Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas

I think that perhaps it's me, but the book took a bit of a slow start and I didn't like the beginning. I generally don't like mining books because they're hard to relate to (never lived in a mountain before) but this one was really good. In a way, it's a glorified collection of short stories but the way it was weaved together made it much better than that.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a really quick read and it really appealed to one's emotions. The book dealt with a lot of hardship and pain but it didn't overplay it or make it seem like such a terrible thing. I mean it is a terrible thing, but it didn't use it for emotional ammo like some other books would. It was pretty upfront about it and I think that's what appealed to me about it.

I liked the narrative style because it was pretty circular (old stories taking a part in the beginning, etc.) and not all the stories had a happy ending, which created a sense of realism. It was all the more interesting because some of the people were still living and took part in the present-day narrative form of it (like Martha and Charlie Grove). I thought that this book could be a movie but I don't think it'd make a good one, honestly. The stories themselves are interesting, but to see it play out at a movie theater is less interesting. But that's simply because I prefer movies with more action.

The style was simple enough to be an easy read but it was also descriptive so that you'd be able to imagine what the place looked like and the actions of the characters.

Overall a very good read. I'm not too sure of the academic qualities of it (perhaps motifs of prayer and story-telling?) but in the end it was really good. Definitely would recommend to others.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I didn't like the writing style of this book at first. I'm not sure what it was but I felt like there was something off about how certain things were written. It was almost as if Collins as a writer was getting used to Katniss's way of thinking and talking. It's kind of felt like she was trying to break in a new pair of shoes or jeans.

Otherwise, I'd have to say that the plot was riveting. There were some obvious things that she foreshadowed and I was for some reason irritated by the fact whether or not Katniss would survive was played up a bit. Given it's popularity and the fact that there's a third volume of the series, there was virtually no way that Collins would kill Katniss off.

I kept doubting myself though, hoping in one way or another that Collins would be different but I mean I think I would've been just as upset if Katniss didn't make it. She was a pretty realistic character and more than that, she kind of put a lot of things into perspective (about society and its abundance). I liked the fact that the huge disparity between the rich and the poor were juxtaposed because even if we see it in our daily lives, I feel like the reality of it doesn't really hit. It made me want not want to waste my food.

Overall a really good read. I think it'd be interesting to explore this book on an academic level though I'm not really sure how much "meat" there really is beyond the obvious (poverty vs. wealth. love, humanity, etc.). I think I'd read this book again. I can't decide if it would list among my favorites but it was definitely a really good read.

On a completely different note, I somehow managed to keep the number of posts on this blog the same for the past three years without consciously trying. Interesting.