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Let's talk books!
I've been meaning for a while to talk about what I've been reading. Because it's something that's not fic or meta or articles on feminist websites! After I graduated from college, it took me a long time to be able to read again because I'd spent so much time analyzing texts over those four years that I just got burned out. But I am back to being able to read again, and it feels good.
So what have I been reading? Some really good stuff.
* Kindred by Octavia Butler. This book is perfect. One day, I want to be able to write something as perfect as this book. I was actually halfway through Fathom (see below) when I picked this one up. Whenever I pick up a new book, I like to read the "beginnings," as I call them: the introductions, acknowledgments, author's notes, and the first few lines. So I read the first few lines. And I was really engrossed. And I thought, "I'll just read the prologue. It's like two pages long." AND I NEVER STOPPED. Seriously, the book is compulsively readable. But at the same time, it's deeply profound. Perfect characterization: I could spend the rest of my life analyzing the relationship between Dana and Rufus, for instance, and I would never get to the bottom of it. Add in Kevin and Alice and the others? Gah. I can't even talk about it.
And this book is about the kyriarchy. It's the best book about the kyriarchy I've ever read. The whole thing is an exercise in examining the hierarchies of power and the ways they're tangled up in race and gender and class and even health. But it isn't preachy, and it's just so entertaining, too: if you didn't know or care about the kyriarchy, you could still love it and enjoy it. It sucks you in and doesn't let you up and you're completely captivated by these characters, but it's just so easy to read! I adore that.
I also really loved how it fit in seamlessly with the slave narratives I read in Southern Lit in college. I've never been so glad for being an English major: having had that prior experience with slave narratives, I felt that this book was so much richer.
I cannot rave about it enough. I'm going to read it once a year till I die, I think. Oh, and I read it in a day, so yeah. Very readable.
[eta] What it's actually about: a modern (written in the 70s) black woman who keeps getting pulled back in time to the nineteenth century to save her white ancestor, who is the son of a slave owner. Time travel. Slave narrative. YES.
* Fathom by Cherie Priest. This woman has a fantastic imagination. I can honestly say that you have never read a book like this. I adore the plot and the worldbuilding more than I can say. But I felt there was something lacking. I didn't really feel emotionally invested. I don't know if it's because I didn't feel like I got to know the characters well enough or if their motivations weren't nuanced enough or if it just wasn't long enough, but there was something missing for me. At the same time, I'm interested in seeing what else Priest has written because she has the most awesome imagination ever.
* Shards of Honor and Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold. Solid, character-driven sci-fi. Great characters--especially Cordelia and Aral and Kou and Drou and Bothari. Interesting relationships I cared about. Good worldbuilding. A strong female protagonist who was very competent but didn't physically kick ass. Good pacing and plotting. Basically just goodness, all the way around. If I could find more "sci-fi" (as opposed to fantasy) like this, I would read a ton more of it. This was my first Bujold experience, and I was impressed. Very.
Anyone have any advice as to how to proceed from here? I know she wrote the rest of the books all out of order, so I'd like to know which order to read them in. Chronologically? Or is it more like the Narnia books, where you need to read them as they were written? Help please!
And now for what some of you have been waiting for...
* The Hunger Games (all of them!) by Suzanne Collins. What did I spend Friday through Sunday doing? Reading all of the Hunger Games books, of course. Because I am like that. And yes, becoming pretty addicted and loving Katniss/Peeta forever and falling for a lot of the supporting characters. Read the books, people!
I will now proceed to spoil you horribly. DON’T READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THEM!
Some things:
+ First off, a question that has been bothering me since the first book: WHERE ARE THESE CAMERAS? Seriously, where are the cameras that film the games? Especially when Katniss and Peeta are in the cave? WHERE ARE THEY I DON’T UNDERSTAND. Things that bother me.
+ Survivalist stuff FTW. That’s all I’m saying.
+ Any book that starts out with a girl saving her sister wins me over forever. Y’all know how it took till S5 for me to really connect with Buffy? BOOM. Katniss and I connect as soon as she offers to take Prim’s place.
+ Peeta. Wins at life. Even if I hate his name. (I am very sensitive to names, both the way they look on the page and the way they sound. Very sensitive. It’s a thing.) Basically I love just how very, very good he is without being self-righteous or unrealistic or preachy. I feel like his whole “I’ve been in love with this girl forever but never spoken to her” thing should bother me, but it really doesn’t. For a couple of reasons, I think. A) After the initial being-captivated-by-her in kindergarten, I can imagine him always watching her and noticing her actions and seeing how willing she is to protect those she loves and how she shoulders all these responsibilities for her family without complaining and him falling for that. There’s substance there. B) He clearly isn’t just wrapped up in some illusion of her, not with all that he’s willing to do for her. Self-sacrifice is my definition of love, so he won me over that way.
+ I have decided that emotionally damaged and shut-off women and the men who love them more than anything is one of my narrative kinks. HELLO BUFFY/SPIKE LOGAN/VERONICA AND NOW KATNISS/PEETA.
