#i listened to the hunger games audio book

[marblerose-rue]

click for better quality!

the perched king / tigerstar I

[flamingfoxninja]

I think Battle Royale and Hunger Games are a great example of having similar premis while also being different based on the literal society the books were written for and the themes that they present.

For Battle Royale, a lot of the drama and danger comes from Internal Struggles. Japanese classrooms are taught with the same 40 kids in the same room for the entire year, it's the teachers that move in and out. These kids have literally grown up with each other. But Japanese schools have their own issues of conformity, pressuring students to keep in line, to make waves too much. Combine that with regular school drama, the clics, the rumors, and just the struggles of growing up, and you have and are dealing with a very oppressive school system, one that still continues. Children are viewed as Dangerous because they are not yet molded into proper society.

So for Battle Royale, it is really making a point using horror of this internalalized struggle. As the plot continues these kids face the question "Dont you want to go Apeshit?" And their choices around it. Some kids decides to lose their inhibitions and just start doing what they want. Their is no restriction in their choices. Some choose to play, some choose to drop out, some have different survival strategies. But its all based on the interrelationships they made in their own lives and with each other. Honestly, Battle Royale is pretty similar to Lord of the Flies in that way. Children from a very expectant and rigid school system and society suddenly find themselves cast off and their internal struggles come to a head where they kill one another. Granted yes, BR kids were more forced into the roles of killers, but they still bring up their old issues with each other as they are killing. Because that's where the drama is held. It is commentary on the modern youths of Japan who do fucked up things because of how they were growing up.

In contrast, Hunger Games is a commentary on the External factors of nations and war. The plot of giving 2 Teens as tribute is based on the Greek myth of the minotaur. It glorifies the contestants as gladiators, and have then fight in a coliseum while the masses watch and dine. This is all based on Western stories and Roman culture. The focus of Hunger Games is on only 1 central protagonist, and her life in a government run caste society based on the indulgence of the rich that contribute to the suffering of the poor. External factors is what made Katniss who she is. Her story doesn't involve how she relates to the other contestants, those guys aren't even known by anything other than thier district number. They don't matter, they are just obstacles to what the true focus is: Katniss struggling and forced as entertainment in the hands of the rich and powerful. Katniss forced into a world torn by worn, made worst for it, so then tears the world with war again. The point of this story is the choice for peace in an already violent society, and what choices need to be made to move passed that to a better world.

As stated before, books like Divergent tries to take the aesthetics and flavorings of hunger games without really bringing anything to the table. Society split apart by personalities, or love matching, or blood type (yes that is a thing I have read YA on blood type). But what's the larger picture for why. It's ok for a story to just be a story and nothing deeper, but it has the impression of trying to ride the trends for easy success without knowing the real reason it was successful.

Battle Royale and Hunger Games make a good comparison with each other because they use similar premise (children killing in seclusion while government watches) with different takes on it (Internal vs external, life in war vs modern life) with the same intent: what kind of world are we giving to these kids as they grow up to take their place.

frustrations: sometimes inspired works of another media have their own things to say separate from the work that may have inspired them. i think this is why the hunger games can stand on its own without necessarily knowing battle royale, despite their considerable plot overlap in terms of children in a death game setting. the criticisms of media and violence in battle royale are different than the ones in thg. compared to, say, the hunger games and divergent, where divergent has used the aesthetic and idea of the hunger games without understanding the meanings and themes or creating its own!

i don't know, i guess i'm kind of sick of hearing the the hunger games and battle royale have the same base plot, but there's more to both of the base material than just that plot, and i think it's a bit of a disservice to both to think of them like this.

[tastytastysoap]

Current The Hunger Games mood:

[emo-and-confused]

“Thanks for keeping hold of me. I was getting a little shaky there,” says Peeta.

“It didn’t show,” I tell him. “I’m sure no one noticed.”

“I’m sure they didn’t notice anything but you. You should wear flames more often,” he says. “They suit you.” And then he gives me a smile that seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me.

A warning bell goes off in my head. Don’t be so stupid. Peeta is planning how to kill you, I remind myself. He is luring you in to make you easy prey. The more likable he is, the more deadly he is.

But because two can play at this game, I stand on tip-toe and kiss his cheek. Right on his bruise.

