The Hunger Games - online and audio books

Since I had the week off for spring break I decided to read The Hunger Games trilogy (and I'm sure it helped that the movie came out this past week too!) I read the first two, saw the movie, and finished the third one yesterday. (No spoilers, I really don't talk about the books at all, just the process in which I read them all, because it's so different and I find it kind of amusing)

I can't even describe how I felt once I finished the The Mockingjay. I was so happy, teary eyed, a little sad, satisfied.... It was just SO good! I had heard mixed reviews on the third book, so I was a little apprehension, but it was amazing! I couldn't have ended it any better myself (almost makes me wonder about those people who didn't like it....)

I read these three books in an interesting way over this week. I read one the "normal" way, a paperback physical book in my hands. I read online. And I listened to the audiobook!

I listened to the first two chapters of The Hunger Games while I was getting ready for the murder mystery party we went to on Saturday....and then continued reading the actual book in bed when we got home...until Kevin questioned why I was still awake at 4:00 am! Read it Sunday on the way to church, and arrived at church with only 11 pages left in the book! (don't worry, I left it in the car!) I finished book one soon after leaving church. Wasn't too satisfied with the ending, but was okay with that knowing there were two more books.

I decided to wait until I saw the movie to read the second book. HA! By Monday morning I couldn't handle it any longer. I had Catching Fire on audio, but wasn't in the mood for that so started the online search. Libraries - out of the question, I'd be on hold forever. Checked out Amazon so I could read them on my kindle Fire, but am too cheap to spend $5.00 to put a book on my kindle...knowing I'd never actually "receive" anything. And then, I found it. (insert happy music here) Did you know you can read books online, like popular books, for FREE?! And you don't have to jump through crazy ads or fake sign ups to get it! Seriously, check out OnRead.com and when you choose the book to read, you don't have to download it, just click "read online" It's amazing! That's how I read all of Catching Fire. I was baffled by the ending and also excited, yet nervous, to figure out what would happen in book three.

Saw on movie on Tuesday with my good friend Melissa. It was fabulous! I thought they did a really nice job staying true to the book and was impressed in how they did so considered so much of the story goes on in Katniss' thoughts. However, it did bother me that for the final interview they each sat in their own white chair, when I'm pretty sure in the book they had a little red loveseat brought out for the interview. lol Yes, sometimes it's the little things!

I restrained myself from reading The Mockingjay because I was planning on going up to Michigan on Thursday and figured that would be the perfect time to listen to the audiobook. Fail, because of stupid car problems. But Thursday morning I started to read The Mockingjay on onread, but then decided to switch to the audiobook because that was the original plan, and I like to follow the plan. :) I think I am now hooked on audiobooks. Yes, they can take longer, especially since I read quickly, but it's awesome because you can do other things while reading. I cleaned, played tetris on facebook, and performed other mindless activities while reading listening, so even though pretty much all I did all day long was read The Mockingjay, I felt much more productive than that. And it forced me to slow down, because I don't control the pace, so I feel like I have more time to really get involved  and let everything really sink in.

I thought I'd hate audiobooks, but it turned out quite the opposite, so if you've never tried them you really should! You might love it! Plus, think of all the times you can be "reading" - in the car driving to work, getting ready in the morning, making dinner, cleaning up the house, etc!! And yes, I've already described (or at least tried) how I felt when I completed the last book. All I can say is - they are so good!!! My new favorites. Might go to the library later today to see if I can find any new books to "read" on my iPod!

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