+ Appalachian also FTW. I love the idea of mountain people still being kickass and hearty in the future. I like to think that this was all set in the Tennessee part of Appalachia. THOSE ARE MY PEOPLE! Also, they should put a Dolly Parton mountain ballad on the soundtrack for the movies. Something along the lines of “Little Sparrow” or “Down from Dover” or “The Silver Dagger.” Because that would combine so many of my favorite things! [Sidebar: Dolly Parton owns Sand Dollar, one of the production companies involved with BtVS. YES THAT’S RIGHT. DOLLY AND BUFFY. CONNECTED. Excuse me while I flail myself to death.]
+ Rue is my favorite forever and ever and ever. I cried like a baby, not when she died, but when District 11 sent Katniss the bread. SOBBED.
+ Cinna is my other favorite forever and ever and ever. I hope they don’t turn him into some flamboyant OTT character in the movie; his subtlety is my favorite thing about him. Also, he just loves Katniss and I just love that.
+ Thresh managed to be totally FTW while having just a few lines. But his whole fury on behalf of “that little girl” made me really like him. I felt a pang when he died.
+ I could write pages and pages and pages about how all of this stuff ties into reality TV and such, but I’m sure that’s been written before. Still, I think it’s really cool.
+ I find the love triangle very believable, even if they maybe drag it out too long. Because Gale understand Katniss better than anyone and is the only one she’s ever been able to rely on, and that is very, very appealing to her, but are they too much alike in all the wrong ways and not alike enough in the right ones? On the other hand, she and Peeta have been through so much together that no one else will ever understand (James Thurber: “Love is what you’ve been through with someone”) but she’s so unsure of how much of her feelings are from acting and how much of them are real and that makes loads of sense. Basically, I can actually believe her being torn between these two guys, which I can’t always with love triangles.
+ Haymitch and Katniss being able to communicate via the sponsor’s gifts was basically the greatest thing ever.
+ The muff-wolf things freaked me the hell out.
+ I can’t help but think it’s a mistake to make these into movies: how on earth are they going to recreate the costumes as they’re described in the books? The costumes are the greatest things ever!
+ I loved Peeta’s paintings and wish that we’d seen more of them in the final book. I love how Katniss is like, “They’re amazing, but I hate them.” Such the perfect reaction.
+ Peeta and Katniss sleeping together and keeping the nightmares away? I have such a kink for that sort of thing, so it made me flaily.
+ District 11’s reaction to Katniss’s words about Rue and Thrush? Perfection in every way. I am in love. And Peeta offering to give part of his winnings to their families? LOVE. That boy. Seriously.
+ When they first announced the Quarter Quell, I was annoyed and thought it was gimmicky: oh, of course they have to go back to the games again! That’s what the books are called! But it actually ended up working out pretty well with it being a cover for saving Katniss and all.
+ Mags kicks ass. Why is she so cool?
+ I liked Finnick and Johanna as characters quite a lot but it wasn’t till MJ that I FELL IN LOVE WITH THEM. (More on that anon.)
+ The clock! And the tick-tock! YES.
+ Katniss being so determined to save Peeta’s life and then FREAKING THE HELL OUT when he almost dies from the force field? YES YES YES YES.
Mockingjay. Turn back now if you don’t want to be spoiled!
+ There was not nearly enough Katniss/Peeta interaction. Not nearly. And I don’t feel like we got to see enough of his recovery, really. And I didn’t see enough of him figuring out who Katniss is again. I don’t know. I felt dissatisfied by the lack of resolution to their relationship. Like, I love that they healed together back in 12...but I wanted to see it, you know? And they lived happily ever after and had babies that will never have to face the reaping and that’s lovely, but…more. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll feel differently later.
+ I would really like someone to figure out a percentage of the book that Katniss is on drugs. Seriously. She seemed to spend the entire book injured and high. Though I do like that people don’t just miraculously recover from injuries in these books and that war actually, you know, wounds them.
+ Basically Katniss is the most damaged person ever, and I kind of really love how she just kind of shuts down. She isn’t brave and stoic and martyr-like all the time; she actually buckles under the weight of everything. That felt very real to me, even if it also bugged me how much time she spent doped up.
+ Did anyone feel like it was paced strangely? It felt really weird to me. I had a total WTF? moment right after the parachutes went off. Like, in a way I kind of liked that she failed to get in there and kill Snow. But I got major whiplash from that. I felt like the book kept building and then was diffused several times. It was strange. Maybe it was intended to feel like war? Which I imagine feels that way sometimes? I don’t know; something about it was off to me.
+ Also, I’m still weirded out that so much of the action took place off-screen. Peeta’s rescue, the trial at the end…it seemed strange. I guess it’s realistic? She can’t be there for everything, and that’s what you get when you have first person narration. But it was still weird.
