Of Books & Films: The Hunger Games

As these things have a way of doing, an end piece to a project got away from me. Everything needs to get tied up together. Back in January, my girlfriend Rachel suggested I read all The Hunger Games novels by Suzanne Collins so we could watch all the films. It’s normally not the type of thing I go in for, but I did. If you aren’t familiar, Collins wrote four novels. The first three create an original trilogy, appearing in consecutive years between 2008 and 2010.

There’s Just One Problem (2022) Review

Another book down on the year, and another one dealing with professional wrestling. The GoodReads ratings looked promising. However, I’m once again at odds with these ratings, wondering if these people actually experienced the same book. Thanks to the fine folks at Audible, I found a copy of Brian Gewirtz’s 2022 memoir, There’s Just One Problem. Gerwitz, known today as “The Rock’s writer,” served on the WWE writing team for over a decade, almost two, and at one time was the head writer for the company’s flagship show, Monday Night Raw. I hate I wasted a credit on this. I didn’t find it funny, engaging, or intriguing. It actually took me a while to get through it because I kept getting bored. A second shelf selection. The audiobook clocks in at 9 hours and 20 minutes, and Greg Baglia narrates.

The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (1812) Review

Dear friends and fellow readers, unfortunately, I have another “DNF” book to report. Also, this one comes off my “10 Books to Read of 2024” list. Honestly, I wasn’t so sure what I was getting into, but I went ahead anyway. I tried. This is one of those Audible selections, but luckily, I got it last year on a “buy one get one” sale. I thought by putting it on my list, it’d make me get around to it. It’s an anthology. The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm by two German brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020) Review

Normally, I enjoy a good backstory. Especially a villain backstory. Sometimes, we get good fan fiction. Most of the time, unless it deals with a comic book character, we don’t get the original author giving us the backstory. Again, especially several years after a celebrated trilogy. That’s what we have going on in this review. Ten years removed from the final installment of The Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins returned in 2020 to give us a prequel, serving in part as the basis for the backstory of President Coriolanus Snow. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I, for the most part, enjoyed the original trilogy. I didn’t enjoy the prequel, and I’ll get to that in a bit. Thanks to the fine folks at Everand, I found an audio version, complete with narration by Santino Fontana. As it is, this prequel goes on the second shelf.

The Outsiders (1967) Review

The “O.G.” of “Y.A.” Or something like that. Maybe. I think. I’m pretty sure it was all the way back in my 8th grade English class we got assigned the subject of today’s review. After reading, we watched the 1983 film adaptation. Don’t think I’m skipping out on that. Anyway. I’m not sure if this novel gets called a classic. What I am sure of is that it gets a spot on the revered and respected fourth shelf. Sure, there’s some lulls, but the ending brings it up, as all endings should. I didn’t remember S.E. Hinton’s 1967 novel, The Outsiders, as a sad novel, but it is. This one’s available on Audible, but thanks to the Libby app and my library card, I put an audio book copy on hold and finally got my chance to listen. Jim Fyfe is our narrator. The audio version clocks in at five hours and nine minutes.

The White Buffalo (1975) Review

Why are some books rare? Going unpublished and the price of a copy rising on various on-line outlets. Still, it is the internet age, and if you look hard enough, you can find a resource and what you’re seeking. Thanks to the fine folks at the Internet Archive, I found the subject of today’s book review. I’ve known of the film adaptation forever. TBS used to air it all the time when I was young. Only a few years ago, I learned it appeared first as a novel. The Internet Archive treats books like a library on a two week borrow system. I had to read this one, in very small print on my phone. I made it just in time on the final day. The book in question is Richard Sale’s 1975 novel, The White Buffalo. It’s a solid middle shelf selection.

The Warriors (1965) Review

To be honest, I’ve watched the film adaptation. Many years ago, but I know it’s a far cry from a mirror image from today’s book review. Yes, I’ll watch it again, and give a review. However, the book is up for review first. I didn’t know it was a book to begin with, but I went to watch the film, and was like, ok, wait a minute. The film is a “cult classic.” The book isn’t very good. The Warriors, Sol Yurick’s 1965 novel, holds the basic premise, but a far cry from what his original work inspired. Those GoodReads ratings weren’t the best. However, I found an audio version on Everand that runs seven hours and 19 minutes. Joel Richards serves as narrator. This is a second shelf selection.

April 2024 Reading Endeavors

How were your April book endeavors? Mine reached opposite ends of the spectrum. I attempted five. I finished three and had two unfortunate “DNF’s.” Those suck. Especially when they’re books you’ve had your eye on for some time, and once you finally find them and get the chance to read them, you kind of hate everything for a minute or few.

The Death of WCW: 10th Anniversary Edition (2014) Review

The territory days were over in the late summer of 1990 when, as a seven-year-old, I discovered professional wrestling and became a fan. We had the WWE, WWF at the time, coming from the dreaded North with larger-than-life cartoon characters as wrestlers in the biggest arenas in the biggest owned by Vince McMahon. We had WCW, the smaller southern staple of several weekend shows on TBS from Atlanta, Georgia, with smaller, realer looking wrestlers, owned by media mogul Ted Turner. Then, one day, after a “100 year war,” there was only one. The Yankees won, yet again, in 2001. Honestly, they’d won a few years before, and when WCW died a death for good in 2001, I’d stopped watching them a few years before and close to done with “the other guys” at that point as a senior in high school. In 2004, two guys came to together to write about the death of WCW in, well, The Death of WCW. WrestleCrap’s R.D. Reynolds and WON/F4W’s Bryan Alvarez. In 2014, the writing tag team put out a revised and expanded edition, The Death of WCW: 10th Anniversary Edition. I’d never read the original, but I figured I’d take on the latest expanded effort. Thanks to the fine folks at Audible, I snagged an audio version with a credit. The listening experience runs 14 hours and 27 minutes, with Alvarez handling the narration. The book is sad, but informative, and Alvarez is wonderful in his role. This one certainly deserves a spot on the revered and respected fourth shelf.

The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching (1998) Review

Oh dear. Sometimes, I actually hate to give a bad a review. This, dear friends and fellow readers, is one of those unfortunate times. Years ago, one of the books that landed on a “List of 10” new books to read in a year was the subject of today’s review. I found a copy of the audio version on Audible, and yes, I wasted a credit. I’m sorry. It’s just not what I thought. Celebrated Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh’s wrote many a book, one I’ve read and loved. The same isn’t true of his 1998 book, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation. It’s an uninteresting, unentertaining slog that gets a bottom shelf placement and the dreaded “DNF” label. Rene Ruiz serves as narrator, and he’s actually quite good.