Hungry for More

When it comes to reading books, I follow trends. I rarely find myself reading a book by a new author that hasn't been recommended by a number of people. I completely fall or the bestseller title, even though I realise that practically every book on the market is labelled as a bestseller. But more than anything, I listen to public opinion and follow that. When I hear about a trend, I tend to want to jump on the bandwagon. It was the case with the Twilight series, and now it is the case with the Hunger Games.

It is hard not to compare the two series, really. Both written by women, featuring female protagonists of around the same age, both can be placed firmly in the realm of fiction, both are aimed at the same reader demographic and both have gotten to be incredibly popular. To me that is really where the similarities end.

I read the Twilight series in my fourth year of University. At the time, I was obviously older than the main demographic, the books being aimed at teenagers more than twenty-somethings. Nevertheless, I was not the only one in my classes reading the books and I felt that there was nothing to be ashamed about. I sped through the books, and I found them to be enjoyable. They were not anything incredible, they were not breathtaking or amazing. But they weren't utter drivel either. And I always feel that anything that can get teenagers interested in reading is great. If I had been reading these as a twelve year old girl, I would have thought that they were the best thing since Harry Potter! As it was, they were entertaining and nothing more. I will still watch the movies for the same reason. I like getting caught up in the fanaticism of it. When I was in Korea and went to watch Eclipse, I made my own t-shirt with my friends, I chose a team, and I had a fun night out. And that was that. Not award winning stuff, but fun. Predictable, but fun.

I was very late on the Hunger Games craze, only really getting into it just before the movie came out. I had heard so much about the movie and decided that I wanted to read the first book before seeing it, since it seemed like a kind of movie that I would want to see. And so I got a copy on my Kindle and I sat down to read it one night. And I was hooked in. It took me all of four days to finish it, which is incredibly quick considering that I tend to read in the evenings when I am already exhausted.

The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy of books by Suzanne Collins revolving around the world of Panem. Panem is divided into twelve districts (each with their own sector of industry) and a Capitol which is the seat of the government. Seventy-four years before the events of the first book takes place, there was a revolution where the people revolted against the government and lost. As a result, the Hunger Games are started as a yearly ritual to remind the masses of the revolt and of their failure, and of the power that the Capitol has. The Hunger Games themselves are a televised tournament (along the lines of Big Brother) where two children, one boy and one girl, between the ages of 12 and 18 are randomly selected to be placed in an arena where they will have to fight to the death. The books revolve around one particular participant, Katniss Everdeen, who has grown up in the poorest of the districts (District 12) and who volunteers to participate in the games to save her sister's life.

Part of the reason why I got hooked into the Twilight series was because of the mindlessness of reading it. I could read a chapter in a minute and know exactly what happened without having to concentrate too hard. It was good to take my mind of the studying that I had to do with most of my time. It was entertaining, but it wasn't award winning stuff. I found The Hunger Games to be different. The writing was simple, but not mind-numbingly so. It is easy to read, but it is also enticing and thought-provoking. Obviously not to the extent that, say, Shakespeare is thought-provoking in that you have to reread every sentence to understand what is being said. But I found that the writing flows well and keeps the reader attentive rather than mindlessly paging through the book.

The characters in the Hunger Games are also, well not relatable... it's kind of difficult to relate to a character who is forced to deal with killing others to stay alive, and Bella is certainly more like your typical mopey teenager. But the characters that Collins creates have more depth to them. They are all independent by necessity and they are all in conflict in more than one way. The main female character in particular is certainly more the kind of protagonist that you want your girls to read about and relate to - a girl (or woman) who does not rely on anyone, who stands up for those that she loves and is steadfast in her decisions. And better than that, the protagonist is a girl (or woman) who does not want to be in love, who does not want to be tied down and does not want to be reliant on anyone for anything. Certainly a better role model than Bella, even if she does tend to run around hunting illegally and ends up having to kill competitors to stay alive.