+ FINNICK OMG. Like, Finnick/Annie? Most adorable thing ever, and I demand fic. Lots of fic of them falling in love. I doubt I’ll get it. But I want it! But then when he died!!!! In the most gruesome way possible!!!!!!!! After we learned that he was such a victim. Poor boy. I love him forever, and I basically flailed anytime he and Katniss had any interaction.
+ AND PRIM. I think it was hella ballsy for Collins to kill her off. But I guess after so many years of knowing that Buffy’s story would never have a happy ending without Dawn and also because I’m a big sister, I’m sitting here going “NO NOT PRIM NOT PRIM!” But I like that she died healing. And that we got to see lots more of her in this book and get hints at her growing up. I had always sort of missed her in the first two books, wanting to see more of her.
+ CINNA. AND EVERYTHING INVOLVING HIM. OMG LOVE. CONTRIBUTING BEYOND THE GRAVE. I am in mourning for him!
+ AND JOHANNA. LOVE. She is the Faith to Katniss’s Buffy and I want them to be snarky BFFs always who can‘t quite admit how much they mean to each other but really love each other even though they act all prickly and uncaring. YES.
+ I love Katniss and Haymitch’s weird, understanding relationship. Love.
+ Buttercup the cat FTW.
+ All of the mutts in all of the books freak me the hell out. And I think I’m always going to associate roses with blood now. Very sinister.
+ I really liked that Gale’s arc seemed really natural--he was always the one ranting against the Capital and it ended up making sense that he would side with Coin (even though he didn’t know how they’d use the parachutes) and just be willing to do absolutely anything. But I felt like they dragged out the love triangle too long. On the other hand, the resolution to that love triangle really worked. Because it wasn’t one of those, “Now you have to choose between these two guys!” things; it was just that Katniss realized that she and Gale had grown apart and he had become someone whose morals she wasn’t okay with, even if she still cared for him. His brand of war-twisted wasn’t compatible with hers. But Peeta’s is worth working to heal. I liked that a lot.
+ Though I wanted to know what Gale was off doing there at the end--what was his job? I want him to heal a little, too. Also, I would have liked to have seen him and Peeta interacting more; their conversation about Katniss was awesome. I kind of almost ship him with Johanna because of that moment where she bumps his hip with hers and calls him gorgeous. Someone should write that. Gale/Johanna. Go forth and make this happen.
+ Oh, and I loved when Gale realized that the only times Katniss really opens up to him is when he’s in horrible pain. So astute and true. He’s very sure she won’t kiss him when he’s healthy and strong and okay, and he’s right.
+ The book is basically perfect. I mean, the book Katniss and Peeta make. That made me flail with joy. Their memories and Peeta drawing their faces and it being a memorial. That was my favorite part of the ending. Except for…
+ “Real or not real?” GREATEST THING EVER. EVER.
+ Though the ending felt both rushed and draw-out to me. Everything after she killed Coin was strange. It felt suspended or something. I can’t even verbalize it. I can’t decide if I love it or hate it.
+ Epilogue? Totally unnecessary. I am not sure of how good of a mother Katniss would be. And also how good Peeta would be as a father now. Obviously before he would have been fantastic, but I still haven’t seen him healed enough to know. Honestly, it’s a bit ominous. I totally get the whole hope in the form of children thing, especially because Katniss' reasoning on why she wouldn't have them had always been tied to the Games and the Capitol. So it made sense in that sense. But, gee. They're just so screwed up now. Though they did wait 15 years, so maybe they are really healed now?
+ And the ending left me feeling sort of bereft. I mean, everyone was just so profoundly messed up with so many people dead and those who were still around completely twisted from who they used to be. But at the same time, that felt right. It’s war. This is what war does. I kind of love that these books are anti-war books. Like, the rebels have the perfect right to rebel because their treatment is unthinkable. But this isn’t Star Wars, and their rebellion has a cost. I feel like Collins was saying, “Even though war may occasionally be necessary and possibly even justified, it’s always evil. It always destroys. It rips you apart and you can never be really whole again.” Because I agree with that. It’s just awfully heavy for a YA book. But again, that works.
It just felt so raw. I mean, I just can’t get over how damaged everyone is and how many people have died and how I really don’t think they’re ever going to recover from . I mean, very realistic: this is war. But still. It left me feeling strangely hollow.
And one last thing, because I am predictable:
Okay, Katniss and Peeta remind me of Buffy and Spike. Seriously now. Not a perfect comparison, but I like the dynamic. She’s all closed-off and emotionally stunted and willing to do anything to protect her sister. And she’s willing to do what she has to do to save the world while still drawing lines she won’t cross--she’s really a warrior. And here he is, just loving her so much and building his life around her. Willing to do anything to protect her. His capacity for love just reminds me a lot of Spike. And obviously their story is completely different, and Peeta was never evil (what a good guy! I love how good he is!) and Katniss may actually be more damaged than Buffy, but there’s a similar vibe for me.
Yeah. Just had to say that.
People, is there any good fic out there? I want good fic, and I don’t know where to look!
