Late to the Party

I know I'm a bit late to the party here, but I finally received my copy of Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the much anticipated 2nd installment to The Hunger Games. I purchased this title for my classroom, but I'm debating on whether or not I should just give in and read it or wait until my hold at the library comes in for the audiobook. I really enjoyed listening to the first book on audio CD that I'm kind of thinking I'll wait. But I don't know if I'll be able to show that much restraint.

If you haven't read The Hunger Games yet, I'm telling you that it's time you put that book at the top of your reading list. For the longest time I read the synopsis of the storyline and thought to myself, "That book sounds awful! You couldn't pay me to read such gore!" But lo and behold, I was finally convinced by all the favorable reviews and personal recommendations from people who told me, "You will be shocked at how much you'll love this book."

Don't get me wrong, there were still flaws in the story that made it not quite a 5-star book for me (like the main character. I understand heroes are supposed to be flawed, but there is something a bit grating about the main character of Katniss. Maybe she'll grow on me in the second book) but the writing is so lyrical and dare-I-say beautiful, despite the storyline's dire circumstances.

I am currently in the middle of reading two books right now, but I think if the audiobook of Catching Fire does not come in before I'm done with those two books I'm going to have to give in and just read it.