Yesterday I stunned the world (or at least my family) by reading an entire book in one day. It was a 380 page book, no less. It wasn't "Working With Emotional Intelligence." That was the book that was recommended to me at the end of a 3-day training session that I went to for work this May. It's supposed to help me get better at demonstrating empathy. Apparently, that's not a strength of mine. I bought "Working With Emotional Intelligence" when I got back from the training session but it's still sitting -- unread -- on my desk upstairs. I'll get to it eventually.
So, what did I read? I read another book targeted at middle-aged, white, male, professionals. That's right -- I read "The Hunger Games."
Jay read the entire Hunger Games series a while back and he loved it. I've been threatening to read the first book ever since but never followed through. Then, last week Nick picked it up. Within the week, he'd read all 3 books in the series. The fact that he's banned from watching television from 10AM - 4PM each weekday probably helped but still -- 3 books in one week? I was impressed. On top of all that, the new issue of Entertainment Weekly showed up on Thursday and, for the second time in two months, there was the cast of "The Hunger Games" movie on the cover.
In any case, there I was just before lunch yesterday. I asked Jay where I could find the book. After retrieving it from the basement, I opened it up and got started. After a quick 70 pages, I broke for lunch. As soon as lunch was over, I picked it up again and read another 70 pages. I was starting to get nervous. What was wrong with me? Weren't there YouTube videos I hadn't seen yet, Buffalo Bills training camp updates to read, and televised golf events to watch? I decided to give myself a break. But, by 5PM, I couldn't take it any more. The story had me completely hooked. I picked the book up again. I kept right on reading while I stood over the grill before dinner. As soon as dinner was over, I took the book upstairs and, by 9:30PM, I was done.
What a good book! A post-apocalyptic world, an evil regime, young kids forced to fight to the death for pure entertainment, a love triangle (I think). This story has everything.
I can't wait to tackle the second book, "Catching Fire," this weekend. First, though, I'll need to reserve it from the family library. You see, Hannah was so intrigued by the fact that I read the book in one day that she decided to one-up me. She read "The Hunger Games" today and is already starting in on "Catching Fire." It's not her I have to worry about, though. Kim now has the bug. She's started "The Hunger Games" and I'm afraid she'll beat me to "Catching Fire" if I don't stake my claim now. I better get out my library card.