Thursday, December 30, 2010

2010 Awards

BEST OF 2010 

The Best book: "The Book Thief" by Marcus Zusak
The Best Trilogy/series: "Chaos Walking" by Patrick Ness 
Best Main Character: Robert Langdon from "Angels and Demons" 
Best supporting Character: Finnick Odair from "Catching Fire" 
Best Villain: Annie Wilkes from "Misery"   
Best Idea: "Pastworld" by Ian Beck

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas Haul



  
I haven't blogged for the last few days, due of course, to Christmas. 
It was a very busy Christmas for me-frantically buying presents on December 23, lunches and gatherings with all my family. There was hardly time to breathe. 
And in the few hours that were relaxing, I spent in my pool. It made me laugh, thinking about Europe-how almost every major city there was covered in snow, and here I was, perfectly content, relaxing my the water. 
Anyway, for Christmas this year I received five books:
1) Reckless by Cornelia Funke 
2) For one more day by Mitch Albom 
3) A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly (in USA, its a Northern Light) 
4) I am number Four by Pittacus Lore 
5) Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare  
Also, my family got an iPad as a joint present-so I have already downloaded loads of ebooks, including: A Christmas Carol, The wind in the Willows, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Phantom of the Opera and The Odyssey 




So tell me, what was your Christmas like? 
What books did you get? 

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Specials by Scott Westerfield  
Science Fiction , 372 pages 
Published 2006 by Simon Pulse 
Sequel to "Pretties"

Note: I am considering this book the finale of a trilogy, because Extras was an un-planned addition.
It is finally time for me to deal with Specials, the final book in the trilogy that began with
Uglies. I have put of this review for a couple of days, because I honestly dont know how I feel about this one.
I think the main problem for me, is the fact that Specials is the conclussion to a trilogy, yet id certainly did not seem that way when I was reading it. Allow me to explain:
The Hunger Games Trilogy: In both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Collins builds up the intensity, making it clear from the first moment who the good guys and bad guys are. She keeps us in suspence, and ends Catching Fire on such a note we are desperate get Mockingjay-eager to find out weather Katniss or The Capitol prevails, to find out how everything concludes. If she chooses Gale or Peeta? The point is, the first two books set up for an epic finale.
Chaos Walking Trilogy: Much the same, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer build up our excitement, desperate to see which side wins. Again, we know that Monsters of Men will finish everything in a breathtaking manner.


This comes to my problem with Specials. It does not seem like a grand finale to the trilogy, but more like any ordinary book. There was a beginning, a middle and an end. The major plot twist came half way through, as oppose to the previously mentioned finale's, when the beginning is book one, middle is book two and the end is book three. We know what to expect from #3, and know that so much is at stake.
Maybe this is the fault of Uglies and Pretties. Whilst very, very good, those two books did not build up our excitement enough, and the vibe of an exciting,fast conclusion is missing, and is instead replaced by a normal plot.
That is how I saw it anyway.
I hope that makes sense. It does, at least in my mind.


Anyway, it was an enjoyable book, just not what I expected.
I found the major action scene in the armory a little hard to follow, and there were many paragraphs through out the book that I had to re-read, just to make sense of.
However, the last half of this book was excellent. It certainly had the trilogy-epic-finale feel about it.
The action was great, as was the descriptions and emotion. Especially, involving the death scene of a certain-character. In my opinion, the finale of all trilogies/series must have the death of an important character. Westerfield wrote that particular scene very well, and it felt very real-the characters reactions were amazingly believable.


Also, the final showdown with Dr. Cable was great. Very visual and well written. The action in this scene was fast-yet very clear.
Infact, the second half of this novel was wonderful. Brilliantly paced and highly addictive. I stayed up until 3AM to finish it.


Its not as good as Uglies, though its better then Pretties. 
Final Mark: 3.5 stars  

How Aussie are you?



So I was on http://regansreadsx3.blogspot.com/ a few moments ago, and found this: A check-list of "how Aussie are you". I thought it was pretty cool, so I copied it onto my blog and filled it in for myself. 
The lines colored in RED are are the things that I have done. 
Copy and Paste this onto your blog, or let me know how many Aussie things you have done in the comments section!  

