In answer to the question “what’s behind the boom in dystopian fiction for younger readers?” Laura Miller wrote in a June New Yorker magazine that “for young readers, dystopia isn’t a future to be averted; it’s a version of what’s already happening in the world they inhabit” (see ‘Fresh Hell,’ 14 June 2010). It’s not an especially challenging thesis — and Miller’s command of the literature in question is admirable — but, though non-falsifiable in nature, I think it misses on at least two counts the greater appeal of Ms. Collins’ Hunger Games, the popularity of which series prompted the essay. [Read more…]

Where and when will you purchase your copy of Mockingjay, the final novel in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy? Those of us living in the New York City metropolitan area, incredibly, will not only be able to buy the book at midnight but will be able to meet the author herself at the party.

Books of Wonder, at the marvelously mirroring address of 18 West 18th Street, NY, NY, will be the “site of the official launch event,” according to their web site, and Ms. Collins will appear at midnight to stamp copies of the book purchased at the store. Even better, she will read a chapter from the book in the hour before the books go on sale (details after the jump). I hope this store has an auditorium that will seat the crowd that will be coming; I know my house of Hunger Games readers will all want to be there! [Read more…]

Does anyone else out there find the idea of playing a Hunger Games ‘game’ more than a little bit ironic? I do understand that this role playing doesn’t seem to involve murdering everyone around you in order to survive or the sadistic, poisonous settings of the Games depicted in the novels, but, really, practicing for the Games with a little role playing, even in the name of “strategy,” seems a little twisted.

The premise of the books, in large part, is that the Capitol’s Games are horrific and demeaning to everyone involved — so now we’re invited to join in the fun? Look for the video games alongside the movies, I guess. Bizarre that the entertainment culture of violence and vicarious participation in the suffering of others Collins is skewing in fiction may take shape and form around her story! If the movies are a hit (and they will be, I fear for all the wrong reasons), I predict a Panem-World theme park experience within the decade.

Please share your thoughts. (H/T to Arabella!)

I kid you not.

As a special promotion, you can download Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games as an audio-book this week — and it won’t cost you anything. You do have to sign up for an account and download some software from AudioCommunity.com before you get the free Hunger Games mp3 files you can listen to anywhere. My source for this great deal assures me the process was painless and the reading performance quite good. Let me know what you think! (H/T to RevGeorge)

HogwartsProfessor.com is best known for its discussions of Harry Potter and Twilight artistry and meaning. Recently, though, the boards here have been lively with posts and conversation about Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy, the last novel of which series, The Mockingjay, comes out this August. If I say so myself, the speculation and insights here are the best of any website going (if there is a real absence of guessing about which teen actors and actresses should be chosen for the movie parts…).

For those of you who have come late to the HogPro examination of Ms. Collins’ brilliant work, here is a round-up of the key posts by John Granger, Elizabeth Baird Hardy, and Louise Freeman with topics and dates spelled out. Please join in the conversations! [Read more…]