New Keys!

To our new house! We move in this weekend!

Book 18: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

THIS BLOG POST CONTAINS SPOILERS! 

Okay, was that big enough? Because the last thing I want to do is ruin this book for anybody, but I have to vent.

I was beyond disappointed with the ending to the series. I felt like I was reading a completely different book then Hunger Games and Catching Fire.  I know I am in the minority in this opinion, but still, hear me out.

My primary complaint is that I feel like Collins did not do justice to the characters.  I hate to compare the book to Harry Potter, but I have to because for me the experience of reading the two was very similar.  In Harry Potter you had violence and you had death of beloved characters, but I felt like every time a character died Rowling brought them full circle.  Mockingjay felt like a slaughter.  She completely mutilated the Peta I had loved so much.  Katniss lost all of her confidence, all of her focus.  Collins blew poor Prim to bits without even so much as a second thought.  Not to mention poor Finnick! Collins got us to love him and then killed him off a paragraph, never to be spoken of again.

I know that the book had a "realistic" ending.  It probably shouldn't have been happily ever after, after all, the premise is centered around kids killing each other in an arena.  I guess I didn't prepare myself for it be that depressing.  To feel like my characters were left forever changed, for the worst.  My friend who suggested the book told me its because I viewed it as escapist literature instead of understanding what Collins did was bold, to end a series so...raw.  However, I think she could have done better. I think she could have written an ending that not only was realistic, but did justice to the characters.  I know she is a better writer then Mockingjay because she wrote Hunger Games and Catching Fire, both of which had me captivated from the very beginning.

What did you think of Mockingjay? 

Next up, I am listening to Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin; reading Good in Bed by Jen Lancaster.

Make sure to friend me on Goodreads! My user name is DuolyNoted.

Sunday Post

A lot has been happening around here, and I wrote a whole post on it today. However, since we are still in the midst of it all I have decided to hold off on posting it until things have calmed down and there is a conclusion (thus I can write with more ANGER and not fear any repercussions). The good news is I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel, or rather I am cautiously optimistic that everything is going to work out soon.

Which why I was so blessed and thankful that today was such a Perfect Sunday.

8 Questions

Last week, Melissa from For the Love tagged me in an 8 questions post. I love her blog, so if you are not a reader already head on over to her blog and check it out! Since I am trying to avoid both the work I brought home this weekend and the football party going on downstairs, I thought I would play along!

1. BLT or PB&J?

PB&J all the way. That is what I ate my entire first year of law school while sitting in a cubby and studying for contracts. Talk about comfort food!

2. If you had to choose, would you give up your home Internet access or cable TV?

I WOULD RATHER DIE THEN CHOSE! Am I being over dramatic? Probably, but the thought of living without either makes me really upset.  However, if forced to chose I would nix the television because I could still watch TV online and I would probably read more...which is always a good thing. Plus, if I gave up the internet, how the hell would I blog?

3. Do believe in astrology?

I like to play along with it sometimes, but in reality, no I don't.

4. What is the last CD or iTunes single you purchased?

"Mogli's Road" by Marina and the Diamonds.  In other music news, my next music purchase will be Sara Bareilles's new album on September 7th! I am so excited.

5. If you could trade bodies with one celebrity, who would you choose?

I am embarrassed to admit this, but it would be Kim Kardashian.  While I hope her brains would not transfer, I would trade bodies with her any day of the week.

6. How many pairs of shoes are in your closet?

Not that many actually! Probably about 20?  Most of which I don't even like.
I am more of a purse girl.

7. Do you make your bed every day?

Absolutely.  And I am very particular about how the pillows are stacked.  

8. What college football team are you rooting for this season?

Boise State! 

My 8 Questions are: 
1. If you could have an unlimited shoe budget or purse budget which one would you pick?
2. If you could change lives with one person for a day who would it be?
3. What is the one place you haven't been that you want to visit before you die?
4. What is your most unrealistic fear?
5. If you could compete in one Olympic sport, which one would you pick?
6. What was the last book you read and did you like it?
7. What song best describes how you are feeling this moment?
8. Who is your rolemodel?


I am tagging: 
All the Girls (and their blogs) from Seven Dames a Week
Hillary from A Gal and Her Dog
Jessica from Acting Adult
Rachel from Observations of a Token Yankee
MM from If Here Was There 
Brittney from Going Places 
Katie from Oui, Bien Sur!
All the Small Things  
New Teacher. (Finally) New Wife.

Also, if you want to play along consider yourself tagged!

Book 17: Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster

At some point this weekend I will draft my blog post on why my favorite cookbook was in a box and also how I narrowly avoided living under the GW bridge with all my belongings in a shopping cart. It is an amazing (ly terrible) story, but right now the thought of talking about it gives me post traumatic stress. Instead, I am going to sip my glass of crap blush wine and blog about something much more entertaining:

Bitter is the new Black.

And no, I am not talking about my personality this week. I am talking about the unemployment memoir by Jen Lancaster (see her blog HERE) that has been my saving grace for the last two weeks.  You see, I get car sick very easily...which means I can't read in the car.  This apparently applies to trains as well because while trying to read on the train I had the sudden urge to run off and puke into the nearest trash can.  I didn't, but it took some major yoga breathing to make it through the sea of green I was experiencing.  To cope, I downloaded Lancaster's book to my ipod.

Lancaster's cheeky memoir chronicles her life as a corporate power player living in what she refers to as "the dot.com palace" to getting laid off and struggling to find work for two years.  Her writing style is funny, heartbreaking, witty, and very egocentric.  I love it.  My only wish was that I had read it last year, as I think I would have found a lot of comfort in her experience.  If you have ever been unemployed or are unemployed, you will love this book.  If you haven't - then you probably wont get it but it is still enjoyable. 

If you need me for the next four hours I will be plowing through the ending of Mockingjay!