Monday, January 30, 2012

Purchases - reading

The wait list at the library (for either physical or e-copies) was MONTHS. For every single one of these. So I gave in and made my second e-book purchase ever. They are embarrassingly good.*


I used them as motivation to get myself back in my morning gym routine last week. The stair mill is much more bearable when I have something to distract me from the pain.


* I know everyone else has been saying this for years, but people were saying the Twilight series was good and I had to force myself to wade through the first book before deciding to give up on the whole thing (and I'll read and enjoy just about anything). I just don't get it, people.

55 comments:

  1. I read thorough all three at the gym and they were definitely a great distraction.

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  2. I love them too! Good purchase. The trailer for the movie looks excellent, btw.

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  3. I enjoyed the first two but not the last one.

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  4. I've wanted to test these books out for a while... It's been some time since I've found a book good enough to distract me from the stairmaster!

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  5. I'm COMPLETELY behind you. People have been telling me about these books for years and years, and I never managed to read them. One Friday, it was on sale on the iPad so I picked up the first one. By Tuesday, I had them all read.


    I never got into the Twilight books. I just couldn't support Bella. It was boring. Hunger Games is amazing and never slows down.

    love it!

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  6. Ha! I just picked up the first one and can't put it down! Had to order the other two because our local bookstores and of course library were out of them! Very fun!

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  7. They are so, so good! But I bawled and bawled at least once in each book, so be careful which chapters you read at the gym!

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  8. i don't remember exactly how long it took me to read all of them, but it wasn't long. so good, if not a teeny bit disturbing.

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  9. Best.Series.EVER! I heard the wait list was really long at our local library too so I just bought them (the first two so far). Enjoy!

    Sam

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  10. They are INTENSE. I had zero idea what they were even about when I started Hunger Games last summer, and whoa. Of course, I blew through all 3 once I started.

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    1. Me too! I'm not sure how I went in blind, given that everyone in my family read them when they first came out, but somehow I had no idea what to expect! Crazy.

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  11. I devoured those books (and balled my eyes out in the process) and now even my husband is enjoying them.

    Ugh Twilight! I have seldom read a worse book - the story is meh (I find her to be just annoying and victimizing herself - not a good roll model for young women) and the writing was horrible. Which surprised me as I had read her other novel "The host" first which wasn't that bad.

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  12. I waited months to get the first one from the library and just couldnt wait to read the other two so they were my first and second ebook purchases.
    Enjoy! The first and second are great, the third is still good, but not my favorite!

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  14. Hunger Games = good stuff. If you liked them, you might like the Game of Thrones series--but I'll warn you: you won't be able to do anything until you've finished and there's at least 5 fatty books of awesomenessssssssssss.

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    1. Going to add these to the list. We watched Game of Thrones and got dorkily involved with it. So good. I can only imagine the books are better.

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  15. I loved Twilight! The first time. Then I tried reading it again and was all, "Huh?" I think it's because Twilight was the first young adult series I read. Actually, the first paranormal/vampire book, too. I had none of the young adult/paranormal/vampire experience to make me gnash my teeth. Now that I've read more (off all three genres) I can see the problems with the series.

    Since young adult isn't my favorite, I've put Hunger Games off--knowing I would read them eventually, of course. Like Twilight, I try to read anything that captures a large section of society's attention, no matter the genre. The books we read, the movies we watch...all that speaks to where we are that moment in time. Decades from now it will seem obvious why certain books or movies spoke to a nation, but for now it's fun to get caught in the wave.

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    1. I don't know why Twilight didn't do it for me. I normally love YA, and I can't tell you how fast I blew through the Sookie Stackhouse series (clearly I don't have an issue with vampires!).

      I always manage to forget that you don't love YA best. I guess I conflate your interests with mine!

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  16. I FLEW through this trilogy.. and I'm SO EXCITED for the movie coming out in March (and the #2 scheduled for November 2013!!!). I've been told about Twilight, but I really haven't been able to bring myself to read them.. but i promised my friends to read the whole series before the last movie comes out.. we'll see though..

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  17. Thanks for the recommendations! I am always looking for a new book. Oh, and I don't get the Twilight Series either! I tried. I also tried to watch the movies. Don't get it! ( :

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  18. I refused for the longest time to read the Twilight or HG series. BUT once I read, I was hooked. I was so sad when I finished MockingJay because it was over...happy reading!

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  19. I agree about the Twilight series, I TRIED so hard and really wanted to know why it was such a sensation. I was horrified that a teenage girl would think she found 'the one' in highschool. I am sure it happens but I'd like my kid to focus on college instead of a sexy vampire;) I am glad you like these, I keep seeing them in the top 10 everywhere and wondered if they were any good.

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  20. I can't wait to read these! I know I'm so late getting into them, but I, like you, expected them to be like Twilight -- "If you like Harry Potter you'll love Twilight!" -- and I HATED Twilight. xo

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  21. Loved these! I couldn't put them down.

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  22. I just bought all three because I had quite a few people tell me they were amazing.

    But nothing will ever hold a candle to Harry Potter.

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  23. I love them. I teach grade 7 and I read the first book to my kids and they were ENTHRALLED with it. They would BEG me to keep reading when we reached the end of a chapter. I've never had that happen with a book before. It was wonderful. :)

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  24. THG made for the BEST care package while we were in India. P. read them all first, then I'd snatch one up as soon as he finished, and they got passed around the other Fulbrighters one and all. I think between those three books they saw more of the subcontinent than we did! SO FUN.

    Blugh to Twilight. Sorry, I know ppl are obsessed. Zero interest.

    I've heard Game of Thrones is nerd-a-licious and impossible to put down. Sign me up.