And now I have a thousand comments to reply to! I should get on that!
So what have I been reading? Some really good stuff.
* Kindred by Octavia Butler. This book is perfect. One day, I want to be able to write something as perfect as this book. I was actually halfway through Fathom (see below) when I picked this one up. Whenever I pick up a new book, I like to read the "beginnings," as I call them: the introductions, acknowledgments, author's notes, and the first few lines. So I read the first few lines. And I was really engrossed. And I thought, "I'll just read the prologue. It's like two pages long." AND I NEVER STOPPED. Seriously, the book is compulsively readable. But at the same time, it's deeply profound. Perfect characterization: I could spend the rest of my life analyzing the relationship between Dana and Rufus, for instance, and I would never get to the bottom of it. Add in Kevin and Alice and the others? Gah. I can't even talk about it.
And this book is about the kyriarchy. It's the best book about the kyriarchy I've ever read. The whole thing is an exercise in examining the hierarchies of power and the ways they're tangled up in race and gender and class and even health. But it isn't preachy, and it's just so entertaining, too: if you didn't know or care about the kyriarchy, you could still love it and enjoy it. It sucks you in and doesn't let you up and you're completely captivated by these characters, but it's just so easy to read! I adore that.
I also really loved how it fit in seamlessly with the slave narratives I read in Southern Lit in college. I've never been so glad for being an English major: having had that prior experience with slave narratives, I felt that this book was so much richer.
I cannot rave about it enough. I'm going to read it once a year till I die, I think. Oh, and I read it in a day, so yeah. Very readable.
[eta] What it's actually about: a modern (written in the 70s) black woman who keeps getting pulled back in time to the nineteenth century to save her white ancestor, who is the son of a slave owner. Time travel. Slave narrative. YES.
* Fathom by Cherie Priest. This woman has a fantastic imagination. I can honestly say that you have never read a book like this. I adore the plot and the worldbuilding more than I can say. But I felt there was something lacking. I didn't really feel emotionally invested. I don't know if it's because I didn't feel like I got to know the characters well enough or if their motivations weren't nuanced enough or if it just wasn't long enough, but there was something missing for me. At the same time, I'm interested in seeing what else Priest has written because she has the most awesome imagination ever.
* Shards of Honor and Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold. Solid, character-driven sci-fi. Great characters--especially Cordelia and Aral and Kou and Drou and Bothari. Interesting relationships I cared about. Good worldbuilding. A strong female protagonist who was very competent but didn't physically kick ass. Good pacing and plotting. Basically just goodness, all the way around. If I could find more "sci-fi" (as opposed to fantasy) like this, I would read a ton more of it. This was my first Bujold experience, and I was impressed. Very.
Anyone have any advice as to how to proceed from here? I know she wrote the rest of the books all out of order, so I'd like to know which order to read them in. Chronologically? Or is it more like the Narnia books, where you need to read them as they were written? Help please!
And now for what some of you have been waiting for...
* The Hunger Games (all of them!) by Suzanne Collins. What did I spend Friday through Sunday doing? Reading all of the Hunger Games books, of course. Because I am like that. And yes, becoming pretty addicted and loving Katniss/Peeta forever and falling for a lot of the supporting characters. Read the books, people!
I will now proceed to spoil you horribly. DON’T READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THEM!
Some things:
+ First off, a question that has been bothering me since the first book: WHERE ARE THESE CAMERAS? Seriously, where are the cameras that film the games? Especially when Katniss and Peeta are in the cave? WHERE ARE THEY I DON’T UNDERSTAND. Things that bother me.
+ Survivalist stuff FTW. That’s all I’m saying.
+ Any book that starts out with a girl saving her sister wins me over forever. Y’all know how it took till S5 for me to really connect with Buffy? BOOM. Katniss and I connect as soon as she offers to take Prim’s place.
+ Peeta. Wins at life. Even if I hate his name. (I am very sensitive to names, both the way they look on the page and the way they sound. Very sensitive. It’s a thing.) Basically I love just how very, very good he is without being self-righteous or unrealistic or preachy. I feel like his whole “I’ve been in love with this girl forever but never spoken to her” thing should bother me, but it really doesn’t. For a couple of reasons, I think. A) After the initial being-captivated-by-her in kindergarten, I can imagine him always watching her and noticing her actions and seeing how willing she is to protect those she loves and how she shoulders all these responsibilities for her family without complaining and him falling for that. There’s substance there. B) He clearly isn’t just wrapped up in some illusion of her, not with all that he’s willing to do for her. Self-sacrifice is my definition of love, so he won me over that way.
+ I have decided that emotionally damaged and shut-off women and the men who love them more than anything is one of my narrative kinks. HELLO BUFFY/SPIKE LOGAN/VERONICA AND NOW KATNISS/PEETA.
