In which I come very late to the party

Saturday night I was hanging out with the Lonely Wives Club and we were discussing books, like you do. I just finished State of Wonder (good, but not as good as some other Patchett) and was looking for something new to read. Both of my girlfriends recommended The Hunger Games, and it turned out one of them had the first book in her car, so I took it home with me at the end of the night.

This morning, I finished…the THIRD book of the trilogy. Good lord, people, those books are thrilling. When I got to the end of the first book, there was no question of taking a break, or pacing myself for the next one. The second book was downloading onto my Kindle immediately.

For whatever reason, I've been avoiding these books. I think in my head I was grouping them in with the Twilight books, which I have absolutely no interest in reading (although, given this recent turnaround, ask me in a month). But The Hunger Games books are extraordinary. With superb plotting and fascinating characters, it's thought-provoking, suspenseful stuff. And even though it's supposedly written for young adults, the writing is excellent. So many times when reading a book with a great plot, I get distracted by clunky writing and inelegant turns of phrase (I'm looking at you, Stieg Larsson), but that's not a problem here.

My point being, if you're one of the few also coming late to this party, don't wait any longer—read these books! (You might want to clear your schedule for a day or so.)