BEDA 18: Countdown to Mockingjay

Five days until the release of Mockingjay


     I can honestly say I haven't been this excited about a book series, or a book release since Harry Potter. If you know anything about my devotion to Harry Potter (the books, not the movies, thank you very much) you'll realize that this is a Big Deal. I don't fall easily for books or films--like a cat, I make them work for my affection--but when I do love one, I love it wholeheartedly, with a borderline-dangerous level of obsession. The Hunger Games series, which will be complete with the release of Mockingjay next week, earned a place on my Shelf of Honor and Horrendous Obsession immediately after I read the first two installments last year. Suzanne Collins is a master storyteller with a knack for creating characters who you swear must be real people you've known, loved, or despised your entire life. The story itself makes its reader think about the way we react to, and consume the images we're fed constantly--particularly through film and television. After I've read Mockingjay (!) I hope to finish an essay about the role media plays in the series.
     Graham and I plan to attend the midnight release party at Books of Wonder next week with a few of our friends and, oh yeah, Suzanne Collins. While I would have attended a release party anywhere if only to make me nostalgic for Harry Potter midnight madness parties, I'm thrilled that Books of Wonder is hosting this launch. Aside from being my favorite book store in Manhattan it's also where Graham proposed, so it'll be nice to relive that memory. An all-night read-a-thon will commence as soon as we receive our copies.

   Hunger Games fans: any plans for the Mockingjay release?
 
  Apologies to those of you who don't care about Mockingjay or books about dystopian Gladiator-style games. I'll try to keep my spewing to a minimum.