+ Appalachian also FTW. I love the idea of mountain people still being kickass and hearty in the future. I like to think that this was all set in the Tennessee part of Appalachia. THOSE ARE MY PEOPLE! Also, they should put a Dolly Parton mountain ballad on the soundtrack for the movies. Something along the lines of “Little Sparrow” or “Down from Dover” or “The Silver Dagger.” Because that would combine so many of my favorite things! [Sidebar: Dolly Parton owns Sand Dollar, one of the production companies involved with BtVS. YES THAT’S RIGHT. DOLLY AND BUFFY. CONNECTED. Excuse me while I flail myself to death.]
+ Rue is my favorite forever and ever and ever. I cried like a baby, not when she died, but when District 11 sent Katniss the bread. SOBBED.
+ Cinna is my other favorite forever and ever and ever. I hope they don’t turn him into some flamboyant OTT character in the movie; his subtlety is my favorite thing about him. Also, he just loves Katniss and I just love that.
+ Thresh managed to be totally FTW while having just a few lines. But his whole fury on behalf of “that little girl” made me really like him. I felt a pang when he died.
+ I could write pages and pages and pages about how all of this stuff ties into reality TV and such, but I’m sure that’s been written before. Still, I think it’s really cool.
+ I find the love triangle very believable, even if they maybe drag it out too long. Because Gale understand Katniss better than anyone and is the only one she’s ever been able to rely on, and that is very, very appealing to her, but are they too much alike in all the wrong ways and not alike enough in the right ones? On the other hand, she and Peeta have been through so much together that no one else will ever understand (James Thurber: “Love is what you’ve been through with someone”) but she’s so unsure of how much of her feelings are from acting and how much of them are real and that makes loads of sense. Basically, I can actually believe her being torn between these two guys, which I can’t always with love triangles.
+ Haymitch and Katniss being able to communicate via the sponsor’s gifts was basically the greatest thing ever.
+ The muff-wolf things freaked me the hell out.
+ I can’t help but think it’s a mistake to make these into movies: how on earth are they going to recreate the costumes as they’re described in the books? The costumes are the greatest things ever!
+ I loved Peeta’s paintings and wish that we’d seen more of them in the final book. I love how Katniss is like, “They’re amazing, but I hate them.” Such the perfect reaction.
+ Peeta and Katniss sleeping together and keeping the nightmares away? I have such a kink for that sort of thing, so it made me flaily.
+ District 11’s reaction to Katniss’s words about Rue and Thrush? Perfection in every way. I am in love. And Peeta offering to give part of his winnings to their families? LOVE. That boy. Seriously.
+ When they first announced the Quarter Quell, I was annoyed and thought it was gimmicky: oh, of course they have to go back to the games again! That’s what the books are called! But it actually ended up working out pretty well with it being a cover for saving Katniss and all.
+ Mags kicks ass. Why is she so cool?
+ I liked Finnick and Johanna as characters quite a lot but it wasn’t till MJ that I FELL IN LOVE WITH THEM. (More on that anon.)
+ The clock! And the tick-tock! YES.
+ Katniss being so determined to save Peeta’s life and then FREAKING THE HELL OUT when he almost dies from the force field? YES YES YES YES.
Mockingjay. Turn back now if you don’t want to be spoiled!
+ There was not nearly enough Katniss/Peeta interaction. Not nearly. And I don’t feel like we got to see enough of his recovery, really. And I didn’t see enough of him figuring out who Katniss is again. I don’t know. I felt dissatisfied by the lack of resolution to their relationship. Like, I love that they healed together back in 12...but I wanted to see it, you know? And they lived happily ever after and had babies that will never have to face the reaping and that’s lovely, but…more. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll feel differently later.
+ I would really like someone to figure out a percentage of the book that Katniss is on drugs. Seriously. She seemed to spend the entire book injured and high. Though I do like that people don’t just miraculously recover from injuries in these books and that war actually, you know, wounds them.
+ Basically Katniss is the most damaged person ever, and I kind of really love how she just kind of shuts down. She isn’t brave and stoic and martyr-like all the time; she actually buckles under the weight of everything. That felt very real to me, even if it also bugged me how much time she spent doped up.
+ Did anyone feel like it was paced strangely? It felt really weird to me. I had a total WTF? moment right after the parachutes went off. Like, in a way I kind of liked that she failed to get in there and kill Snow. But I got major whiplash from that. I felt like the book kept building and then was diffused several times. It was strange. Maybe it was intended to feel like war? Which I imagine feels that way sometimes? I don’t know; something about it was off to me.
+ Also, I’m still weirded out that so much of the action took place off-screen. Peeta’s rescue, the trial at the end…it seemed strange. I guess it’s realistic? She can’t be there for everything, and that’s what you get when you have first person narration. But it was still weird.
+ FINNICK OMG. Like, Finnick/Annie? Most adorable thing ever, and I demand fic. Lots of fic of them falling in love. I doubt I’ll get it. But I want it! But then when he died!!!! In the most gruesome way possible!!!!!!!! After we learned that he was such a victim. Poor boy. I love him forever, and I basically flailed anytime he and Katniss had any interaction.
