A to Z April - Letter D: Dystopia

 

For the letter D, I've chosen a genre (not sure if that's the correct term for that) of literature that is currently very popular, and is one that is one of my favorites.  I will share five of my favorite dystopian series today.

1.  The Giver Series by Lois Lowry

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I had read all of them, and then got an ARC of the 4th book, Son, when I went to BEA 2 years ago.  I'm sorry to say I have yet to read it though.  I saw that they are doing a movie, and I'm excited, although from the preview I saw, it doesn't match what I saw in my head when I read The Giver.  Looks like I'll be doing a re-read of that in the near future.

2.  The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins:

I first learned of this book when I read it for the state library association book award list.  I loved The Hunger Games so much that I began teaching it in a class we had every day that was for enrichment.  Now, I think because I did that, the first movie was a big disappointment to me. So much left out.  However since I hadn't read the second book, Catching Fire, more than 2 or 3 times, and it had been a while, I was able to enjoy the 2nd movie more.

3.  Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth:

This is a series that I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of the first book.  But then, I didn't get one of the 2nd book, and didn't get it until two months after it was published.  So while I got a bit behind between one and two, when number three came out, I bought it on the publishing date (which happened to be my birthday last year), and read it right away!  Also, LOVED the first movie, I think they did a really good job compared to how some movies from books have been done lately.

4.  Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie:

This is a book that I also got an ARC of the first in the series, but then had to wait till the books were published to read on.  I LOVED the first one, the 2nd one was okay, and the third was maybe a bit long for me.

5.  The Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix:

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I can't remember for sure when I read this series, and yes, it is a bit younger than the others, but it is a really good series, and Margaret Peterson Haddix is one of my favorite authors.  I have the picture on the left showing all the books, and then the one on the right is one I found when searching for images to use for this post.  I like the cover of it a bit better, I think it would be more appealing to kids today, maybe make them not see it as such a young book and give it a chance.

Are you a dystopia fan?  I haven't listed here all the ones I've read, just chose the top five, and the top five that all of the books in the series are out and I have read, well except for the The Giver series I mean. 

And hey, while you're here, go enter my giveaway on the Fool for Books Giveaway Hop.

New Blog: Waiting on Wednesdays

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

In the spirit of just getting started with this meme, I will put up the one book that I am really, really eagerly waiting for. The 3rd installment in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay.

I have loved this series since I read it last fall when I was helping choose the current Truman book award nominees. I loved it so much, that when my Greater Gator class in the spring decided they didn't want me to read the Lightning Thief to them, I decided to go ahead and read the Hunger Games to them, and get them started on their Truman reading for the next year. They LOVED it! So many of them immediately checked the book out from the library, or purchased both it and it's sequel Catching Fire from the book fair so that they could read ahead as we only read it for 20 minutes 4 days a week.

In Mockingjay we should be catching up to Katniss Everdeen after she has miraculously survived the Hunger Games twice. Unfortunately, we already knew that Katniss was on thin ice from the message delivered to her by President Snow in the 2nd book. And it seems all that has happened this time around has led to unrest in the Districts against the Capitol. Unrest that was just below the surface, waiting for someone like Katniss to give it breath and life. But now all of Katniss's friends and family are in danger, and the Capitol which loved her, the girl on fire, is now not happy with what she stands for. This is what I'm most looking forward to at this time.

1st book on the lists

I picked the first book to read from the Truman list because it is actually one I'd been thinking about reading for awhile, and it was one I knew we carried in hardcover at the bookstore so that I could check it out last night. It is called Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It is really good so far. I just started Chapter 11, and I'm on page 150. I intend to for sure update what page and chapter I'm on of what books every day. I've added a countdown clock to my blog to show how much time I have left to read my 50 books. It looks like I have approximately 2 days per book. We'll see how that goes!! I also intend to come up with some kind of either slide show to show the books I've finished, or else a list as I complete each book I'll add it. Didn't post yesterday because I wasn't sure what book I would start and I was tired when I got home.

So keep watch! So far Hunger Games is really good and I do want to read it whenever I'm doing something else. I think it goes with me to eat, go to the bathroom, as well as during commercials, or a half hour before bed each night. Okay, need to do some other stuff tonight.