BEDA 24: No Spoilers

Karen and I: Very Happy Nerds

  
I'm currently experiencing the kind of literary limbo to which Harry Potter midnight release parties introduced me. As I try to digest a very intense book, process its conclusion, mourn the end of a favorite series, grapple with the emotional implications of the plot, my body's trying to deal with the fact that I totally screwed up its sleep schedule. It's that grey area between finishing a book that's had an effect on you, and the moment you can freely discuss it with people who understand why it matters so much. I have Graham (who finished the book just minutes before me), but I need to gush about the book and cry and revel in joy and mourn with a bunch of people. That can't happen until everyone's finished and processed the book, so now I wait.

     I'm curled up in my husband's hoodie, sipping a cup of tea and nursing a serious sugar hangover. With four Harry Potter all-night-reading sprees behind me, I know how to pace myself in the  caffeine and sugar department during a read-a-thon to avoid crashing too soon. After receiving our books and having them stamp-signed by Suzanne Collins (who's so friendly and gracious and lovely), we rushed to the subway, pausing only to pick-up some more snacks and beverages. We changed into comfortable pajamas, brewed tea, and plopped down to read as soon as we arrived home. I read and read and read and read and gasped and read and cried and read. All while drinking about 2 pots of tea and nibbling on twizzlers and low-fat chocolate chip cookies I baked earlier in the day. I finished at about 6am, fangirled with Graham, then fell asleep for a few hours. Now I feel slightly better after a shower, but still gross and lethargic. I decided to skip my ballet classes today to catch up on the work I didn't do yesterday or this morning. I feel kind of lazy, but I'll make up for it by taking an extra class or two tomorrow.  

      In a few weeks, I'll post a full, spoiler-ific review of the book, but for now suffice to say that Mockingjay pretty solidly secures this series as the masterpiece dystopian story of our generation. I'm very satisfied with the resolution and beyond-impressed by Suzanne Collins masterful handling the important moral questions we all have to face during our lives in one way or another.  

   I'll try my best not to make the remainder of my BEDA posts about The Hunger Games, but I'm not promising anything anymore.  If you haven't noticed, I tend to obsess about things. A little bit.

A final note: my friend Karen, pictured above, is featured on the front page of YouTube today spotlighting videos about typography. Go check out her channel and her website.