+ AND PRIM. I think it was hella ballsy for Collins to kill her off. But I guess after so many years of knowing that Buffy’s story would never have a happy ending without Dawn and also because I’m a big sister, I’m sitting here going “NO NOT PRIM NOT PRIM!” But I like that she died healing. And that we got to see lots more of her in this book and get hints at her growing up. I had always sort of missed her in the first two books, wanting to see more of her.
+ CINNA. AND EVERYTHING INVOLVING HIM. OMG LOVE. CONTRIBUTING BEYOND THE GRAVE. I am in mourning for him!
+ AND JOHANNA. LOVE. She is the Faith to Katniss’s Buffy and I want them to be snarky BFFs always who can‘t quite admit how much they mean to each other but really love each other even though they act all prickly and uncaring. YES.
+ I love Katniss and Haymitch’s weird, understanding relationship. Love.
+ Buttercup the cat FTW.
+ All of the mutts in all of the books freak me the hell out. And I think I’m always going to associate roses with blood now. Very sinister.
+ I really liked that Gale’s arc seemed really natural--he was always the one ranting against the Capital and it ended up making sense that he would side with Coin (even though he didn’t know how they’d use the parachutes) and just be willing to do absolutely anything. But I felt like they dragged out the love triangle too long. On the other hand, the resolution to that love triangle really worked. Because it wasn’t one of those, “Now you have to choose between these two guys!” things; it was just that Katniss realized that she and Gale had grown apart and he had become someone whose morals she wasn’t okay with, even if she still cared for him. His brand of war-twisted wasn’t compatible with hers. But Peeta’s is worth working to heal. I liked that a lot.
+ Though I wanted to know what Gale was off doing there at the end--what was his job? I want him to heal a little, too. Also, I would have liked to have seen him and Peeta interacting more; their conversation about Katniss was awesome. I kind of almost ship him with Johanna because of that moment where she bumps his hip with hers and calls him gorgeous. Someone should write that. Gale/Johanna. Go forth and make this happen.
+ Oh, and I loved when Gale realized that the only times Katniss really opens up to him is when he’s in horrible pain. So astute and true. He’s very sure she won’t kiss him when he’s healthy and strong and okay, and he’s right.
+ The book is basically perfect. I mean, the book Katniss and Peeta make. That made me flail with joy. Their memories and Peeta drawing their faces and it being a memorial. That was my favorite part of the ending. Except for…
+ “Real or not real?” GREATEST THING EVER. EVER.
+ Though the ending felt both rushed and draw-out to me. Everything after she killed Coin was strange. It felt suspended or something. I can’t even verbalize it. I can’t decide if I love it or hate it.
+ Epilogue? Totally unnecessary. I am not sure of how good of a mother Katniss would be. And also how good Peeta would be as a father now. Obviously before he would have been fantastic, but I still haven’t seen him healed enough to know. Honestly, it’s a bit ominous. I totally get the whole hope in the form of children thing, especially because Katniss' reasoning on why she wouldn't have them had always been tied to the Games and the Capitol. So it made sense in that sense. But, gee. They're just so screwed up now. Though they did wait 15 years, so maybe they are really healed now?
+ And the ending left me feeling sort of bereft. I mean, everyone was just so profoundly messed up with so many people dead and those who were still around completely twisted from who they used to be. But at the same time, that felt right. It’s war. This is what war does. I kind of love that these books are anti-war books. Like, the rebels have the perfect right to rebel because their treatment is unthinkable. But this isn’t Star Wars, and their rebellion has a cost. I feel like Collins was saying, “Even though war may occasionally be necessary and possibly even justified, it’s always evil. It always destroys. It rips you apart and you can never be really whole again.” Because I agree with that. It’s just awfully heavy for a YA book. But again, that works.
It just felt so raw. I mean, I just can’t get over how damaged everyone is and how many people have died and how I really don’t think they’re ever going to recover from . I mean, very realistic: this is war. But still. It left me feeling strangely hollow.
And one last thing, because I am predictable:
Okay, Katniss and Peeta remind me of Buffy and Spike. Seriously now. Not a perfect comparison, but I like the dynamic. She’s all closed-off and emotionally stunted and willing to do anything to protect her sister. And she’s willing to do what she has to do to save the world while still drawing lines she won’t cross--she’s really a warrior. And here he is, just loving her so much and building his life around her. Willing to do anything to protect her. His capacity for love just reminds me a lot of Spike. And obviously their story is completely different, and Peeta was never evil (what a good guy! I love how good he is!) and Katniss may actually be more damaged than Buffy, but there’s a similar vibe for me.
Yeah. Just had to say that.
People, is there any good fic out there? I want good fic, and I don’t know where to look!
And now I have a thousand comments to reply to! I should get on that!
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I'm tickled to hear you hit it off with Bujold. And see, YOU HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN TO MILES YET! Cordelia's fab and all, but: MILES! Honestly, the series only gets better from here (although my favorite run of Miles books actually doesn't start until around Mirror Dance, which is a while yet).