-The Hunger Games, Chapter 5, Suzanne Collins

[fuckyeah-dragrace]

this hunger games renaissance is really feeding my inner pre tween who loved the shit out of the series

[fictionalmenaremytype]

I am a firm believer that when Percy discovers audiobooks, he sets out to finish every book Annabeth loves. He tried to read the books before but with Dyslexia and adhd it could take up to a year to finish the book! Now, though, he's finishing a book within a couple of days. He listens to Little Women whilst he's skating and The Hunger Games as he cooks. Then he starts finding other books and asking Annabeth's opinion on them before pressing play, sometimes finding she hasn't heard of them. This spirals to going to the library in New Rome for college supplies and Percy wandering off returning minutes later with four or five books he's listened to that he thinks Annabeth will like even if he didn't like them. Just Percy doing something for Annabeth and finding a love within it as he discovers audio books.

[ophelisstuff]

Paige bueckers × reader who loves books.

BOOKWORM | P.B X READER

authors note : i’ve been procrastinating on this big time srry if it’s not the best.

requested by : @paqerings

summery : Paige, someone who isn’t a fan of books finds herself tolerating all because of the person she’s fallen in love with.

word count : 808.

warnings : fluff that’s it

You and Paige had met at Uconn’s library on a rainy day. You being there to check out books for fun and Paige being there to find text books because she had no other choice.

A stack of books in your hand, you walked through the isles of bookshelves — looking for anything else that caught your eye. Unaware that the odd amount of books in your hand had caught Paige’s.

“Are you really going to read all those books?” The blonde questioned, disregarding the fact you were a complete stranger. Focused on finding out why there were so many books in your hand.

“Every last one” You replied, knowing that you wouldn’t be returning to the library until the pile of books in your hand were all completed.

“That’s impossible. no human is reading that many books.” Paige shrugged, finding it unbelievable that a person would optionally spend their time buried in a book.

The blonde just couldn’t understand it. What was it about books that grabbed everyones attention but hers?

Paige hated the idea of reading a book so much, she found herself on the brink of tears when having to study.

Even daring to pay classmates or bribe friends to complete reading assignments because she’d rather be out or playing basketball for fun.

“It’s definitely possible” You muttered, confusion building as you wondered why this familiar blonde was following you around all of a sudden.

It wasn’t like you didn’t know who she was. Everyone on campus knew of Paige Bueckers and admired her athletic talents.

However, you couldn’t get over the way she just talked your ear off and walked alongside you.

Disregarding any thought of you being a stranger and talking as if you two were the closest of friends. “Have you ever read a book?”

You asked, stopping in front of the mystery section — eyes drifting from book spine to book spine for something eye catching.

“No- well yes - duh. Just not a chapter book of any sort. It’s never been my thing so i’ve never tried to”

The blonde admitted, standing beside you — watching as you became fixated on the book titles.

“Well, find the right book and when you do, get back to me” You encouraged, sending the girl a short lived smile.

Picking up a final book as you headed to the front desk in order to check out.

Leaving the blonde with curiosity and confusion as she watched you walk away. Realizing she hadn’t even gotten a chance to introduce herself — let alone ask your name.

However, the blonde decided to take your advice and find a book that suited her — determined to impress you in the future.

present day —

“Can you hurry up! I wanna know what happens to Lucy Gray!”

Paige shouted, growing impatience as she sat on the couch — holding a copy of her The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in her hands.

Finding herself obsessed with the Hunger Games book series — the blonde had managed to ‘read’ all three books from the series. And having you read the forth to complete it.

In all honesty, Paige still hadn’t read a full book on her own. Often times listening to the audio version of it or having you read a chapter to her daily.

The confusion for your love of books remained the same, however she’d grown to admire how fixated you were on them.

Growing use to how you always carried a book on you, reading whenever you could wherever you could.

Often times venturing to Barnes and Noble’s when you go book shopping. Her interest drifting to the lego sets while you walk the endless shelves of books.

“Give me a second! I’m finding a blanket”

You yelled back, picking up the throw blanket off of your girlfriends bed. Placing your reading glasses on your face as you walked down the hallway and to the living room.

“Finally! took you long enough” She muttered with a smile.

