Six books down, and counting …

Well, we’re three weeks into the new year, and I’ve already read six books. I suppose I’m off to a fairly good start. Here’s what I’ve read so far:

1. Hyperbole and a Half – Allie Brosh
   Wonderfully whimsical, and delightfully insightful in her chapters on depression. I loved her stories about her childhood.  (See original review here.)
2. Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
   This is the fifth time I’ve read this series, and it never gets old for me. As it’s a YA series, it is also a very quick read for me. It’s something akin to hot chocolate and popcorn on a cold winter’s night. It’s comforting and sweet.
3. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins
   I think Katniss’s naivete is fascinating in this part of the story. She is a plot point in a much larger story, and she has no clue. I shouldn’t say she has no clue. She has an idea, but like most teenagers, she chooses to ignore it and focus on her own personal issues. All these much larger issues are going on around, but she can only focus on her own problems such as her sister, her mother, and Peeta and Gale, without realizing how her choices are affecting those around her. And not just affecting those directly around her, but an entire nation.
4. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
   Catching Fire really is the strongest story of the three books. But Mockingjay wraps up the story. I think Catching Fire is the climax, and Mockingjay is really the denouement of the overall arching story. All the same, it is a satisfying conclusion to a really great story. For me at least.
5. The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic Novel – Drew Hayden Taylor
   This is another YA novel I read, and I need to stay away from these. haha I read it in a couple of afternoons. But in my defense, I hadn’t realized it was a YA novel when I picked it up.  Anyway … The Night Wanderer is a Native vampire story. The problem is Taylor takes waaaaaaaay too long getting to that part, and then does absolutely nothing with it until the very end. I felt a little let down by that. The other story though, the story of teenager Tiffany, was dealt with nicely. But again, had an unsatisfying ending. I don’t know if I’d recommend it.
6. Anthem – Ayn Rand
   This book was much shorter than I had thought. It’s so short, in fact, I read it in a couple of hours. I think it’s only a few hundred pages, if that. anyway, it was interesting if not blunt. On the one hand I like the idea she put forth that we are in charge of our own happiness and destiny, but by the end, I was uncomfortable by the fervor of Equality 7-2125/Prometheus’s convictions about his own power. He sounded more like a cult leader or dictator than a proponent of individuality. Like he was coming full circle. Very interesting read though. Would recommend.

I’m unsure what to read next. I’m thinking Dune. Or something I haven’t read before. Maybe The Art of War.