Do you know, I still have not read any Cherie Priest. I really want to read the one that was up for a Hugo, though, Boneshaker. It was described to me as "steampunk with zombies in Seattle," which sounds just fine to me.
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That sounds so exciting! Do you have a recommendation of which order to read them in? I am conflicted.
I've started Boneshaker! Pretty good so far, though I'm not too far into it. I had to take it back to the library, but it'll get it again soon.
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Honestly, I'd say the timeline in the back would be the best. You read a couple of mediocre ones there in the middle, but in terms of character and plot developments you pretty much have to read them anyway. Actually, even the novellas from "Borders of Infinity" are really helpful to read - they introduce characters that become regulars later.
So: The Warrior's Apprentice introduces Miles and is crucial, if rather frenetic. The Vor Game is also crucial, though somewhat less frenetic. Cetaganda isn't crucial at all, but much fun is had, so you need it anyway. Brothers in Arms fall sort of flat for me, but again: crucial developments. And then you hit Mirror Dance and Memory and eventually A Civil Campaign, which are all stellar, and all in completely different ways!
You can skip Ethan of Athos, though - it doesn't contribute anything to the main arc and is fairly mediocre besides. Also: no Miles.
ETA: I ♥ the little!kid!Miles segment. It is so Miles. Most of what you need to know, right there.
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Well, I was very fond of little!kid!Miles, so that's promising! I will read them all eventually and report back!
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Also, you and
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ZOMG, YES, YES, YES!!!
I cannot even begin to describe how much I love these books. I read the entire Vorkosigan series in about 6 weeks one summer while I was in high school. Like, I'm pretty sure, Buffy is the only other form of art to inspire the same kind of frantic, obsessive response in me. When I learned about this thing called "fandom" after watching Buffy, the first thing I did (after pulling myself away from Spuffy pr0n) was look for Vorkosigan stories on ff dot net.
Alas, it was so long ago (and I've been too busy every since for a re-read - I'm afraid to start because I don't think I'll be able to stop), so I can't give you any advice about a specific order, but I can ask my (twin) friends who lent me the books. One of them probably remembers at least.
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You've got me all pumped up now! Woot! And Snick (above) has given me good advice on the order, so I'm good to go!
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And please continue to squee at their sheer marvelosity on LJ - I would love to live vicariously through you, since I'm pretty sure fiction and I will remain estranged until I pass (or, god forbid, fail) my qualifying exams two years from now.
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But one day you and fiction will be reunited! And I'm sure you'll pass!
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Haha, I cried when she died, and when Katniss got the bread, and when Thresh protected Katniss for taking care of "the little girl" and in Catching Fire when she and Peeta visited District 11...stupid emotional books, making me cry.
For me, the love triangle was actually the least successful part of the series. Gale didn't even get any seriously significant page time until Mockingjay, and by then I think I was already so sold on Peeta that I didn't even seriously consider him competition. I mean, I get why Katniss might be torn, but as the reader *I* was never torn between them.
When they first announced the Quarter Quell, I was annoyed and thought it was gimmicky: oh, of course they have to go back to the games again!
I had the same thought, but in the end I thought the clock set-up was SO COOL, and finding out about the previous winners was really interesting, and I really loved the relationship between Finnick and Mags.
I agree that the pacing of Mockingjay was a little weird. I felt like it was a bit slow to start, and then at the end it seemed like a lot of important events happened "off screen". At the same time, I appreciated that Collins made some gutsy choices in showing how even the rebels, who we're rooting for, did terrible, unforgivable things to win the war. I felt like killing Prim was a brave narrative choice, and one that made sense as well in showing the price of war. That said, Finnick's death was the one that really hit me in Mockingjay. What a sad life he had, prostituted out by the Capitol. And poor Annie!
I actually liked the epilogue. After all the pain and death, I liked knowing that Katniss and Peeta and Haymitch all went back to District 12 to live their lives. I liked that it took Katniss fifteen years before she would agree to have children. There was a line that I thought was dark as hell about Peeta sometimes still getting a blank look and having to hold on to the back of a chair, with the inference being that sometimes he was still overcome by the brainwashing and tempted to kill Katniss. Details like that made it not so much a happy ending as a bittersweet one, but I liked that Collins really showed the cost of what war and torture could do to even as fundamentally a good person as Peeta.
Whew! Long comment is long!
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I mean, I get why Katniss might be torn, but as the reader *I* was never torn between them.
That's a great point. I wasn't either, to be honest. She really could have dealt with that better.
I ended up really loving the other victors--Finnick and Johanna and Mags and everyone--a whole, whole lot, and the clock was indeed SO COOL, so it definitely ended up working for me.
At the same time, I appreciated that Collins made some gutsy choices in showing how even the rebels, who we're rooting for, did terrible, unforgivable things to win the war. I felt like killing Prim was a brave narrative choice, and one that made sense as well in showing the price of war. That said, Finnick's death was the one that really hit me in Mockingjay. What a sad life he had, prostituted out by the Capitol. And poor Annie!