Heard a kookaburra in person. (Plenty of times)
Slept under the stars.
Seen a koala.
Visited Melbourne.
Watched a summer thunderstorm.
Worn a pair of thongs. (Heck, I can run in thongs. Thats how Aussie I am)
Been to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock)
Visited Cape York.
Held a snake.
Sang along with Khe San.
Drank VB. 
Visited Sydney.
Have seen a shark.
Have used Aussie (and NZ) slang naturally in a conversation.
Had an actual conversation with an indigenous Australian (Aboriginal)
Eaten hot chips from the bag at the beach. ( I thought everyone did this?)
Walked/climbed over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Used an outside dunny, and checked under the seat before sitting down.
Seen Chloe in Young & Jackson’s.
Slept on an overnight train or bus.
Been to Sydney’s Mardi Gras
Have gone bush-bashing.
Taken a sickie.
Been to see a game of Aussie Rules football. (Hundreds of times. Ive even been to a Grand Final) 
Have seen wild camels.
Gone skinny dipping.
Done a Tim Tam Slam.
Ridden in a tram in Melbourne.
Been at an ANZAC day Dawn Service.
Watched a sunrise or sunset.
Held a wombat.
Been on a roadtrip of 800km or more
Seen the Great Australian Bight in person.
Had a really bad sunburn.
Visited an Aboriginal community.
Seen a redback spider.
Have watched Paul Hogan. (In movies yes, but not live)
Seen Blue Poles in person.
Eaten Vegemite. (ILY Vegemite!) 
Thrown a boomerang. (It didnt come back :[ ) 
Seen the Kimberleys.
Given a hitch-hiker a lift.
Been to Perth.
Have tried Lemon, Lime and Bitters. (it is the most delicious drink in the history of the world!)
Tried playing a didgeridoo. 
Seen dinosaur footprints.
Eaten Tim Tams.
Been to Darwin.
Touched a kangaroo.
Visted the Great Barrier Reef.
Listened to Kevin Bloody Wilson.
Killed a Cane Toad. (No, but ive raced them)
Gone to a drive-in theatre.
Have read and own books by Australian authors.
Visited Adelaide. (Thats where I live!)
Know the story behind “Eternity”.
Been camping.
Visited Brisbane.
Been in an outback pub. (sort of. It wasnt outback, but it wasnt anywhere near city/suburbia either...) 
Know what the term “Waltzing Matilda” actually means.
Gone whale watching.
Listened to Slim Dusty.
Own five or more Australian movies or TV series.
Sang along to Down Under.
Have stopped specifically to look at an historic marker by the side of the road.
Eaten a Four N Twenty pie.
Surfed at Bondi.
Watched the cricket on Boxing Day.
Visited Hobart.
Eaten kangaroo.
Seen a quokka.
Visited Canberra.
Visited rainforests. (Daintree FTW!)
Used a Victa lawnmower.
Travelled on a tram in Adelaide.
Used a Hills hoist.
Visited Kata Tjuta
Used native Australian plants in cooking.
Visited the sno.
Chosen a side in Holden VS Ford. (Yes, Ford, though I could'nt care less.)
Visited the desert.
Been water skiing (on year 8 camp. I pulled a muscle whilst getting pulled up, yet still managed to last a minute standing in extreme pain. There's my amusing story for the day)
Read The Phantom.
Visited Parliament House. (both old and new)
Gone spotlighting or pig-shooting.
Crossed the Nullarbor.
Avoided swimming in areas because of crocodiles.
Listened to AC/DC. 
Called someone a dag.
Voted in a Federal Election. (I'll be voting in a few years. I would have gone for Howard, and Abott)
Have been swimming and stayed between the flags.
Had a possum in your roof.
Visited the outback.
Travelled over corrugated roads.
Hit a kangaroo while driving.
Been well outside any mobile phone coverage.
Seen an emu. 
Have woken to the smell of bushfires.
Subscribed to RRR.
Patted a pure-bred dingo. 
Seen the Oils live. (Peter Garrett's dancing is epic!) 

Monday, December 20, 2010

Recently Purchased




 In the past two months, I have brought the above books. 
"Everything's Eventual" by Stephan King. Second hand. 
"Pastworld" by Ian Beck. New 
"Uglies box set" by Scott Westerfield. New. (For only $30! Bargain!) 
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson. New 
"Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman. New. 

Have any of you read any of the above books, and if so, what did you think of them? 