Throwing the blanket on Paige, you smiled laid beside her. The blondes head instantly becoming situated and comfortable on your shoulder.

“Oh whatever, hand me the book”

You joked, taking the story book out of her hand. Unaware of how a complete stranger who hated books turned into your girlfriend who tolerated certain ones.

You found solace in books, and being able to read them to your girlfriend — cuddled up on the couch brought you even more peace.

You nor Paige would trade this experience for anything else in the world. Often times expressing how you were both grateful for that interaction at the school’s library.

“Chapter eleven. Lucy Gray’s words stung but, on reflection, were well deserved.”

You began, Paige becoming silent as she listened to your soothing voice. Eager to hear the story being told.

[violentdelightshavevioletends]

20% into Fourth Wing (according to my audio… I love that I can listen and work on commissions/wrapping gifts simultaneously😂)

Thoughts so far:

Do all books give content warnings? … is this because it’s that violent or is this just a thing now? Appreciated either way! Just new to me :-)

Her mother makes no sense. I hate her. Yet, I have a feeling I will regret saying that. And if I don’t WHY would you do that to your kid.

Okay, ow, so the brother is dead… that hit the grief point.

Do we love Mira (idk why I’m using plurals)? I think I get her, I’d do anything for my little siblings… but I also am a younger sibling and know how that babying hurts.

“Fragile.” — WOW, WE ARE THE SAME😅

I love Violet (I’m predictable).

Her hair sounds dope. And I actually get why she loves it because it’s hers, it’s healthy… I feel that.

Funny her eyes are well detailed to match the EDS coloration for some subtypes *not licensed but nurse brain says*😂

Even if I don’t know people ship her with Xaden (tbh idk if it’s literally just that cause of tropes & 0 canon) but I can see why… immediately fits the “forbidden, bad boy, should be enemies, has sudden interest, they were the most beautiful I’d ever seen”

I should not have gotten so attached to Dylan so soon. But also I kinda knew it?

I love Rhiannon… plus Maasverse brain says it’s a win

“I will not die today” — that’s a good mantra

Jack can die today please!

Great so they are killing each-other off, that sure sounds like a great place to spend three years in “hunger games college”.

Childhood best friends to lovers, oh great this is gonna get me, I’m screwed.

Okay, legit the knee sublex scene is so well done and relatable to me and I imagine every EDS/LDS/Marfins/HSD friend I have. *I say this as I type currently wearing a brace ring on my thumb, ice brace on my knee, and heating pad on my back😅😭*

… how do we feel about Dean… Dain? How do we even say it… I don’t know.

These fueds sound kinda old to me

I like the quote per chapter thing

+ The “a dragon without a rider is a tragedy but a writer without a dragon is dead” is a good one

[ilajue]

as is becoming tradition, this week I will listen to the whole hunger games audio book trilogy while I sterilize my family's apartment

[forkdrawer]

not me crying over hunger games rue …… IT WAS SO TRAGIC SHE WAS JUST A KID AND SHE WAS SO SMART AND CAPABLE BUT BECAUSE OF THE HORRIFIC GAMES SHE WASNT ABLE TO DO ANYTHING WITH HER LIFE ANS SHE JUST SUCH A REAL CHILD I REMEMBER LISTENING TO THE AUDIO BOOK AND THINKING SHES JUST LIKE ME GUH IM SO SAD HUNGER GAMES IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND TRAGIC FHE POWER OF GENUINE LOVE AND EMPATHY OVER COMING SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION WAS SO BEAUTIFUL AND IDEALISTIC AND LOVELY GUH AAAAAAA

[sunchaserwings]

Incoming rant about The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Herlock Sholmes from The Great Ace Attorney, and the BBC Sherlock (no major spoilers ahead I promise).

A preface before I begin; I was never a big fan of Sherlock Holmes or any adaptation of the stories. I've seen Elementary although I was very young so I only have the vaguest of memories of enjoying it, and my roommate had me watch a couple BBC Sherlock episodes when I was a tween/young teen. My mother claims she tried to get me into Sherlock Holmes but I'm rather skeptical. Anyhow, onto the story.

