I'm having one of those weeks where pretty much nothing gets done except a lot of sleeping and reading and watching White Collar (our latest TV show obsession.) None of this is particularly post-worthy, but sometimes when there's a lag here I get concerned e-mails wondering if I've grown tired of the blog or something more dire has occurred. So, rest assured, everything's fine; I've just been a little down since we got back from VA on Monday, and needed a little down time.
I finished up the Hunger Games trilogy (and am impatiently waiting for John to read the 3rd book so I can gripe about it in more detail), worked on my Portal Lemons cross stitch, and played more games of Sudoku on my iPhone than I can count - all with my cat Lily curled up on my lap. (Obviously I've been leaning on John to carry CW a lot more than usual, too. Luckily he's been knocking posts out of the park with his infomercial parodies.)
So, all in all, it's been the perfect therapy week. I think I may even be ready to tackle my e-mail inboxes now! (Or....not.) And while you're waiting for me to get back into the swing of things here, you can always check out the stuff I've been pinning or all the goodies your fellow Epbot readers are sharing on the Epbot FB page, since those are good therapy anytime.
(Oh, and have you seen The Guild's latest music video? People are calling it the new Geek Anthem. Check it out if you haven't already!)
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I'm super confused from all the way back at book 1. Didn't book 1 tell them that there could be two winners as long as they were from the same district? So what was the whole suicide thing all about? That shouldn't have been necessary if they were both allowed to win! big sigh I've been wondering about that since I read the books. :)
ReplyDeleteMy husband finished book 3 last night. I was all, "Didn't you think that blah blah blah?!" and he said, "No, not really" and that's as much griping as I was allowed.
ReplyDeleteMy toenails are in a sorry state, and yet I have NOT managed the energy to even remove the polish. So good for you! Cheers!
Hope you'll share your Hunger Games gripes with us. My 7th grade son had to read the first book for school, and that led to everyone in the house reading the entire trilogy.
ReplyDeleteI had plenty of gripes of my own but found the story original enough and compelling enough that I wanted to continue reading. My main complaint is that I thought the endings of all three books were really weak, abrupt, and disappointing.
I also don't think that 7th graders should be reading The Hunger Games in school. There are too many other thought-provoking YA novels much more worthy of study and discussion.
I understand that the promise of violence lures all those young, reluctant readers out there, but, like the Harry Potter books and the Twilight books, the Hunger Games trilogy should be reserved for free-time entertainment.
Can't wait for your perspective.
Ever think about starting an Epbot book club? That could be fun. Or just more work for you. Hah.
Looking forward to seeing the before and after photos of your parents' home.
KW
[warning: Hunger Games Bk 1 Spoilers ahead!]
ReplyDelete@Angie - no, there was only ever allowed to be one winner for each Games, which is why the mid-game announcement that 2 could win was such a big deal. And of course, at the end they revoked that exception, which is why the berries had to come out.
@Angie- I dont recall it ever saying that there could be 2 winners but I could be wrong. If you read more into the series, it explains the whole "suicide" event in more detail.
ReplyDeleteHunger Games Spoilers!
ReplyDeleteAngie, during the 74th Hunger Games they changed the rules to say a pair of tributes from the same district could win. It was playing up the love angle of Katniss and Peeta. Then, though, at the end they reneged on the rule change saying that it was back to the original rule of only one winner. That's when Katniss came up with the plan to eat the berries to commit suicide. The Capitol HAD to have a winner, and she essentially told them that they could have two winners or no winners. She makes a fool of the Capitol by telling them how it's going to be, which is why she becomes an enemy of the state and the symbol of the rebellion.
BTW, I also have gripes about book three.
I haven't been very productive this week either BUT I have finally finished season 2 of Downton Abbey!
ReplyDeletePs) LOVE White Collar! Actually I love most of USA's series, Suits, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, and Necessary Roughness.
Oh please! No book club! I'm SO far behind on books I already have! I have at least 100 stories on my Kindle that I had to have and haven't started. *sigh* I have too many hobbies....
ReplyDeletei'm interested to hear your gripes. i loved the ending. i will say that i am probably the only person i know who didn't like the movie, so when you're ready to gripe about that, count me in.
ReplyDeleteHave you been to see the movie yet?! It was great! There were some things that they left out that I was pretty mad about, but I really didn't miss the tiny details as much as I thought I would. It followed the book almost EXACTLY. I was petty impressed. Which one of the books did you like the most?
ReplyDeleteOMG, the Guild's new song is my absolute favorite song right now. I relate a bit too much.
ReplyDeleteTime watching White Collar is definitely time well-spent! I adore that show, and it may or may not have anything to do with my enormous crush on Neal ;)
ReplyDeleteWhite Collar is the best show ever, and I'm free to gripe about Mockingjay anytime. :)
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of painting toes, after your kermit green toes post I was inspired to paint my own toes something out of the norm, and it was an excellent mood lifter. So far I have done Kermit green, Grover blue (or Smurf blue if you'd rather), and just today I went with Big Bird yellow. You have to work hard to be grumpy with muppet colored toes. My son is requesting I go Animal red next.
