World Book Night is almost upon us!

World Book Night is exactly two weeks from today! I'm giddy with anticipation! I'm also looking forward to seeing the books themselves. Apparently they will look a little different from the normal sale editions, with WBN promo information all over them. I hope they don't look lame because of it.

I'm not sure exactly where I'm going to be handing books out yet, so I'm open to suggestions. I don't, however, anticipate having a whole lot of trouble getting rid of 20 copies of The Hunger Games.

The list is kind of weird. I can't for the life of me figure out why they would hand out copies of the 17th book in a series (Q  by Sue Grafton). The Stand is massive, also not a book I would have chosen for those who don't read all the time. I'm all about the diversity of the list though, Ender's Game is classic Sci-Fi that is a great gateway into the genre. Friday Night Lights is great for non-readers and Because of Winn Dixie is a fantastic kids book. 

I would have liked to see some less know titles on the list. Maybe sub out The Stand for Horns by Joe Hill, or The Bean Trees instead of The Poisonwood Bible. I'm not entirely sure The Lovely Bones hasn't out lived it's hype, I would not have included it in my list of thirty.

What book would you have liked to see on the list?

A Guest Post or A Concise Review of The Hunger Games From Someone Who Hadn't Read Them.

For a long time, I sold books for a living.

I started when Harry Potter was beginning its world domination. Over the years, I watched as the HP crowd finished the series and picked up Twilight, Percy Jackson and the Inheritance Cycle. And while I relished putting books of any kind into the hands of the Facebook obsessed, I did not read these literary blockbusters myself. When the world’s attention turned to Hunger Games, I didn’t blink an eye.

I read Economics. I read Business books. I read…Self Improvement. Basically, everything that attracts a reader - like, say, Meg - to a book is exactly what I am not into: dragons, fairies, character names with y’s where there should be i’s. Point of fact, I just typed my name into an Elven name generator, and I got Cadothyel. Yeah - go in peace, but no thanks. As soon as I learned that we were dealing with a Katniss, I knew I would not be partaking in the trilogy.

But everybody else on earth did partake, and momentum gathered. Eventually, I came across the trailer for Hunger Games at the theater, and I felt...strangely excited. Wait, it’s a futuristic dystopia? I can watch teenagers battle to the death? And everyone has normal ears? This seems more like Orwell and Margaret Atwood than Stephanie Meyer.

And when I saw it, it was great. Without ever having cracked the book, I followed everything in the movie with ease. The world of Panem was fascinating as translated to the screen. Great performances, riveting story, lots of gore. A great movie all around.

The best part? I’ll probably pick up Catching Fire the book. I’m hooked. Score one for Young Adult!