The Hunger Games - Movie (lots of spoilers)

 Trailer and SPOILER ALERT!!!

Last night I had seen the movie and, as promised, I am going to state my views on it. Well... It was entertaining, but I was expecting more. I was expecting that they might move a bit from the book and I was surprised that the story of the brooch with the mockingjay was changed. Wasn't it the entire premise of the book after all? They did give it a meaning, but in the book it was about the entire community, not just about the family. Katniss was allowed to wear it in the book, Cinna gave it to Katniss as a secret. 

All the actors seemed out of place in the movie. Katniss was somewhat how I had imagined her to be, but Prim seems too much of a faded blonde and she doesn't inspire the affection you might feel in the book. Peeta seems too metrosexual as in well built stud-muffin, not the chunky and bulky kid portrayed in the book. Gale is too much of the boy next door, than the jock he should have been. Wasn't the Cornucopia to be golden? Weren't the mockingjays supposed to imitate the human speech? During the game scenes I didn't feel any sympathy for anybody, the movie lost the entire essence of the book: the rebellion against the Capitol, the love triangle and Katniss'  inner struggles.

Did I like the movie? Yes. Am I glad that I had read the book before the movie? Absofuckinglutely. Otherwise I wouldn't have read the books. Can't wait to see the Abe Lincoln movie...

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

I know what you'll say: "Oh hell no, another vampire book". Well... Yeah. But, this book does not resemble Twilight. You don't have shiny vampires that sparkle and you also do not have a teenage-romance novel. If you remember "Interview with the Vampire" you know what I am talking about. This is better writing than any of today's vampire books.

The Vampire Lestat has been on my reading list for a few years and I kept setting it aside because it felt like a long read. Actually it took me about 5 days to finish this book, and I had been on vacation with plenty of time for books. I am a fast reader and this book needed my entire attention to understand some parts. Overall it is a nice experience which leaves you wanting for more.

Ok, so in this book vampires are not afraid of crosses but they cannot walk in the light. You get beautiful descriptions of different eras and different places. You get hetero sex, you get incest and you get gay sex. To each his own, I guess. You get poverty and enormous wealth. You get a new version on how vampires came to be. You get lots of fights and plenty of violence. You get sensual love and complicated relationships. You get different views on religion etc. You get a well made cocktail of everything your heart desires. 

Children of the night, gather and suck the blood of mortals. Just kidding, but the book was pretty good. Even though it was quite long, it left me satisfied. I will have to find a chronological order of the series and maybe I will read another vampire book.

Blink: The power of thinking without thinking by Malcom Gladwell

 This book is utterly interesting if you ever wondered a bit about the human psyche. Blink is about first impressions and the fact that our subconscious works about 8 times faster than our conscious mind processes information and gives a logical decision to us. The book argues that we make snap decisions all the time and sometimes they are valid and quite valuable and other times they are not.

In case of extreme stressful situations our subconscious turns to pure instinct and we become temporary autistic relying on basic prejudices or simple actions that try to take us out of harm's way. On the other hand we use blink all the time when we relate to other people by understanding their emotions and  actions. I did refrain from adding "words" due to the fact that some might say something but are betrayed by their facial expressions, even tiny, milisecond-short muscle spasms.

Blink, apparently, can draw draw a line between life and death, but to use it at its true value it requires lots of practice and vast experience in the field ( eg. A doctor who has to make snap decisions in order to save someone's life, or a policeman who can either pull the trigger on a scared suspect or simply to approach him without the use of gratuitous violence).

This book was an eye opener and it gave me some insights on how my own mind works. After reading it I had been compelled to look at people's faces and to try to read their minds without actually hearing what they were conversing about. It is a gem for a layman in the field of psychology. I definitely recommend it.

Corrupted by Todd Young

Another easy read, a book that lasted a few hours. This is another gay-themed book about a high-school dropout - Bradley and how his life turned from bad to worse in a way due to his own fault and weakness.

Bradley dropped out of high-school because he got bullied by a stupid jock called Tom who shamed him in front of the entire school. Now Bradley is living from day to day with his friend Justin. Justin is taking advantage of Brad's crush for him and keeps hustling him for money, by playing a sexually ambiguous mind game.

From lack of money and lack of jobs Bradley turns to porn and a life of striptease and hustling. Being an orphan this was Brad's only chance of survival in New York and he keeps supporting his sexually confusing room mate. His life goes downhill with every bad choice he makes. This book is not a coming of age read, it is more of a story about compromise for a 19 year old in a harsh environment where sex and money play the main roles in his young life.

Though sexy at times and harsh from time to time, the book makes you feel glad that you do not have that life. The choices are somewhat immature and rushed, hence the title. It is a story about how people take advantage of the needy, corrupting them. This is definitely a good read though.

Maktub by Paulo Coelho

Maktub or "so it was written" is a book with lots of small stories, each with its own meaningful conclusion. Some are purely Christian and others very general. The book is easy to read, it took me 4 hours to read everything, but then again this is how long all of Coelho's books are.

Without further ado, I shall post the conclusions I liked from the book. "If you are still alive, it is because you haven't gotten to where you are supposed to be." "If you know how to say NO to temptations, they cannot hurt you." "If you have to make a decision, it is better to take it and act accordingly." "when a vice becomes habit, it is hard to control. But when we are required to develop new attitudes and take new decisions, we become aware that it is not worth it (the vice)."

"It is important in life to accept when the opportunity arises." "Lack of determination might be similar with the lack of interaction with strangers, which proves bad for the self." "You will die. It might be tomorrow or after 15 years, but sooner or later you will die. Even if you do not want to. Even if you have other plans. Think carefully what you will do today and tomorrow and for the rest of your life." "Have the courage to contradict yourself without feeling embarrassed. It is your right. It doesn't matter what others think - because they might see things differently. Be calm and let the universe move forward."

 To find out more, read the book yourself. You will surely find some words of wisdom that might apply to you either way.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Sorry for such a late posting but I had been really busy and then went on vacation to a place with no internet. I started reading this book because of the movie, more like because of the movie's trailer on youtube.com. Well... I was expecting a different kind of book - something between Blade (action packed vampire slayer) and Twilight (sparkling teenage vampires).

I was pleasantly surprised to find it more along the lines of a historical read. The entire vampire premise seemed somewhat legit, especially because of the inserted pictures and also because the author managed to integrate it in the era's look and feel. Some parts seemed a bit far fetched and others seemed gratuitous with just a purpose to add up more pages to the book (eg. Elizabeth Battory part).

As I had mentioned before, the vampire premise was nicely inserted in the historical background and I didn't feel it to be over the top. The political part regarding the war between the North and the South from a vampiric point of view was also well thought out. What I didn't like was the end, due to the fact that the author forgot how the book started thus leaving me with a lot of questions, especially because the ending couldn't have been known to the reader of the diaries since Lincoln  had stopped writing them when he died. Read the book and you will know what I mean.

All in all was a decent book, I bet the movie will be more action than a "historical lesson". This one, and the Hunger Games movie are on top of my list of "movies to watch". I promise to update these articles with impressions from the movies.