Overall, I would give the first book of the Hunger Games series an 8/10. I found it to be a great read and I would recommend that anyone who likes these kinds of series give it a try.

Watch this space for my review of the first movie.

Book with a Suggestive Title

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It sounds like it's supposed to be elusive, mysterious and exotic. The object of having such a title of a book is obviously to perk interest and arouse intrigue.

Except that a girl with a dragon tattoo is hardly intriguing. Isn't a dragon one of the most common tattoos along with hearts, roses and Chinese symbols? There are certainly hundreds of girls out there with dragon tattoos. Wait, hundreds is probably UNDERestimating. Thousands at least. So what makes this girl special and what makes this book special?

Well, not very much to be perfectly honest. At least, not in the case of the book. I will admit that the character of Lisbeth Salander is interesting and, I suppose, special. She is not your typical detective. The main surprise regarding her character, however I didn't find at all surprising. Unfortunately, you would have to read the book to find out what that is. Which I wouldn't stop you from doing.

I am not saying that the book is terrible. What I am trying to say is that it is not the amazing piece of literature that people make it out to be. It is a mystery novel, and for a mystery novel I found it quite difficult to get through. The first half of the book drags quite a lot. It is a description of the lives of Lisbeth Salander, a freelancer working for a security company who tends to dig into peoples lives and is particularly good at it, and Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist who has just been found guilty of libel and is about to spend some time in jail. Salander is hired by a lawyer to run a background check on Blomkvist, as the lawyer's client is interested in hiring him for a special job.

The job is where the story starts to get interesting, and is only really mentioned (aside from the prologue) about a quarter of the way through the novel. And it still takes another quarter for the job to get interesting. Sure, there is a suspicion of murder which draws the reader's attention, but then another quarter of the book is spent detailing a past of the family involved, a past that, while it has interesting moments, is not all that interesting overall, I found.

And then, halfway through, the drama really starts with discoveries of information, heart attacks and Blomkvist finding out about and meeting Salander. From halfway through the book, I struggled to put it down. I really started enjoying the novel and finding it interesting, and it is because of the second half that I am not completely against the reading of it. I would just recommend being prepared to trudge through the dregs to get to the good part.

So overall, the book is only half good. Whether that is good enough to justify the great press would be up to you to decide. I don't think so. Tons of people do. If you've read the book, let me know what you think!

Kindly Give Me Back My Kindle

Hello readers :)

I figured that it had been awhile since I last posted something of interest on this blog, so I thought that I would write a post while I had a spare minute or two.

As anyone who reads my blog may have guessed from the many posts about books, I like to read. Quite a lot really. Enough for me to have books to fill practically fill a full two bookshelves by myself. Which means that when I move around, when I travel and when I move houses, I tend to take a lot of books with me. What this leads to is a lot of extra weight and a lot of extra space. This led to a decision being made last year - I needed an ebook reader. When Shaina got given her Nook for her birthday, I was incredibly jealous and I started working on Grant, insisting that I should get such a device myself. It would come in handy for the both of it, I pleaded. And eventually he gave in, getting my a wonderful Kindle for my own birthday in March.

It is now August, and I am ashamed to say that I have not made too much use of my Kindle. After downloading a huge number of books and taking my Kindle to Johannesburg with me, I have barely touched it since, and there is good reason for this. My Kindle, my wonderful Kindle, the third (or fourth) love of my life (after Grant, Puddims and, at times, my HTC) is faulty. You see, while Amazon advertises that the Kindle battery can last a full month, I can barely get four hours out of the thing. The wireless is turned off. There is no music playing. I have decreased the number of books on the machine, but after fully charging it, turning it on and opening a book, it automatically jumps to less than half health. The last time I did this, I then turned it off and left it sitting on my desk. Two days later, it was completely dead.