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Review: Pretties by Scott westerfield


                                                          Pretties by Scott Westerfield  
                                                             Science Fiction , 370 pages 
Published 2005 by Simon Pulse 
 Sequel to "Uglies"
                   
Pretties takes place only a few days after Uglies ends. Tally is a Pretty, friends with Shay again, and eager to join The Crims-a popular Clique. She has a totally hot boyfriend, Zane, and everything in her life is great. 
But at a party she meets Croy, a Smoky from her Ugly past, and suddenly she begins to get back memories. Soon, she and Zane search for the Cure-two pills cleverly hidden by Maddy. Once taken, they get their normal minds back, and desperately plan an escape back to the New Smoke. However, everything starts to go wrong...  

Im not sure what to think about this one. I loved "Uglies", and always knew that the sequel would not be as great, but I still expected it to be reasonable. 
In a way, I loved Pretties, but I also hated it.  
The first 2o0 pages were damn awful. They are dull, boring and even tedious to struggle through. Of course there are enjoyable scenes, but only a few. At one stage I almost dropped the book and read the plot summary on wikipedia, so I 'wouldn't have to read anymore of this garbage' and move onto "Specials" 
However, I am incredibly thankful that I did not, as the final 150 pages are wonderful. Unpredictable, suspenseful, well written and full of action. I read the last 150 pages in one sitting, and loved it. 
I am going to review this book in two halfs. The first 200 pages, and the last 150 pages: 

First half: I was extremely disappointed. The majority of it is Tally, Zane, Shay and sometimes Paris shitting around doing butt-nothing except party, ice skate, and talk stupidly for a while. Eventually, this becomes a drag to read about. 
The Pretties vocabulary (Thats totally bubbly-making!) was really, super annoying. Half the time it barely made sense, and I wanted to throw the book across the room. 
As previously mentioned, there were many stages I was tempted to put the book down, and read the summary on wikipedia. That is how boring the first 200 pages can be. 
However, there are a number of enjoyable scenes, especially when Tally and Zane are trying to find the cure. But none the less, not enough to hold my attention. 
I would give part one, two stars. 

Second Half: From about page 220, this is a four-star book. The pretty talk, boringness and shitting around completely vanishes, and in its place comes oodles of action, twists and thrills. I particularly enjoyed the scenes with the "Ugly Tribe"-nothing more can be said without spoilers, especially when they reached 'the end of the world'. Westerfield wrote this particularly well, and the creepy scene was certainly my favorite.

I know that bucket loads of people will not enjoy this book. It is awfully paced, as previously mentioned. 200 pages of nothing, then next 150 pages of almost non stop action and adventure. 
Also, the thrills-though still there-are somewhat less then that of Uglies, because the plot is very similar. The ending would have been wonderful, had almost the exact same thing not happened in the previous book. The whole plot can be mirrored to Uglies in some way or another. 

As a reader, I did enjoy the book, but if I was a book critic or professional reviewer, it would receive awful marks. 
My final rating is probably more then Pretties deserved, but Im a sucker for a fun read, and the climax was certainly that. 




Friday, December 17, 2010

Review: Uglies by Scott westerfield


                                                            Uglies by Scott Westerfield  
                                                             Science Fiction , 425 pages 
Published 2005 by Simon Pulse
                   

Uglies is a thrilling novel set 3000 years into the future, and when a teenager hits the age of 16 they have a mega-operation to make them stunningly gorgeous. From then on they are known as "A Pretty", whilst those who are yet to have the operation-normal teenagers-are called "Uglies". 
Tally Youngblood can not wait to turn Pretty, however, her new friend Shay has doubts. A few days before her sixteenth birthday, Shay runs away from civilization, desperate to keep her "ugly" looks, and find a group of people known as "The Smokies" who share her thoughts, and live a normal, surgery free life. 
However, chaos begins when Tally is presented with an option: Find Shay and the Smokies, and bring them back, or never turn Pretty at all, and Tally's life is changed forever...  

I was very impressed with this book. As far as Dystopians go, this is the best I have ever read. Granted, the story is not as great as that of The Hunger Games or Chaos Walking, but the post-apocalypse aspect is better. I was content with the amount of detail we were given about the end of the world. How it happened, when it happened, what survived, what was learnt by our mistakes, what has happened to other nations and what the future looks like. 
I loved Westerfield's image of the future. The way he describes Uglyville and New Prettytown is wonderful-I could imagine both perfectly and clearly. I loved the hover-boarding.  It seems like Westerfield has actually invented a hover board, with all the creativity he uses when writing about them. He explains how they are used, what they look like, where and why you can use them.  
From all the Dystopian novels that I have read, this is by far my favorite explanation of the future. 