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    1. Sharing addictive books is the best. I won't be able to tear D away from his New Yorker backlog to read these, so I have to settle for trying to tell him about them instead (probably the most boring thing you can put someone through - vicarious reading).

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  25. I just started reading the series, and ahh, I can't wait to get through it. When the trailer first came out, I was like, "Huh, I wonder why people are so psyched", and now I kind of get it (though book adaptations can be a hit or miss...).

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  26. This is my favorite book series!!! Very powerful! Have fun:)

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  27. Same here, I'll buy the Hunger Games this afternoon. First, I didn't want to because everybody said that Twilight was that good as well and I didn't like it..

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  28. I highly recommend the Game of Thrones Series. It's fantasy but feels real and gritty and has some of the most interesting characters I've come across in books.

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  29. I was never obsessed with Twilight, but I did like the books. My husband liked them more!!

    I can't bring myself to read The Hunger Games. I can't stand themes dealing with killing people by elimination. Honestly, I can rarely stand killing at all. I mostly stick to romance novels. Quite safe and happy endings for all!!

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  30. I agree with you 100% about both series! So glad I read these after having not even been able to finish the first Twilight book. Glad to see young adults get an admirable heroine now instead of a whiny brat. :)

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  31. What I love about the Hunger Games is how it slyly teaches high schoolers (and ahem people a little older than high schoolers) about war, inequality, etc. You never feel lectured, but the lessons are there.

    I watched one episode of Game of Thrones and it seemed like soft porn to me. I wonder if the books are a little less raunchy...

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  32. absolutely agree. i brought the first one on my honeymoon, finished it in no time & forced that new husband of mine to bring me to a bookstore so i could buy the next two!

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  33. Loved the Hunger Games series, HATED Twilight. (Girl with low self-esteen who loves borderline emotionally-abusive boyfriend? No thanks.) I've also heard good things about the Game of Thrones series.

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  34. i was not on the Hunger GTames train but have really liked the books! i am halfway thru Mockingjay...and I read at the gym too! :)

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  35. Nothing to be embarrassed about ;) The Hunger Games is pretty fabulous.

    Twilight is "good*". The asterisk points to the fine print which states "the interpretation of 'good' in this instance is to imply that one's level of reading has not matured beyond the 7th grade and/or one has accepted the fact that sometimes completely mindless entertainment is 'good'." So don't worry that you couldn't get into it ;)

    The Game of Thrones is really a GAME of thrones, and written by a man. (They have different plot priorities than women authors I have noticed.) If you keep that in mind, it's pretty great. I'm starting the second in the series once I finish The China Study.

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  36. I am not a reader at all, and I flew through this trilogy. Obsessed!

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  37. Entirely worth the cost, for sure. I actually read the whole trilogy a complete second time immediately after finishing the third book. 1 & 2 were even better the second time around.

    And, agree with those above, Game of Thrones is fantastic. They're very long and its tough to keep all the names/locations straight, but I'm wading through the second as we speak.

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  38. Hunger Games definitely trumps Twilight. I was baffled by everyone's love for it too-I tried the first and got about halfway through the second before I gave up on the series. I understand why people liked it, but I didn't really think it was good enough to justify the immense popularity of it. For Hunger Games though, all the hype is definitely justified! I just got an e-reader and I'm following your example-going to get library books on it and hopefully not spend too much on e-books!

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  39. They're soooooooOOOooOOoOOo good! (sorry, I needed to truly emphasis my love there.) My friend Lisa and I are already planning on going to the midnight premiere of the first movie, if you want in on this mature activity.

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  40. SO GOOD! Glad you got to enjoy them, can't wait to see how they turn into a movie.

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  41. I still haven't read The Hunger Games! Pretty much everyone I know has read and loved them, YA fans and non-fans alike. Your Twilight comment made me laugh--I liked the first book when I read it in high school (following my first breakup, which may have contributed to liking it). By the time the other three came out, I was in college and even though I read them, I think I spent the whole time reading with one eyebrow raised. I tried paging through the books last summer and can't believe I ever liked them.

    But I've heard, and not just from you, that The Hunger Games series really IS good. I wonder how long the waiting list is at my library...

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  42. I loved them, too. Katniss 4 Ever.

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  43. I didn't like Twilight and I love these! If you have Amazon Prime you can check them out for free through that. I just re-read the first one on my new kindle.

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  44. These books are so wonderful, I really loved them!
    I also want to thank you, you inspired me to finally get a library card and I love it! I read so much more now and even check out audio books to listen to on my commute.
    Happy reading!

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  45. Agreed! I LOVED Hunger Games and was told Twilight was even better. Ugh....That Bella is INSIPID and I'm pretty sure that vampire is a stalker.

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  46. LOVED these books! and I didn't like Twilight either. Have you seen the trailer for the movie? I'm counting down the days to March 23.

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  47. I'm a little late reading this post and feel compelled to comment as I'm just beginning the second book - love the series so far. How far are you and what do you think?

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    1. I read all three of them the same week, and I loved them. I guess I liked the first one best, but honestly, I love a satisfying conclusion, so I really enjoyed all of them.

      Hope you're still liking them as well!

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  48. The Hunger Games was an unexpectedly awesome series. Makes me wish I was someone who could re-read books, as finishing a book for me means I'll never touch it again. Sad! And completely self-inflicted!

    It has to be said though: I was not wild about the abstinence message throughout the trilogy. It was subtle, I'll give Collins that, but it was there and I found it irritating. "OMG I'm too badass for boys, but I wonder who I'm going to MARRY, so we can be MARRIED so we can THEN be TOGETHER. P.S. Reference my 'purity' at least twice per book!" Katniss, you're like 16. Chill, mkay? Less marriage talk, more brains-over-brawn badassery!

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