Contacting Kindle from South Africa is a problem. You see, Amazon does not have South African support, and though I emailed them about the problem, they required a phone call. There is no local number to call. My cellphone does not have roaming and cannot dial international numbers. My Skype does not have credit as I have no credit card. I am left with only one option - to take the machine in to the shop where Grant bought it. Which I will do. But I thought that I would vent my upsetness first.

I am upset. I loved my Kindle with all my heart, glorifying it as the best birthday present ever. And it is broken. I seriously think that Kindle needs to get some South African support, particularly if these devices are being marketed at an International audience, which they are. If they cannot get South African support, then they need to be prepared to have better reception when emailed and provide better service than merely saying: "We can't help you over email. Give us a call." I can't give you a call, and I am left with a defective machine until I can get off my ass and go to Insight. Which, fair enough, is not too far away. But while Amazon offers a replacement in days, I know that my Kindle is not going to get back to me for weeks when I hand it over to Insight, because it is doing nothing more than passing it on to a middle man, who then has to get in contact with their suppliers, who then have to get in contact with Amazon, who then have to send a replacement, which then needs to be sent to Insight and finally ends up at me a lot later than it would have if I could have just gotten hold of Amazon myself.

I am upset. I am unimpressed and I want my Kindle back, the way that it should be. Rant over.

My extra special day

Let us respect gray hairs, especially our own.

- J. P. Sears

I always look forward to birthdays. I am not one of those people who believe that a birthday is just another day. If anything, I am one of those who believe that everyday should be like a birthday - everyday should be a celebration of the fact that you are alive! Of course, no one has the time or the patience to make everyday a celebration, so when my birthday comes around, I tend to look forward to putting in the effort on this one day of the year.

The days leading up to this year's birthday were a little different. I wasn't getting excited. I wasn't looking forward to anything. It was as though I was trying to keep my expectations low so as not to be disappointed when things didn't work out. Because you know, of course, that nothing ever works out like you had imagined it. I also could picture my birthday turning out like last year's - with me lying in bed, sick and alone with a cake to eat and no one to eat it with. Needless to say, it completely sucked, and I didn't want to get all excited only to have it suck again. And so, the night before my birthday, despite Grant's attempts at cheering me up, I happened to be a little depressed and not the best company at all. I had an early night.

I woke up ridiculously early in the morning for no apparent reason, and my waking was shortly followed by Grant waking up beside me to sing me a happy birthday.
"Do you want to see your present?"
"Ooh," I said, perking up a little. "Yes, please!"
I was pretty sure that I knew what I was getting. Months before, I had pointed out a boardgame (Mind Trap) that I thought would be cool but that I could only find online. When, weeks before, Grant had told me that my birthday present had arrived, I knew that it had to be something that he had ordered online and prepared myself for the inevitability of getting this game as my present. As Grant passed me the present, I couldn't help thinking that it was rather smaller than I had imagined. And rather lighter too. As I carefully peeled off the sticky tape and revealed the cardboard box underneath, I was utterly confused. This wasn't what I had expected. I stared at the plain cardboard for a good minute or two before I noticed the black label on the top that read: "Amazon kindle". I doubt that you have ever seen anyone get as excited as I did in that moment. It was honestly the last thing that I had expected to get, and the prospect of bringing it with me to Johannesburg and showing it off to everyone that I passed was just too much to bear. Needless to say, my birthday was off to a good start.

After seeing Grant off to work, I took my time getting ready for the day, choosing a dress to wear that I wasn't able to fit into when I left South Africa in order to celebrate the day in a bit of a special way. Then it was off to the bank. Not the ideal place to spend a birthday, but the world doesn't stop when you want it to and there were people to be paid and arrangements to be made. Thankfully there wasn't too much of a queue and the teller, though a little rude, I thought, was mostly helpful. After finishing up there, it was back home with me, and I had barely gotten there when I got a message from Grant saying that a package had arrived for me. A very special package. A package that I knew was supposed to have arrived in Grahamstown before I did, and had chosen this very day, my extra special day, to pitch up. This package was my birthday present from Korea, sent from my awesome KBFF Amy. The contents included, but were not limited to a most awesome t-shirt that read: "And when you smile the whole world stops and stares for awhile because you are amazing". As I said, this was not the only awesome thing in my package, but I still think that it is my absolute favourite part of it!!