ReplyDeleteAll I did today was organize my internet bookmarks so I hear you! And I want to hear your Hunger Games gripes too!
ReplyDeleteI liked the first two books but I thought the ending to the third was rushed.
I had to read the series 3 times before I could accept the ending of Mockingjay. I still don't like it but I understand why it had to happen for the plot to develop properly. I still don't like how some of it was written after that but maybe the movie will fix some of that. I feel the end was just really rushed, like she was trying to meet the deadline.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to see the movie again tomorrow and just started reading the book again tonight.
I don't think making kids read it in school is necessary a bad thing, though it's more 9th grade than 7th, I think. Twilight and HP are supernatural so I can see how parents could have issues but THG can start great discussions on governments and laws. We read Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet in 9th grade and people die in those books too.
When you frame/mount your cross-stitch, could you show a how-to? I have yet to find a way that doesn't involved a mini-mental breakdown and paying Michael's to frame it for me!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Hunger Games yet, now I'm going to have to since everyone and their mom is all, "O hai! You has read book?"
ReplyDeleteI LOVE White Collar - Neal is *so* hot and I love the interplay between the characters. I can't wait until Season 3 comes to Netflix and I can watch it streaming and not stuttering through third party sites. And then the show comes back in summer ^_^
ReplyDeleteYou pick some pretty awesome shows for your down time! I'm currently working my way through 'Reaper' - Devil, demons, but funny :)
Hope you are feeling better soon, I missed your posts too :)
@SarahC, I'm with you- thoroughly enjoyed the books, the movie felt a little 'meh' to me. But I love book discussions, gripes included. Jen, my toe nails are... not pretty. But summer is coming so I better get focused. :) Love BOTH your blogs & your pin boards!
ReplyDeleteOMG. White Collar is so amazing. And I might have a slightly unhealthy obsession with Matt Bomer (BTW, if you watch Glee, have you seen this week's with Matt? oh dear lord. If nothing else, YouTube him singing with Darren Criss, they do two duets, Duran Duran and Gotye. I died.)
ReplyDeleteAlso, yay, Hunger Games! please gripe away here! Book 3 was my least favorite, and I won't be rereading it anytime soon, but gah. I love the whole series!!!
@ Brittany - will do! I'm eager to try out this new adhesive backer board people have been telling me about - apparently it's made especially for needlework pieces.
ReplyDelete@ Jessica- I'm ridiculously behind on Glee, but I did go on to Youtube to watch Bomer's songs. I *loved* the Gotye cover, but I'm not sure I'll ever look at Neal the same after that Duran Duran dance routine. Ha!
I'm glad some of you have the same issues with HG that I did: I agree on the rushed ending thing, big time! Way too abrupt for a series you get so invested in, ya know?
Painted toe nails counts. Why don't you write "paint toe nails" on a to-do list and then cross it off? Sense of accomplishment? Check.
ReplyDeleteI saw this fabric and thought you'd like to see it too. It's not available yet (how on-the-cusp!) but I'm sure you could think of a reason why you need fabric. I stretch fabric over dollar-store canvases if I like a pattern and the colours are groovy.
Sweet Fabric
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Mockingjay..I had some gripes too. I've noticed that I have trouble finding a satisfying ending to a book series..by which I mean the last book in a series will frequently leave me feeling upset. Maybe I just don't want them to end..LOL.
ReplyDeleteOn painting toenails: Ever heard of NerdLacquer on Etsy? They started carrying some of her stuff on ThinkGeek (if you can get it..it sells out super fast). I got a bottle of TARDIS blue. It makes me happy. ^_^
i dropped something in the snail mail for you today... and thanks for the inspiration to go to my first sci-fi con! i stood within a foot of tamora pierce! and was too shy to take any pictures. next time ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Guild link - just found out about them and am enjoying them rocking geekdom :)
ReplyDelete@Monica--I have to go check her out now! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHunger Games gripes--I understand the ending of Mockingjay, and do like it better than the ending of HP. But, I would have liked more info on how things developed after the rebellion! Were there absolutely no changes except for the Games themselves??????
OMG that video rocks. I SO need to catch up.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I think it was a waste of time to read the last two books. I thought both of them were really reaching and a little too contrived.The first was fairly good though.
ReplyDelete(Yes, this is a late reply... I apologize.)
ReplyDeleteLOVE White Collar. I don't watch Glee, but I did catch Matt's songs. He's so awesome. Love him. :)
As for Hunger Games, yes please gripe about it! I have my own gripes but the movie eliminated my biggest comlpaint: the books needed to be in third person! (ESPECIALLY the last two)
And I support the idea of a book club. That'd be awesome.