The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I decided to read this book because I really would like to see the movie (since it looks really good) and I would like to know what the book was like before watching the movie. At the beginning i really found the premise of this book lame. There was a lot of getting to know the characters and learning about their families and lives.......WHICH I REALLY DIDN"T CARE ABOUT. Then once it got into the actual Hunger Games, I had a hard time putting the book down. It was almost like a futuristic gladiator competition. The motives and types of challenges the characters had to surpass while in the games was really intense. When i read the ending of the book my jaw had dropped about a foot and i was shocked at what just happened. Peeta had made an effort to help Katniss (even though she didn't know it at the time) and then it was almost like she spat in his face. After going through what they had together and she still is dreaming about Gale, come on! How rude! Even though Peeta has an unfortunate name, he did his best and he survived, allowing him and Katniss to be the only district couple to win the games. I am curious how the next book will go and i want to know where this will take them. Maybe the people will still be pissed and they will want to challenge Katniss and Peeta to a harder, more intimate games against each other. Maybe when Katniss reunites with Gale she will see how ordinary he is and be more drawn to Peeta. So many possibilities. Another character that i really didn't care about was that of Haymitch or Effie. They were supposed to encourage Peeta and Katniss and instead it was more like they were in the story for the irritative factor. Haymitch was always drunk, which sometimes provided a laugh, ie. him falling off the stage. Effie was like the Anne Landers of etiquette but she really only cared about how things were for herself, and for some reason i continually pictured her with this terribly nasal high pitched voice. I can't wait to see the movie to see how Katniss and Peeta were introduced to the crowds. I really hope they do the whole costumes being lit on fire because the imagery of that scene was so breathtaking and interesting.



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Remarkable Creatures

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was interesting in the fact that I have never read a book about fossil hunting. The book was only ok but it was read-able. Different treasures mean different things to diffrent people and this was a great book that carried that idea right through to the end. The underlying story was about a friendship that comes to be, there is a problem and a slight breakdown, but then the characters re-unite.



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Waiter Rant

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublanica

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Just when you think the world is safe from Hannibal Lecter, he gets re-incarnated into a waiter. People you seldom think have power, truly do possess the magic stick. This waiter's account on being a manager at a bistro in NY is incredible. There's tons of witty comments, ironic moments, times when you're thinking the human race could not get anymore rude and of course times where you're laughing out loud going WHAT THE FUCK! If you piss this waiter off he's not going to spit in your food he's going make you look like the ass that you really are. I never really understood how many jobs were involved in being a waiter until reading this book, ie. food allergy specialists, sommeliers, cell-phone-rule enforcers, eye candy, confessors, entertainers, mixologists, emergency medical technicians, bouncers, receptionists, joke tellers, therapists, linguists, punching bags, psychics, protocol specialists, and amateur chefs (preface). Trying to hold a restaurant together is a verying trying duty but somebody's got to do it. At certain instances this waiter has time to reflect on what is important and the few things he really does like about the job. There's not many items on that list but the ones that are have left an imprint on this guys' heart. In my personal opinion this was an amazing book because it gives you the point of view of the waiter and what they have to deal with: people skipping out on the bill, people not tipping (and how that effects their lives), people having medical/social/ martial and other emergencies, and last but not least PEOPLE JUST BEING PLAIN OLD RUDE. Take a minute and think about how you treat your server when you go out for a drink or meal. If you need a checklist on how to be a good customer, you're in luck this book has one and take note to read it.

There were some really profound passages in the book that really struck a chord with me, this one in particular:

"I also had two English teachers in high school. They taught me that reading literature could teach you about the 'universal human experience.' Maybe you'll never hunt another man through the jungle, my teachers told me. Maybe you won't climb Mount Kilimanjaro or watch a bullfight in the afternoon- you don't have to. The world's a big place. You can't do or be everything, nor should you. Life is bigger than any one man. But when you read about other people's lives, when you read their STORIES, you catch a glimpse of a world bigger than your own. You may never travel a hundred miles from where you were born, but if you read stories, you'll get to see the entire world. You'll enter into the Great Mystery." (pg. 189)

The above stated passage is exactly why I enjoy reading so much. You get exposed to different worlds and different people. You get to explore the unknown without really leaving your comfort zone. For a waiter that has a lot to say he nailed this one right on the head and he had some really great teachers.