After picking up my package, it was back to lounging around for awhile. I couldn't really make any plans for the day itself, as Ashlea was coming through to Grahamstown and I wasn't sure what time she would be arriving. And so, a few hours were spent doing nothing much around the house until Grant arrived home and I simultaneously received a call telling me that Ashlea had arrived in town. After attempting to give Ashlea some terrible, TERRIBLE directions (and reminding myself that I should no longer count myself as a local after not being in the town for a year and a half), Grant and I went to find her and bring her back to our place where she was to spend the night.

A couple of beers for Grant, Jono and Ash and a couple of glasses of wine for me later, we were off to the Rat and Parrot for a celebratory drink with Mike. We arrived at the Rat to find it absolutely packed with no tables available for us. Thankfully, we do have some pull with the manager, and Doodoo secured us two small tables placed together with the promise of attempting to find us one upstairs (in the smoking section) should one open up. Ash, not used to such crowds or to waiting so long for a drink pounced on the poor waitresses bearing our beverages before she even had a chance to put the drinks on the table, and this led to one of the beers crashing to the floor leaving us with a very angry waitress, a very apologetic Ashlea and a very thirsty Grant. As Ash said, however, this was probably the best way to start the night, as she was unlikely to have an accident like that again and at least it was now over and done with. She was all too right, and the rest of the night was spent eating delicious food, getting involved in brilliant conversations (even between Ash and Mike who I had pictured butting heads on more than one occasion despite Mike's remark that he was sure they would get on splendidly) and drinking. Though a headache threatened to ruin the night for me, Doodoo saved the day once again by securing me some Aspirin, and before long I was back to drinking happily.

Once dinner was done, Ash insisted that we move upstairs where she could smoke to her hearts content, and we found ourselves some seats at the bar. This was possibly not the best idea, as it meant that Ash could quickly order shooters without my even noticing what was going on, and by the end of the night there had been Susans (Tequila, Cape Velvet, Blue Cuarico and something else), Ponchos (coffee tequila), Pina Coladas, Malibu, Purple Turtles (Apple Sours and Potency) and an assortment of other shots that I do not know the names of and do not care to remember. I was also taught a number of new ways to say cheers and a new way to drink shots that I am really rather fond of. By midnight I was utterly out of it and we all decided that it was about time to go home.

We arrived at home and Ash and I made ourselves comfortable on the couches while Grant passed around another round of beers. Music played in the background and we all chilled around with none of us really being ready for bed. Suddenly, Ashlea pulled from her bag a nightmarish device known as a lip-tint stick and the worst part of the night commenced. When I woke up the next morning, with a headache and a full memory of the night's events, it was to legs and arms covered in lip-tint (which was rather harder to get off than either of us had imagined) and Ash was far worse off with her stomach and back also having taken a beating at the hand of the red stuff. Each of us spent a good half hour (at least) in the shower trying to get the stuff off of us, and even after scrubbing at it with exfoliant, a red tint still remained on my skin to show where the marks had been. Ash had it far worse off - even four days later, her stomach still read "ET phone home" and her belly button looked like it was a giant bruise.

In anycase, the day ended up being a rather perfect birthday celebration, made extra special by Grant, Amy and Ashlea and their mutual awesomeness. Thanks so much guys! I thought I would end this post off with my favourite of the new cheers that I was taught.

Te verderer, te naderer, te hoorderer, te laaderer. Ek kyk hom, hy blink nie. Ek ryk hom, hy stink nie. So wie die fok se ek mag nie hom drink nie?

In English -

The furthest, the nearest, the highest the lowest. I watch it, it doesn't blink. I smell it, it doesn't stink. So who the fuck says I may not drink it?