I completely agree with all of this. YES.
There was a line that I thought was dark as hell about Peeta sometimes still getting a blank look and having to hold on to the back of a chair, with the inference being that sometimes he was still overcome by the brainwashing and tempted to kill Katniss.
Yeah. Creepy.
I think epilogues are really, really hard to pull off. I'm usually dissatisfied with them, and I reacted to this one in the same way I did the one in Deathly Hallows. Like, I liked the knowledge that I got, but I didn't like the way it was presented? I don't know. It was weird for me.
I like long comments!
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Oh, I still can't think about Prim.
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But I basically approve of not having a ship. I think I would have preferred that to what actually happened, because I needed to see Katniss interact more with Peeta in this last book in order to really buy them having a future together. I wanted to see her fall for him. Obviously she cared about him even before Mockingjay, but I needed more in MJ. So I would have been okay with her ending up alone. After all, she always said she didn't want to marry/have kids, and I think it would have been awesome if she didn't but she was still happy anyways.
Katniss/Rue friendship FTW!
The Prim thing just killed me. Dead.
shared octavia butler love flail!
Book love FTW!!!!!!!
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(And I read the earlier books pretty out of order but I think The Warrior's Apprentice would be a good next read.)
He clearly isn’t just wrapped up in some illusion of her, not with all that he’s willing to do for her. Self-sacrifice is my definition of love, so he won me over that way.
Very, very true.
+ I have decided that emotionally damaged and shut-off women and the men who love them more than anything is one of my narrative kinks. HELLO BUFFY/SPIKE LOGAN/VERONICA AND NOW KATNISS/PEETA.
WORD. God, I cannot express how OTP Peeta and Katniss are.
Because Gale understand Katniss better than anyone and is the only one she’s ever been able to rely on, and that is very, very appealing to her, but are they too much alike in all the wrong ways and not alike enough in the right ones?
Nice way to phrase it. I also really like how clear it was to me that in another life (if she'd never gone into the games, if she hadn't needed to play at being Peeta's love to win) they could have been together successfully. But their difference approaches to the war (plus things Gale kept from her) really drove a wedge between them that I don't think they could have ever surmounted enough to be good in a romantic relationship.
+ Haymitch and Katniss being able to communicate via the sponsor’s gifts was basically the greatest thing ever.
I have made love for Haymitch and Katniss' relationship.
There was not nearly enough Katniss/Peeta interaction.
That was one of my biggest complains with the movie, and ties into my other problem, which was that I felt that there was a huge lack of humor (which, in retrospect, was often caused by Peeta and Katniss' banter).
She is the Faith to Katniss’s Buffy and I want them to be snarky BFFs always who can‘t quite admit how much they mean to each other but really love each other even though they act all prickly and uncaring. YES.
Word. Them being roommates was the best thing ever.
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But basically, YES to all your Hunger Games squee.
loving Katniss/Peeta forever
*high five*
Basically I love just how very, very good he is without being self-righteous or unrealistic or preachy. I feel like his whole “I’ve been in love with this girl forever but never spoken to her” thing should bother me, but it really doesn’t.
I totally feel you. I think it's probably the way the romance is constructed as well; it's about playing pretend, and Peeta really doesn't have any expectations for Katniss to love him back.
I have decided that emotionally damaged and shut-off women and the men who love them more than anything is one of my narrative kinks. HELLO BUFFY/SPIKE LOGAN/VERONICA AND NOW KATNISS/PEETA.
YESYESYES. ♥ ♥ ♥ for them all.
I have this exact same shippy kink. The exact same. Are we surprised? No.
Bujold reading suggestions
Falling Free is only part of that universe in a very peripheral way, so you can read that anytime before you get to Diplomatic Immunity, where it's a not-very-essential part of the back-story for Quaddie culture and art.
Ethan of Athos is one of my favorites to re-read, and since it doesn't feature Miles or Cordelia or Aral or Barrayar, really (though Miles is a very active motivating factor in the actions of Elli Quinn), it could be read out of sequence without ill-effects, I think.
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The epilogue was a little weird and stilted; it would have felt more natural if she'd given the children names. OMG, "Real or not real?" aaahhhhhh, *flails* The only line I love just as much is the last, "But there are much worse games to play." That line is pretty much the reason I'm okay with the epilogue b/c OMG IT IS SO HAUNTING AND SUMMARIZES THE TRILOGY PERFECTLY. *FLAILS SOME MORE* I think it might possibly have beaten HP7 for my favorite ending ever.
Oooh, thought of another Buffy/Spike comparison. Peeta's confusion and anger toward himself and Katniss after the torture is similar to how Spike was mind-controlled and then pissy at himself and Buffy in "Bring On The Night."
That's when I fell in love with her, too.
Goodness I think it's one of the best series of all time. I loved reading your commentary! May I friend you?