The "Fire" Is About To Be Extinguished!!!!!!!!

I am almost done burning my way through "Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)!" Suzanne Collins has created another page-turning sensation of a novel. For some reason, be it time management or a burning desire to know what happens next, I found myself getting through Book 2 faster than I did its preceding novel! Forced the relive the horrors of the Hunger Games, Peeta, Katniss, and some of the tributes from the other districts decide to form a shaky alliance in order to play up the romance between Peeta & Katniss, hoping to keep one of them alive. Poisonous, hallucination-inducing gas is just one of the dangers all of the tributes will endure during the Quarter Quell. Even a simple hairdresser is not safe from the brutality of the Peacekeepers. Cinna, who created the costume that transformed Katniss from the "girl on fire" into the beautiful bird known as a mockingjay , is punished for what is seen as an act of defiance, fueling the fire of the rebellion that Peeta and Katniss inadvertantly may have had a hand in starting. How it will end and who will make it out alive is something I have yet to discover, but hope to by the end of tomorrow. I am most eager to get started on my journey through "Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3)"

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins's groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

I am hoping to get through "Catching Fire," "Mockingjay," and also two more books ("Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25" and "Lost December," both by Richard Paul Evans) before then end of 2011. I guess I'd better get back to my "Journey!"

"Catching Fire" Is HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I admit to getting 2011 off to a slow literary start. However, I think I have more than made up for it recently! I am already done with the first part (Chapters 1-9) of "Catching Fire," the sequel to the thriller that started off my literary year, "The Hunger Games." Both of Suzanne Collins' novels have proven to be epic, action-packed page-turners!!!!!!!! "Catching Fire" picks up where "The Hunger Games" left off. Katniss, her mother, and Prim have moved into their new house in the Victor's Village. Katniss is preparing to join Peeta and the other tributes on the "Victory Tour," which is "the Capitol's way of keeping the horror [of the Hunger Games] fresh and immediate." Katniss hates it, but she knows she has to once again play up her romance with Peeta in order to stay alive. However, her act doesn't fool the Capitol rulers, and Gale, friend & hunting partner of Katniss, ends up being publicly whipped in the square. (He survives!) Will Katniss take her family,along with the families of Peeta and Gale, and run away??????? Only time will tell, so I guess I'd better get started on Part 2 of "Catching Fire!"

"Hunger" Thriller!!!!!!!!!!

Though I've gotten the year off to a slow start with Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games," I am proud to say that I am almost done with this thriller! What a fantastic mix of action, romance, suspense, and more!!!!! I love Katniss and Peeta, as do the rulers in the Capitol, so much so that they decide to change the rules of the Hunger Games, deciding that "both tributes from the same district will be declared winners if they are the last two alive." This, of course, makes the heroine Katniss happy, as it means Peeta's blood won't be on her hands. After all, his bread helped keep her, her sister Prim, and her mother from complete starvation! Sadly, though Katniss appears to survive (I won't know if she does until I finish the book!), it seems that she loses her hearing in one ear due to an accident during the deadly game of survival!!!!!!