Back in March my boyfriend bought me the Ace Attorney games for my birthday which included the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (or Dai Gyakuten Saiban for those who are still stuck on the pre-localization names ;p). I was on my flight home from my birthday trip after I got the news my manager fired my brother while I was out of the state and figured why not, I'd start playing the first TGAA game on the flight. I'd probably enjoy myself and I couldn't sleep.

Second biggest mistake of the year (first biggest was trusting Les Schwab to do my brake job). I. Was. Hooked. I played the first case and fell in love with Kazuma instantly (he's so Zero shaped!). I played the second case and realized that calling him Zero shaped was way too accurate. We all know what happened there. Most important to this rant, I met Herlock Sholmes (more on my opinions on him later). I could barely put the game down but I had to take a break due to finding a new job and getting adjusted. I ended up finishing the game in June or July, one of the two. I finished the final case of the first game in one long 12 hour gaming session it was that good (my back didn't thank me though).

Now, the man of the hour: Herlock Sholmes. I didn't think much of him initially. He was simultaneously charming and annoying in the second case but as I played more he grew on me. I cried when the start of 1-5 happened. He clawed his way up into like the top 7 favorite characters at the time. The ending of the game with him playing his violin made me bawl my eyes out. I. Loved. This. Game.

It took a few more months to start and finish the second game. In between Adventures and Resolve I played Skyward Sword, Minish Cap, and some others so I had a healthy break. I came back to play Resolve and finished it like two months ago. It hit me in the gut just as hard as the first game did although there are a great many things I'd tweak and do differently. But Herlock Sholmes... man, he's not my favorite but he's up there underneath Kazuma and Van Zieks.

Anyhow, I finished the game but the hyperfixation had started and would not let me go. I've never been one to go out and seek fanfiction due to... personal stuff but I had a feeling I didn't want to go probe the depths of AO3 yet for fear of crying. I started a graveyard shift at my job which severely limited my ability to talk with people about stuff and also there's so many major spoilers but very few people I knew had played the game. A thought occurred to me, however. What about Sherlock Holmes audiobooks? I have an auditory processing issue which has made listening to audiobooks hard but I decided to give it a go. Perhaps it would satiate the TGAA hyperfixation hunger.

I found the ones produced by Magpie Audio, expertly narrated by Greg Wagland. Go check him out, he has over 77 videos of Sherlock Holmes audiobook recordings and all of them are a minimum of 40 minutes, often times far more. I went through over 30 hours of audiobook in a few weeks listening to these. Sherlock Holmes is such a good character and I can understand how and why he took late Victorian England by storm. And you know what the best part is?

Herlock Sholmes is the most faithful adaptation I have personally seen as a character of the original Sherlock Holmes.

They got so many of Sherlock's little idiosyncrasies right and you can tell the entire team were genuine fans of the books. I listened to Mr. Wagland's narration *and I saw 221B Baker of the games*. Especially the jack knife impaling the communications to the mantle being referenced in the game? The sheer mess of the flat? It's so good!

My roommate (whom is also a Sherlock Holmes fan) noticed my newest hyper fixation that spawned off of TGAA and that reignited his Sherlock Holmes obsession. He was a fan of the BBC Sherlock and now recognizes it was not a very great show but it's a comfort media for him nonetheless. He just dragged me into rewatching it and... okay, it's playing into a lot of inaccurate Sherlock tropes I don't like but goddamn Martin Freeman carries the whole show. I love his John Watson because it feels like a reasonable version of a modern, younger Watson. He feels real in a way. I do like the fact that even in the first episode, it's established that John and Sherlock can make each other laugh and smile just like in the books. I don't forgive them calling Sherlock a sociopath, however (speaking as someone with a brother that has been diagnosed with being a high-fuctioning sociopath). He's AuDHD to the max and deserves recognition in that department.

All of this to say, I can trace my current Sherlock hyperfixation back to Mega Man. Finding Mega Man in 4th grade led to watching the Ace Attorney anime in late 2021 which led to playing The Great Ace Attorney and that led to listening to Sherlock Holmes. I don't know why I decided to make this post but maybe I might start live blogging this shit? All in all, this is going to be a wild ride.

