I enjoyed The Hunger Games, the first book in the series, more than the others. It was easy to get into. It was easy to imagine myself running in Katniss's shoes as she went from place to place. With few characters and a narrow plot line, it was fairly easy to pick up where I left off. Even when I zoned out during runs I could get back into what was going on when I started paying attention again. I was happy to finish The Hunger Games in time to see the movie on March 12. Sadly, I did overhear a few series spoilers while in line for the midnight premier.
The Hunger Games Official Trailer
Catching Fire was the worst of the three books. I was expecting the story to really take off, but it didn't until the very end of the book. There was also very little growth in Katniss as a character in this book. It was quick and ok, but just not great (as often happens with the second book in a trilogy).
Mockingjay introduced many new characters. I found it difficult to keep track of who was who as I ran listening to the book. I did end up re-listening to some bits so this book took me a little longer than the others. I was initially satisfied when I finished listening, but after some consideration I felt that a few of the plot points had been resolved automatically (or left open). I would have liked to see Katniss make a few choices for herself for once in the series!
Over all, I found the series mostly easy to run to. It was entertaining and not always predictable and having the story consistently told from Katness's point of view made it easier to imagine myself there alongside her.
After finishing the Hunger Games, I moved on to Watership Down. Expect a review to be forthcoming.
I've asked this before, but what book recommendations do you have? I'd love to add more to my GoodReads backlog!
Trader's Tales (www.solarclipper.com). It's a 6-book series.
ReplyDeleteI was about to download the series, but it looks like podiobooks.com is down at the moment... :(
DeleteI've been listening to Robert J Sawyer's WWW trilogy. It's about the emergence of a consciousness on the WWW. The main character is a 16 year old girl, a math genius who's been blind since birth. A japanese scientist tries an experimental treatment giving her a retinal implant to try to cure her blindness, and it allows her to visually perceive the web, where she starts to see the emergence of this consciousness. I just started the third book in the series, and have been enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteLengthwise, since I know it's important for planning workouts (I use audiobooks for my workouts too), it's about the same length as the Hunger Games; three books about 11-12 hours each.
Bruce