The plot was sensational as well. There was not a dull part, from the very first paragraph ( a beautiful description of a red sunset) the book kept me on glued to the page. Wether I was curious about New Prettytown and the far-off future, trying to figure out Shay's mysterious clues with Tally, hooked on the romantic aspect with David, or on the edge of my seat as the gripping, thrilling and intense climax took place. I finished this book in less then 24 hours, starting Monday morning, finishing 2AM Wednesday morning. In between I had braces put on and un-willingly went shopping with friends. 
It was amazing. 

There is also a very good message behind this entertaining story. There are constant references to the environment, talking about how 'Rusties'-us, the people of today-were so stupid and silly as to ruin nature. In 3000 years, people are in disbelief about how selfish we are, and struggle to believe that we could kill trees and animals. Eventually, this almost kills the world and ourselves.  

Uglies also gives the reader much food for thought. 
-Is it worth forcing a friend to change their values and opinions, if it means fulfilling my lifes dream? 
-Is it worth becoming amazingly gorgeous and fitting in, if it means sacrificing something important to me? 
-We believe the reality of what we are presented with, and refuse to think otherwise.
-If we are told, 'unless you look a certain way, you are ugly'. Must we believe it?

I really, really enjoyed this novel. 
It was entertaining, thrilling, and the concept is amazing. 
The only flaw I could find, is with the characters. None of them stand out, and none of them interest me greatly. I am hoping to find out more about the characters in the sequel, Pretties.  
The ending was wonderful, and the cliffhanger is a perfect balance of: I really, really need to read what happens next, with out being overly annoying and frustrating (cough: Catching Fire cough). 
Westerfield writing style is great. It is easy, quick and fun to read. He can write very good dialogue, make subtle-yet hilarious-jokes, and write great action scenes. 

There is a movie release scheduled for 2011, and as far as I know there is no director or cast, as of yet. So tell me, who would you cast into the lead roles for the movie? Personally, every single character must be un-knowns, except for maybe Dr. Cable, who I can totally see as Cate Blanchette: 


All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to boys and girls ages 13 and up. It is a quick, entertaining and thought provoking read.  





Tuesday, December 14, 2010

My favorite book covers

Because I have just gotten back from the dentist, having braces put on, I am really not in the mood to write a lengthy article today. 
So I will focus on sharing my favorite book covers with you all: 




Right: Misery by Stephan King. What grabs me is the simpleness and creepiness-the sillouette of Annie Wilks holding the axe, overshadowing the broken form of Paul Sheldon in his wheelchair.  


Below: The Regulators and Desperation by Stephan King. I LOVE these. The books 'compliment' each other, both plot wise and cover wise. One shows a colorful suburban neighborhood, whilst the other shows a similar desert, both in the stage of catastrophe. Very eye catching and unique. 
























To Be Continued...

Review: Pastworld by Ian Beck

                                                              Pastworld by Ian Beck
Science Fiction , 355 pages 
Publsihed 2009 by Bloomsbury
                   

It was the cover that grabbed my attention. This cover is possibly the best one that I have seen all year. With the foggy, cobblestone lane, gas lamps, Saint Paul's Cathedral looming at the back, the two mysterious figures, the metallic font and catchy hook, how could I possibly look away?  
If the cover hooked me, the blurb reeled me in faster then the speed of sound. I thought it sounded incredible. A Dystopian thriller set in a theme-park version of Victorian London? Yes please! 
I had purchased the book within seconds, and couldn't wait to start.  I had massive expectations... 
...But I was incredibly disappointed. 

The plot in a nutshell: The year is 2048 and London has been demolished. In its place stands  Pastworld, 'the greatest theme park ever invented'. It is a perfect recreation of Victorian London, full of gas lamps, gothic architecture, beggars, waistcoats, traveling circus's and even The Fantom-a mass murderer much like Jack the Ripper. 
Caleb is a tourist visiting Pastworld, but soon his father is kidnapped and Caleb is charged with murder, so he is forced to run, and soon befriends a street-kid, Bible J.  
Eve is a local resident at Pastworld, but when she realizes The Fantom is stalking her-hunting her for an unknown reason, she runs away, and is taken in by a group of Traveling Players. 
The Fantom continues his bloody murders, intent on finding both Eve-and Caleb. Together, with the help of Bible J and Detectives from the Modern World, they must stop The Fantom, before he stops them. 
The dark secrets of the present, are living in the past... 

