room and I remember reading late into the night and finally having to put the book down to get some sleep. When I got home I went straight to my room to read and when the book ended and I saw book one. I wanted to throw the book across the room knowing that the book had just come out and I would have to wait a year for the next one. And although I did not throw the book across the room I did hit the book a few times on the bed. 

Thankfully one of my friends named Jen got an ARC for Catching Fire and she let me borrow it. I don't remember why but that weekend Debbie her family and I were staying at my moms. I brought The Hunger Games along with Catching Fire in case Debbie would finally read The Hunger Games. I was right when Debbie saw she had the chance to read Catching Fire as well she grabbed The Hunger Games and we went into the spare bedroom and read side by side. I still remember having to put the book down and pacing down the hall because I scared to know what happened but had to know what happened. 

Mockingjay came out August 24th the day before my birthday so I took my birthday off and spent the day reading and eating. One of my favorite pictures is of me laying on Debbie's floor while I was reading Gracie came and laid on me while she watched Peter Pan. 

Melissa and I as usual decided to make arrow shirts last minuet. You can kind of see them in the picture Espe took of us before the movie.

I love how things like books or movies or songs can bring you back in time and next year when I am watching  Catching Fire I am sure I will think back to last night on my trip down memory lane. 

Where I have been

Like I mentioned in the previous post I finally decided to read Harry Potter. I started listening to the audio books in July and finished on August 23rd. I felt a lot of pressure reading since so many of my friends are HUGE Harry Potter fans (especially Mimi). I was afraid that I wouldn't like them enough or maybe too much. Does anyone else worry that you might steal a friends thing? I enjoyed the first few I loved Harry but a motherly kind of love. I teared up when he had his first Christmas at Hogwarts and got his sweater from Mrs. Weasley. I have a very soft spot in my heart for Mrs. Weasley since she reminds me of my mom. But my mom is way better, my mom would never have had a crush on stupid Lockhart. But she is the mother of six sons, two redheaded children and has always welcomed friends into our home and family. But it wasn't until the last three that I actually started to get really hooked.

I did accomplish operation Trifecta on my birthday along with reading Mockingjay. I went to Joe's Farm Grill for breakfast, some of my sister in laws along with some nieces & nephews, my brother & sister Debbie were able to come. We had fun and I had a delicious waffle with strawberries & blueberries.


While there I also got these amazing pillows from Debbie & my sister in law Ashley, they made them! I love them a lot, they remind me of pillows my grandma had & they have Debbie's vintage touch to them.

In case you don't speak French this say yes (think we).

I love the French & British pillows since they fit in nicely with my London & Paris theme I have going.
After breakfast Debbie came over and we both sprawled out on my couches and began reading Mockingjay. Soon we had to break to grab some lunch at Liberty Market
where Debbie and I split a picnic salad & a favorite the best chicken sandwich (I think that is what it is called). We were joined by our friends Jenny & Mimi both of whom we knew had finished Mockingjay so we were free to speak about what we had read so far.
After we went back to Debbie's to read and had a hard time pulling away from reading to go to dinner. Here is a picture of me reading & Gracie watching Peter Pan. We went to Joe's Real BBQ with my parents. Mark, Ashley & Sam, Russ, Debbie, William & Gracie. It was really nice and my parents brought me a present from Mary MONSTER COOKIES!!! It not only made me really happy but everyone else it was a great treat. Thank you to Joe's for the free breakfast, lunch & dinner I was full for days.

In between reading I have been trying to listen to the new Arcade Fire



and She and Him




I also discovered that Stars & Metric sound a lot a like when my ipod played these back to back

Summer

Some hate summer time especially here in Arizona but I choose to embrace the summer and love it. And here are a few reasons why...
I could live off watermelon...seriously!
During the summer we move our family dinners from Sunday to Saturday so we can spend the day in the pool & eat all day long as well. Oh and my mom makes this peach pie but it isn't pie it is more like cheese cake with fresh peaches, it is to DIE for!

Another summer time tradition is our family goes camping at Oak Creek Canyon near Sedona. I bet you didn't know Arizona could look like that did you.

Also Mockingjay come out August 24th the day before my birthday. I was thinking for my birthday maybe I can take the day off and not only do the trifecta (free meals for breakfast, lunch & dinner at Liberty Market, Joe's Farm Grill & Joe's BBQ) and spend the day reading. Should we make a party of it, anyone want to join me?

Connie's 2008 Book Awards

These are books I read in 2008 not that necessarily came out in 2008.

The book that made me want a sequel the most:

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.

I may have actually started hitting the book repeatedly on my bed as I realized it was the end of book one. I would recommend this book to anyone.

The book(s) with the best male characters who love music:

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, by Gabrielle Zevin

Will made the best mix CD's!!!

And

Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen

"Music is a total constant. That's why we have such a strong visceral connection to it, you know? Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in your or the world, that one song stays the same, just like that moment." Owen - Just Listen





Can I just say that I have read three of Sarah's books...she writes the best guys, I love Wes, Owen & Dexter.

The book that created a new fear for me:

Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman

**Spoiler Alert** In the book one of the character starts getting attacked by birds hundreds of birds no matter where he goes. Well while I was reading about the birds attacking I am sitting in my aunts house in Utah in front of their window. When I notice a couple birds on the telephone wire I look up again in a minuet and there are like 10 more birds and they just kept coming and coming. It freaked me out a little bit. Then on the way home from Utah we stopped in Flagstaff to pick up some of Debbie & Russ' stuff. It had been raining all day it was wet outside and still drizzling a bit while I was moving stuff to the truck this crow or some loud bird kept cawing loudly. Birds are not out when it is raining. Yep freaked me out a little bit more. Then while Debbie and I are driving the truck home (the truck which window does not roll up the whole way) a bird flies like it trying to fly through the little crack in the window. Seriously no joke it flew right at me. And all this happened with in two days. So yes I now have a sort of fear of birds.

The book with the ending I waited the longest for:

Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer

I just have to say that I LOVE Jacob's book, even the titles for the chapters had me laughing. There was a lot more humor in Breaking Dawn, I mean Bella even quoted The Simpson's, it was great. The banter between Rosalie & Jacob had me laughing out loud. And when Jacob kicked her in the stomach in his human form...it was awesome. I love Jacob. I can't not mention Emmett's "Go Gators! About time someone scored around here." I laughed so long over that, maybe it was the lack of sleep or maybe the drugs.

The book with the cutest endings:

How To Take the Ex Out of Ex-Boyfriend, by Janette Rallison

Janette Rallison wrote a book I loved when I was 15. This past year I discovered she had a lot more books out and I have almost read all of them. But this book has been my favorite so far. Her books are clean, fun reads, seriously you will laugh out loud. I brought one of her other books "It's A Mall World After All" on a trip to Utah, it had everyone in the car laughing out loud.

And

The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen

Cutest might not be the best word but it is really really good.

The books that caused me the most emotional distress:

The Mortal Instruments (City of Bones, City of Ashes, & City of Glass) by, Cassandra Clare

This is going to sound bad, but when I first read City of Bones I actually had to put the book down and could not pick it up for almost a month. You find out some distressing news in the book and every time I thought about picking the book back up it made me feel sick. But thankfully I finished and read City of Ashes. City of Ashes is so good, completely sold me on the series and gave me yet another fictional crush (oh Jace). I am also just going to add City of Glass in the mix even if I read it in 2009 and technically does not come out till March. I love all the books and they all caused me emotional distress. If you are wondering how I already read City of Glass I mentioned it already in a blog. But we made a video and took second in a contest and won an Advanced Readers Copy.