Best of 2013

With the onset of the new year and the end of the old David and I decided that we were going to spend some time reflecting on 2013. There were some great things that happened in 2013. We saw some great movies, read some great books, and played some amazing games. David and I decided we wanted to share some of our best of 2013. Now these are all things that we experienced for the first time in 2013, this does not necessarily mean that they came out in 2013, but that is because with books and comics we are not always the best about keeping up with current trends. David will be sharing his opinion tomorrow, but here is my best of 2013.

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Hunger Games: Catching Fire, a Litflix

David and I finally went and saw The Hunger Games: Catching Fire this week. I have been waiting with anticipation, but was not in the mood to see it with a bunch of teenagers and things have been pretty crazy for us. So we went and saw it yesterday and the movie does not disappoint. I am here to look at how the book compares to the movie and the similarities and differences between the two. This is another area that does not disappoint.

I love The Hunger Games Trilogy when I first read the books I did over one week, and I read the books again recently and did it in about the same amount of time. The first book is good, but it is a general introduction to the world and Katniss. By the second book we are invested in these characters and want to see them well off. So as things just keep going bad it can be difficult to watch them go through all of these events, so you have to keep turning the page. The movie does the same thing it draws you in willing you forward along with the characters that you have been introduced to. Following along through every high and every low, in which there are so many. (Spoilers for Catching Fire after the jump.)

Katniss Everdeen: The Girl on Fire, A Character Study

In my opinion Katniss is an amazing and complex character. I loved reading the Hunger Games Trilogy because of her. Following along as she volunteers to take the place of her sister, fights in the games, and the roller-coaster of the after effects. The life in the districts is not pretty to begin with. Many people end up dying of starvation, cold, or worse depending on the industry they work in and how desperate they get. The book does a good job of painting the dire picture that the citizens in the district live in and contrast it with the decadence of the Capital. We see this world through the eyes and thoughts of Katniss Everdeen.

Katniss is a girl who at a young age had to figure out how to help her family survive. Her father had taught her to hunt, but when he died her mother went catatonic for a time leaving Katniss to take care of her and Prim. She is someone who only has time to think about the survival of her family. As the various games are played out around her various aspects of her personality and we find that even with her harsh exterior she has a soft spot. She is a survivor, but she is also a protector she cannot stand for others to suffer especially when she is the cause. Unless it is to protect other people and is a necessary action to do so. (Spoilers for the Hunger Games Trilogy to follow).