So I recently read the book Maneater by Gigi Levangie Grazer and I was thoroughly disappointed. Earlier in the summer I had someone ask me if I had ever gotten to the end of a book and realized that it was a waste of time. I thought about it and said yes. As a literature major there were a number of books I read that I thought were a waste of time The Scarlett Letter, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Frankenstein are among them. But those didn't really count because I had to read those. He meant if there was anything I read for pleasure that ended up feeling was a waste of time. I thought about it again and was reminded of a book that I had recently read over the summer and wrote about here called Belle. By the time I finished it, I wanted the time I spent on it back. It wasn't very well written and the plot just went nowhere. It was just very boring and went on for no reason. Since I was asked the question I have encountered yet another book I wish I had the time I spent reading it back. While I was not extremely impressed with Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse novella, I wouldn't call it a total waste of time. Maneater on the other hand was.
Listening to: "Turn This Ship Around" by Gaelic Storm
In case anyone is curious, this is the book the that two-part movie with Sarah Chalke shown on Lifetime a few years back was based on. I thought the bits of the show I was able to catch were interesting. So one day at the library I was saw the book on the sale rack for 50 cents and picked it up. I finally finished it and I'll say it again, I want my time back. I enjoy chicklit like Bridget Jones and Jane Green's books (Love her!) and I've even read some of the teen series Gossip Girl (not that chicklit and Gossip Girl deserve to be in the same sentence). So I was prepared for the idea of someone who has alot of money (or was raised that way) who cares about nothing except themselves and what they can get from other people. So I was prepared for this. Usually at some point those characters have an epiphany and realize the world does not revolve around them. This character did not at all. Even after someone dies, she is still self absorbed. I think that was one of the biggest disappointments. After everything went wrong for this person, she learned nothing! The plot twist that I should have enjoyed was nothing because the main character didn't deserve it! It only left me annoyed and showed me how stupid the book was. I was even further annoyed when I read that this came from the same woman who wrote the movie Stepmom (a good movie) and the book The Starter Wife which also ended up as a tv movie/series. I watched The Starter Wife and thought it was good. It wasn't too bad, about what I was expecting. Maneater on the other hand was just a waste of time.
Luckily, I had something to intrigue me after this. I was told to read the series The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I started it as an audio book so it seemed to be pretty slow going at first be after I got a copy of the book it really picked up. It hasn't quite caught me the way Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or Twilight did, but I think that may be because I started it on audio and also because I am not into dystopian/post-apocalyptic stories. I never read The Giver and skipped other things like it. I did finish The Hunger Games which is set in dystopian America (very very weird) and I am looking forward to reading the next installment and the final book. My anticipation is only enhanced by the fact that I can see the second book Catching Fire has shipped to the library, but is not quite ready for me to pick up. Its at my fingertips and I just can't reach it and its driving me bonkers! I can't stand it! Its even worse because I am sitting in the library where it is and I am at my computer compulsively checking my account to see if it has come in! I can't read anything right now because I don't want to get involved in something and have to stop to read Catching Fire. This is beyond frustrating. If I knew there would be no consequences for my actions, I would go over to the circulation desk and find my copy just to speed things up, but I don't even want to think about what would happen if I went over there. I think what has me most intrigued is the love triangle that is bound to develop between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. I like that as of The Hunger Games Katniss seems oblivious to boys/men in romantic terms. I personally am rooting for Gale, there's something that reminds me of George Cooper from Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness Quartet. I don't want anything to happen to Peeta, I like him and feel for him, but I want Katniss to end up with Gale. He seems to understand her better. I'll see what happens. I'm glad there are only 3 books in this series. Nice and short so I won't have to continually keep up with it (even though I enjoy that, I have alot to read right now!).
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