[megacarapa]

i think my biggest problem with audiobooks really is that, while some readers are better and like more intelligable than others, most of them tend to be pretty monotone and just read through the entire book in the same voice and i dont even really notice this while listening bc the audio just rolls on and i dont have a moment to stop and think about it, until i watch a movie adaptation and am like "oh god she was crying in this moment", in the audio version she was just kinda saying sad things in a calm voice but this was supposed to be her crying, and i was thinking like maybe the reader just doesnt know exactly how the character is supposed to sound here but also this audiobook is read by the author, but anyway idkk if theres some audiobook rules that make them have to read this way or something

its been like half a year since ive listened to them so i dont remember as many details as id like but my favourite audiobooks so far have been the hunger games read by tatiana maslany, like i remember her voice having a much bigger range of emotions and there were little things like she would read a line that was like "i took a deep breath" and then audibly take a deep breath, stuff like that was really great

[earth-64]

My Journey in Understanding Comics - Part 2

--

Part 1 is not required reading. In fact, I will refrain from even linking it here. Every blog post is someone’s first.

--

It shouldn’t be embarrassing to admit that I needed to have “comic books” explained to me. Yet I feel ashamed that I allowed the entire medium to exist within a hair’s breadth of my cultural understanding for so long. I’ve already gone over my select few childhood run-ins with comics, as well as the false-start that nearly was my first paper-comic obsession* (*See “My Journey in Understanding Comics” #1! - Ed.), so my story this time will start in November of 2023. 

I was working a mundane job at a manufacturing facility. Full-time hours of applying stickers to pieces of foam, or punching out holes in paper, or assembling little devices of god-knows-what, praying that for every life-saving defibrillator adhesive pad I quality-checked that the insulation padding I was shape-forming wasn’t destined for a war machine. It was a place of room-sized printing presses, massive machines that shaped and cut materials with the power of water-jets, and dark laboratory backrooms with more nausea-inducing chemicals filling the air than oxygen. While I didn’t end up falling into vats of any of the horrifically powerful bleaches we used to clean the printing screens (although I did retire home early on a number of occasions from dizziness caused by breathing in acetone), it was here that I had way too much time on my hands and binged podcasts. 

I was devouring 10 hours of audio content a day, from audio dramas to history lessons to comedy sketches. The hardest part of the job became satiating my hunger for endless content. After exhausting “Midnight Burger” and Penumbra’s “Juno Steel”, I listened through all of Tim Roger’s “Action Button” reviews in audio-form. On recommendation from my girlfriend, that made a natural transition into gulping down hundreds of episodes of “Insert Credit”. Among other branching paths (I recommend “They Create Worlds” and “Video Game History Hour”), I was led through Alex Jaffe to “52 Pick Up”.

“52 Pick Up”, hosted by Alex Jaffe and Gita Jackson, discusses DC’s 2006-2007 weekly comic book “52” issue by issue. I dipped my toe into it with hardly any context: it had been many years since I read comics, very little of that had been DC. Certainly none from around the time “52” was published, and certainly not any that would provide any helpful context to “52”. I cannonballed into the the deep end, albeit without risk of drowning: if the podcast hosts helped me stick the landing then I would be opened to a whole new world of possibilities, if I was just utterly lost by the interwoven plot threads and greater context of the comic then I would just shrug it off and go back to the comforting familiarity of learning about unreleased Nintendo knitting machines* (* “VGHH” #117! - Frank ( - not Frank)). This isn’t the iTunes review section so I’ll spare you from me simply pasting in the glowing review I left for them, but rest assured that “52 Pick Up” does its job of introducing someone to the context of comic books tremendously well. I was hooked, and have not missed a bi-weekly wednesday since. 

However, it wasn’t enough to break the floodwall I had erected after the comic-related disaster I had beared the full brunt of so many years ago. I followed “52” and kept saying to myself “I think I’ll subscribe to that DC mobile app, and read some of the surrounding context”, but I never pulled the trigger on that purchase. My interest was piqued, I was given the on-ramps, taught all the techniques from a master of comics knowledge, and yet I could not begin the simple act of reading. 

I hold the act of consumption on a higher pedestal than it deserves. I regularly find myself hesitating to consume. Is this the right time? How will this work affect me? “Are you ready?” I ask myself, fighting back my natural instinct to presume anything unknown to me is not “for me”. 