If you read this book you won't be disappointed! It's totally out of the ordinary, which is something that is always nice to lighten up the reading horizon!



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The Thorn Birds

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


One of the sales people at the local coles book store suggested the Thorn Birds to me. When just looking at the book it's massive and i found it a little daunting but once i decided to give it a chance and read the book it was actually pretty good. The story chronicles the life of a family from when a baby (Meggie) is born all the way to and adult watching her children grow up and go about their lives. The wild outback of Australia to a quiet reserved place on Matlock Island to Rome and London. The best thing about this book was that when the characters were travelling to the various places I actually felt like i was there with them. I could picture myself in the hot desert watching kangroos hop around and the infestation of bunnies. When they were ranching it was like you were riding right behind them on the same horse. You felt every bump and jolt. Since i am not religious at all i found the heavy basis on religion and god hard to take. The forbidden love story wasn't as good as it could have been and i just got tired of hearing how Ralph was so devoted to the church yet he broke every one of his vows. The one thing i found relatable was that the families rarely showed emotion to the female daughters, it was almost like they were a lost cause. The end of the story gives the female character a bit of clout but that's it. It was a good book! Don't let the huge appearance fool you, there are some nuggets of fabulous-ness in there.



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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you liked Guernsey and The Potato Peel Society, you will love this book. With authors such as Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants) and Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain) giving this book great reviews how can you not pick it up and give it a try. I was given the book as a Christmas present for those very reasons, and they were on par with how fantastic this book really was.

The topic is a boy meets girl type of story but this happens in 1942 when the Japanese Internment happened in Seattle. You get to read about the story from the side of the boy, who is Chinese, and falls in love with a girl who is Japanese American (born on American soil) but is placed in the internment camps bc of her Japanese background. It's forbidden love in a different place and different time. The common ground is the boy and girl learn to like each other and share some of the same likes, such as jazz music. The boy ends up taking a job with the school cook where he travels to the various internment camps to make meals for the people. This is the way he gets to see his girl friend while she is in the internment camp. Then they continue their relationship through letters, but SOMEONE intercepts the letters from getting to the boy. He thinks that his dear friend has moved on with her life and that sadly, he should do the same. This wonderful story plays out perfectly in the end.



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Heat

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I will be completely honest, when the tale of this story was related to Mario Batali or his restaurant, Babbo, I really didn't care for this book. Once Buford went to Italy and Tuscany I really got into the book. Is this book 4 star quality, no. Since I can't give 3.5 or 3.75 then 4 is the closest because it isn't wholely a 3 star book either. When Buford goes to Italy to learn how to make pasta the traditional way the story begins the adventure and as he repeatedly goes back to Italy/Tuscany it furthers that food is an essential part of family. By that i mean, the people take their food prep skills very seriously and nothing short of perfect is acceptable, almost like the daunting approval seeking relationship between a child and parent. The people that teach Buford skills that he will remember for a life time become his family and friends. Simple gestures like leaving his knife steel is seen as an act of pride and true friendship. The people Buford met on his journey are people that he probably still keeps in contact with and sees on a semi-regular basis. When he wrote about them, I got the impression, these people truly touched his life and left their mark forever on his history. It was almost as if i went with Buford on his journeys and was standing beside him being the same keen student he was, sucking in the knowledge these incredible people had to offer or at least allowed him to have the privilege of seeing.

The reason i didn't like the Mario Batali parts: i found him to be a pompus character (even when watching him on tv, which is very impersonal, i find him to be unbareable, so this indepth time with him was a bit much.), the restaurant lifestyle is so fast paced and it's almost like there is a revolving door on the industry (if you can't hack it move on to the next place that will try you and chalk up your abilities. Those were the main two reasons. I found it sad that Buford held Batali in such high regard but in the same sentence some of the things Batali does......he is a flavour genius.



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Life Support

Life Support by Tess Gerritsen

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This book did not near meet what I was hoping for. I was expecting a medical thriller like Gerritsen's other book Harvest. This book really fell short which is a shame bc Gerritsen is a great medical writer. I read to page 360 and could not finish the book because i found it to be such a bunch of malarky. (the book finishes on page 369, and i highly doubt that i missed very much)



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