I was incredibly disappointed by Pastworld. There are so many aspects that I can criticize, I barely know where to start. 
1) The characters. I found no emotional connection with any of them what-so-ever. I could not care less for Caleb, Eve, Bible J, Lestrade or any of the other detectives that could easily have been merged into one character. The dialogue from them all was raw and wooden. I could not understand the motives behind any of their actions, and when important actions were taken-there was no emotional detail or thought to proceed/follow it. 
The author didnt even give a clear reason as to why The Fantom kills and mutilates. 
2) Detail. This is probably what I was most disappointed about. I wanted lots of juicy detail-fantastic imagery-of the Victorian streets. I wanted a clear picture of the old houses, police stations, cobblestone lanes. Whilst reading certain scenes, I couldn't help thinking: I bet I could write this better. 
Also, I wanted more information about the outside world. What is the year 2048 like? What has changed? In this book's 350 pages, we only get a few lines about the outside-world. We are barely even given a reason 'the real London' no longer exists.  
I was-and still am-incredibly annoyed about this lack of imagery inside and outside Pastworld. 
However, I must make a tiny exception to the scenes in the forest. That was described well-but improvement can still be made.  
3) The characters relationships. Okay, so two characters fall in love (its not the obvious guess as to who they are, either), but I can see no reason and meaning behind their feelings for each other. 
They only share a few private conversations, and talk about nothing meaningful. Just things like: The name of a horse, or: commenting on the tourists. 
I found their relationship very hard to believe. Especially at the end, when character 1 puts his own life in danger to save character 2. 
Oh, and the creepy-weird-almost disturbing-almost sexual-awkward scene between another two characters. Again, they barely (if ever) spoke to one another before they were alone together. That scene was NOT romantic. It read like something out of Twilight. For those of you who have read the book, you know which scene I am talking about. For those of you who havent, it is a few pages towards the end when character 1 asks character 2 to put his hands around her neck, and hold them there, then she puts her hands flat on his face. 
Not romantic. Or sweet, at all. 
4) The climax. Okay, so credit to Ian Beck, he paced the last half of this book well, and I kind of enjoyed the climax (And build up). The last ten pages are full-throttle action scenes, and the final fight takes place on the roof of the only modern building left in Pastworld, "Tower 42" only minutes from its demolition.  
Firstly, I would much rather have seen the final battle on top of The Gherkin,  a much cooler,  bullet shaped glass sky-scraper just around the corner (but thats personal preference). 
Secondly, Beck doesn't even describe the buildings appearance once, which made the scene hard to imagine, since I didnt know what Tower 42 looks like. 
Thirdly, there way WAY to many characters involved. I lost track of who was (and wasnt) there, what each character was doing and where they were. 

Having said all this, some parts of the novel were enjoyable, and I can possibly see a movie in the future. Ian Beck leaves a fairly open ending, and a sequel is possible. If this is the case, I will still read it, though I will do so reluctantly, and hoping that Beck redeems himself. 
Would I recommend it?
Maybe. There is no reason not to do so, but there is nothing that makes me want to shout out and force people to read this book. 
All in all, this was a wasted opportunity. A marvelous idea with a poor execution.

Final Mark (Out of five:)

Monday, December 13, 2010

Review: Misery by Stephan King

 Misery by Stephan King
 Horror , 320 pages 
Publsihed 1987 by Hodder & Staughton 
                   

This book was amazing. By far Stephen King's very best. It kept me awake every night I read it, I was incredibly hooked on MISERY.
This stunning novel has just two characters, which is one of the reasons it is so powerful. Paul Sheldon is the best selling author of The Misery Chastain novels. In his most recent book, Misery's Child he kills of the main character in order to start a new series of books. Soon after, he is involved in a car accident-and is saved by Annie Wilkes, his Number One Fan. She takes him up to her Colorado mountain home, where she cares for him and nurses him back to health. 
Then, one day she reads Misery's Child, and is distraught over the death of her favorite character.  Enraged, she buys a type writer and paper, and forces Sheldon to write one last Misery book, where he is to bring the heroine back to life. 
Paul doesnt want to do it, but he has got no choice. Because Annie Wilks is not sane. She has not let the authorities know where he is, and she has hidden the pain-killers. Not to mention she is the one holding the knifes, the axe and the blow-torch...
Paul Sheldon used to write for a living...Now he is writing to stay alive. 



