BOOKS THREAD

Ummmm, I just finished "Mockingjay," the final book in the "Hunger Games" trilogy.

What the FUCK? I loved the first two books. I hated this one. I hated everything about it. I can't quite explain exactly what I am feeling, and maybe I will look at it differently in the morning, but...I feel like it was all wrong. I feel so let down. Wow.

 

Felt the same way. Didn't hate it, but it didn't live up to the spirit of the previous books.

 

To me, it felt rushed and was more explicitly violent than it needed to be, somehow.

 

This book will knock you on your ass.

 

Didn't it also feel like there were no good guys anymore?

 

Anyone have suggestions for a definitive single-volume book on World War I, the equivalent of, say, Battle Cry of Freedom?

 

Yes. I understand Collins' point: war sucks. But jeez...

As HC said earlier, I felt like the spirit of the series was lost. I certainly wouldn't have read "Catching Fire" if "Hunger Games" had been as melancholy and depressing/disturbing as this third book.

 

Latest read was "The Submission" by Amy Waldman. Brilliant novel about a competition to build a 9/11 memorial with the designs being judged by number only. When the jury finds their winner, the designer happens to be a Muslim. It has something of a Tom Wolfe vibe, with multiple characters whose stories interconnect in various ways. Highly recommended.

 

You might try A World Undone by Meyer. For a more traditional history, go with Keegan.

If the overview makes you want to narrow your focus, Tuchman's Guns of August covers the lead-up to the war, while Middlebrook's First Day on the Somme is self-explanatory.

 

Ok, finally plowed through that Napa book. Can't believe Washington Post called that the "book of the year." Anyway, just started "The Real Romney." Looks very promising.

 

And that nothing good happens — ever. Couldn't stand who Katniss ended up with either.

 

Halfway through this and loving it. Like westerns? Like violence? This is your book! It'll make an excellent movie eventually. It also won the Tournament of Books for what it's worth.