In February of 2024 I finally made a concession: I would start with something I felt I was closer to. Something that wouldn’t be “out of character” for me to consume. I had already been into “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” for some years, so I turned to manga, and read “Dragon Ball”. This isn’t the place for me to put all my thoughts on “Dragon Ball”. Know simply that it was a prime example of works of fiction finding me at exactly the right moment in my life, affecting me tremendously, with Toriyama’s passing happening right in the nearly exact middle of my readthrough. My dad had treated “Dragon Ball” with the same disdain as Wrestling or Football as I was growing up, something that wasn’t “for me”, something dumber, barbaric. 

Comic books were his thing, and manga was not my thing. Before I moved out I had to find ways to justify things as being “my thing”. Webcomics were a natural extension of an interest in video games, manga was an eventual gap bridged by years of anime expos and the absurdity of “Jojo’s”, but “Dragon Ball”, among many other things, remained unreachable. 

Now that I live on my own there are no gaps between works of fiction that need filling. My brain still often tricks me into thinking I cannot leap over the vast chasms that separate genres and mediums, but it is only the residual fear of being perceived as not being myself. There is no longer anyone in my daily life that has known me for a great amount of time, no one to police me to stay true to my platonic self. I have to remind myself that I can choose to wake up and be a whole new person if I so wish. Any day could be the day I decide to start being a person who reads comic books.

In late July 2024 I found the catalyst: a copy of Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art”.  It was a book always on my radar as being something that I would get a kick out of, but I never wanted to just read a scan of it. I knew it deserved to be read physically, but I never had the drive to order a copy. In the end it needed to appear before me, on the shelf of the thrift store I regular, as a spur of the moment purchase. I’ll again spare you from a full overzealous review, but it was exactly what I needed. “This is what a comic book is. This is why it’s important. This is why it’s for everyone.” That’s what I needed to hear. I needed someone to lay it all out, label all the pieces, explain the history, and tell me that comics can be for me. 

In August my friends decided to marathon some of the X-Men movies. All the stars aligned: I had the knowledge, the motivation, the relief from social permission. No, not a relief. A triumph. I had triumphed over a lifetime of social pressure, of expectations and preconceived notions. I didn’t need to hide my mood-swing dips into unfamiliar media. I didn’t need to be ashamed of stepping outside my comfort zone. The version of myself in others’ heads are their own flawed snapshots of pieces of my true self, not a script they write for me to follow and fear. I could be anything I wanted.

I could be someone subscribed to Marvel Unlimited. 

The conclusion to our thrilling three-part epic is up next in our amazing tale of self-reflection and ceaseless inner-discovery awaits! You don’t wanna miss it true believers!

[astridlikesmythology]

Finished movie. Was delightful, great use of my time (it sounds sarcastic but it's not.) [[Howls moving castle]]

And I listened to a little over half of a audio book today. [[Hunger games]]

Turns out me and anya both like the hunger games. And everyone else (except bill) like howls moving castle.

[shesasurvivor]

Have you seen the prequel movie? If yes🌹>>>

A. In your opinion, please rate TBOSAS movie with 1-10 scale.

(1 = I hate it, 10 = I love it.)

Things that you like :

Things that you don't like :

B. For people who also read the novel.

Your opinions about the difference between the book and the movie :

Thank you 🎼

@curiousnonny

Yes I have!

A) 10. Honestly, I LOVE this movie.

B) Having just listened to the audio book to refresh my memory, I was delighted to catch many instances where the dialogue itself was straight from the book. The movie was honestly really accurate overall. I think the arena scenes were the biggest deviation, but even those changes made sense and still worked for the story the book wanted to tell.

(SPOILERS!!!)

The scene where Reaper is challenging the viewers after covering the bodies of the fallen tributes, only to have Gaul interrupt with the news that the president’s son had died? CHILLS. I listen to the score from that scene repeatedly. Oh, and the final scene of the movie? Again, CHILLS.

This is the Hunger Games movie is been waiting for, honestly. They’re not just generic Hollywood action flics. These books have something to say about the state of humanity, and it was sorely missing from the original movies. This one, on the other hand, wasn’t afraid to include that message and I LOVE it.

[girlhorrror]

listening to hunger games audio book i love you hatergirl katniss