The story was exceptional. The plot was simple, yet there was never a dull moment. I was forever on the edge of me seat, holding my breath and wondering what was going to happen next. The suspense is mind-blowing! 
The two characters were so darn believable. The realism was what made this so scary. Ive got no problem believing that there are people like Paul Sheldon and Annie Wilks out there. King portrays both characters so well. The emotion is wonderful, and I can fully understand the motive behind all the actions taken. 
The writing style is also fantastic. So simple and raw, yet thrilling and suspenseful. 
Some scenes were absolutely breath taking, others unbearably nerve-racking, and some were even gasp-aloud gruesome. King describes everything so well. I can clearly picture every room in Annie Wilks house and garden, including the coffee-table decorations and the view of the surrounding mountains. Of course, there are some parts that are left to the readers imagination. And thank goodness that the scene involving Paul Sheldon's feet, an axe and a blowtorch is one of them. 
 At many stages in this addictive novel did my parents tell me to 'shut up' because I was gasping so loud or muttering: "Oh, my goodness..."


An example of how brilliant Misery is:
Usually, I read thirty pages a night. To read fifty is like...woah! for me.
On Sunday night (a school night) I was up at 2AM , with my torch under the covers getting scared shi*less by this book. That night I read 200 pages.
No, that is not a typo. I swayed away from my normal ten pages, and read almost two hundred pages!.
Misery is that cool.
Then, at the end of those two hundred pages (i still had about 100 left to go), I tried to sleep. And miserably failed. (Miserably/Misery-haha, see what I did there? haha, no, it wasnt funny. Moving on. )
I was so horrified and tense about the scenes I had just read, sleep was impossible, so i went into the living room, switched on every single light and rocked myself back and forward on the couch, trying not to think about Annie Wilks and her axe, but failing. 


The 1990 movie version staring James Caan and Cathy Bates is almost as good as the book. 
Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Annie Wilks, and she certainly deserved it.  

Now, I realize many people will not enjoy this story due to the fact it is farily glory, and there is some fowl language, but if you have a taste for good plot lines, realistic characters, and a strong stomach, I am begging you....Please read this stunning book! 
Its sensational!   

Final Mark (out of five):




Monday, September 6, 2010



THE HUNGER GAMES 
By S. Collins 

Is there a person left who is yet to read The Hunger Games, New York Times best selling, post-apocalypse series staring Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mallark? 
This magnificent trilogy has taken me by storm, and I find myself thinking about it at every spare moment. 
Unfortunately, it does not claim the title of my 'favorite trilogy ever' (The Chaos Walking books by Patrick Ness get that title) for one simple reason. And that reason is the final book in this series, Mockingjay
Personally, I did not enjoy the final installment. Perhaps it just wasn't a good book. Perhaps my expectations were just to high following the epic cliff hanger at the end of Catching Fire, but I just wanst satisfied with the book.   
It lacked too much detail. In a nutshell, that is the issue. There was no detail! All the juicy, action packed scenes that the trilogy had been building up to where taking place "off-screen". 
And the death scenes! Dont even get me started on those. I did not even tear up a little bit in any one of them.  
I will not go deeper, in fear of spoiler, but if you want to see my full review click here: 

Mind you, The Hunger games and Catching Fire were both mind-blowing exceptional, full of suspense, action, adventure, mystery, romance, and few laughs. But, as I was telling my humanities teacher today, the strongest point of this series is believability.  
Mrs. Collins creates the world of Panem so brilliantly, that one eventually starts believing in it. I, for one, found Panem a little to realistic. What, with all the rules and the the Reaping Process? The Captiol Citizens, the interviews, stylists and members of the Government. 
I found it all exceptionally well created, and that redeems the woeful conclusion to the trilogy. 
To finish, some quick stats:  

Favorite of the Trilogy: Catching Fire (#2) 
Least favorite: Mockingjay (#3)
Best character: Haymitch Abernathy, he was the most in-depth and interesting character for me
Least favorite character: Cato. Dislikable and 1 dimensional. 
Team Gale or Peeta? Peeta. Though Gale did grow on me in Mockingjay
Favorite scene? The final battle at the end of Catching Fire
Who would I like to see star in the movie? Robert Downey Jnr as Haymitch, Ian Somerhalder as Finnick.  

So, tell me: What did you think of the trilogy? 
Who would you put in the film? 
Who was your favorite character and scene. 
NOTE: comments will contain spoilers, so if you havent read the trilogy, look away now!