Itching to read these....

It has been a while since I last read a book by Rick Riordan. Currently there are three books I am itching to read and they are “The Serpent’s Shadow” from the Kane Chronicles, and from the Heroes of Olympus series, “The Mark of Athena”, and “The Demigod Diaries”.

Rick Riordan is one of my many favourite authors because he wrote mythology based fictional stories surrounding Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome. I love reading fictional stories about these three ancient civilisations and for Rick Riordan to depict them in his witty and thought provoking novels, I was immediately hooked.

The Kane Chronicles Trilogy are about two siblings named Sadie and Carter Kane, and their story is based around the magicians and magic that was performed in Ancient Egypt, and about the powerful mythological Egyptian gods and goddesses. The trilogy of books in the Kane Chronicles are: “The Red Pyramid”, “The Throne of Fire”, and “The Serpent’s Shadow”. The first two books I have read and I cannot wait to read the final instalment in this trilogy.

                         

The other books I cannot wait to read are from the Heroes of Olympus series which is a spin-off or as I see it, a continuation of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Along with some of the main characters from the Percy Jackson series, there are new characters introduced in the Heroes of Olympus series, with both series meshing together the mythological world and the gods/goddesses of Ancient Greece and Rome. Currently the books in the Heroes of Olympus series are: “The Lost Hero”, “The Son of Neptune”, “The Mark of Athena” (released on October, 2012), and the supplementary collection of stories called “The Demigod Diaries”.  

    

Now if only I can find the time to read these new books!

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Because of the critically acclaimed and the hype generated with the release of “The Hunger Games” movie, I found myself curious in finding out what the story was about. I was a little wary whether I would enjoy the trilogy written by Suzanne Collins since it appeared to be a series that was targeted towards the adolescent audience. I am glad to say that I was pleasantly and utterly surprised at how much I really enjoyed and loved the trilogy!

The first book of the series is called “The Hunger Games”, the second is “Catching Fire”, and the third is called “Mockingjay”. All three books actually managed not only to move me beyond incredulity, sadness, tears, happiness plus other myriad of feelings while reading them, but it made me think deeply about war and humanity in a way that affected me greatly. I also saw similarities of the societies lived between the fictional country Panem, a Latin phrase for panem et circenses, literally meaning 'bread and circuses', and that of the civilisation of Ancient Rome. Children were pitted against each other to the death in Panem's Hunger Games arena, while slaves and prisoners battled each other in the Gladiatorial arena of Ancient Rome, until one victor remains. However, I had trouble getting past the fact that in the Hunger Games the participants were selected from a pool of children, the youngest at 12 years old and the eldest at 18yrs. I was horrified at how brutal, savage and cruel the Hunger Games would get as the children fought to survive, not only each other, but also the traps and perils the Hunger Games Gamemakers created and executed within the arena.

Overall, I enjoyed the books for what they were. I liked how the story of the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale was played out and why and who Katniss eventually chose in the end. Though I was utterly horrified at how many people died in the trilogy, war has its inevitable causalities and I knew some would die, I just did not expect certain characters I grew to like to be the ones that did. I liked the ending and it tied off lose ends and neatly packed up the whole story. With that in mind, I am not sure whether I will enjoy watching the “The Hunger Games” movie that has been released with the other 2 books to follow, because I know I will nitpick at them just as I always do whenever I read the book first. But I am sure I will eventually get around to it just for curiosity sake.

An avid reader...

I love to read. I love the feel of a book between my hands as I hungrily read the written words, immersing myself in and within the story of the book. One of my passions in life is reading and from the moment I learnt to read, books became constant companions in my life.

I read many genres, from fiction to non-fiction, and from many different authors. If a book captures and captivates me after a few chapters, I will quite happily read it from start to finish. However, I do have my favourite genres like Historical Romance, especially those written in the Regency era in England, such as the books written by one of my favourite authors, Jane Austen of which “Pride and Prejudice” is my favourite novel. One of my treasured collections of books is a Special Limited Edition “Jane Austen – The Illustrated Library” gifted to me by my cousin and her husband. Within its pages are beautifully drawn black & white illustrations as well as coloured picture plates, depicting scenes from the novels written by Jane Austen.

                      

The other books I absolutely love to read are by a writer called Johanna Lindsey who writes Romance novels. I can proudly say that I have collected and read all her books and have loved and liked all the books she has written. Of all the books she has published, my favourite is the ‘Malory Family’ series, with “Gentle Rogue” as my number one choice in that series.

I started buying and collecting books from when I was a teenager and I can proudly say that I have amassed quite a large collection of books and I am still collecting. My ever growing collection range from non-fiction books (biographies, cookbooks, academic, motivational, inspirational, and spiritual) and I have many fictional books from different genre and various authors. Although I still prefer the physical feel and smell of a book (old & new), with a paper between my fingers as I turn the page, I will not pass up the portability and convenience of reading a digital copy of a book, so I have also started to collect e-books.

Whatever form books come now and in the future, I will not stop reading and collecting books whether they are hardbacks, paperbacks or e-books. I will continue to immerse myself in and within the story of the book I am currently reading (whenever I can find the time), indulging in my passion. J