Recent reads

I finished The Blue Orchard and published my review (here). On Amazon, people have been gushing about this book as if its the next great literary thing, but I was not that impressed. I liked it quite a bit but there was just too much of it,  IMHO.

I got Angelology right away from the publisher (in 2 days); were they hoping I could read and the review this 400+ page book in time for its release on March 9? There was no way I could do that.

So, it was with only mild guilt I picked up The Hunger Games first. The children's librarian at Norwich Public Library told me I should read it because I liked Harry Potter so much. And I did like it, more than I realized at first. It's such a different story, and amazingly, the author kept me guessing even though it was clear in some respects what the plot had to be.

The action takes place at an indefinite time in the future, after global warming has reduced the livable surface area of the earth. The action takes place in what used to be the United States, where The Capital is in the Denver area, and the outlying areas are separated into districts based on what they can produce. The heroine, Katniss, is from District 12, where they mine coal.

The districts are hardscrabble places with limited resources, the Capital is technologically advanced. In order to keep the districts in line, the Capital is brutal.  One of their worst techniques is the Hunger Games, where 2 teenagers from each district are chosen to fight to the death. Naturally Katniss is chosen.

What made me realize how much I liked the book is how much I've been thinking about it since I finished. It doesn't have the addictive power the Dexter series does, soI don't feel I need to read the next book in the trilogy immediately. But I'm sure I will read it, and probably see the movie when it is made.

I've now started Angelology and really liking it. (This link about becoming an angelologist looks cool: http://www.angelologist.com/) It's not a face read, though; I'll be at it for at least another week.