Reel Thursday: Catching Fire Trailer.

Tributes, and casual fans of The Hunger Games trilogy, I present to you the most awaited trailer of the year (yeah for me), Catching Fire (2013).

Glorious, huh? Just watching it gives me the chills. Some people might even cry, seeing their favorite book come to life. I am definitely one of those who are touched when my favorite books are made into movies. The things that you just imagined and even fall asleep just thinking about, are almost made into a reality. Those dresses that you imagined, those people that you cared for, are there, moving. Isn't it amazing?

Moving on, I think that the first movie was great, but I would be more happy or satisfied if it was a bit longer. I understand that movies should be just roughly 2-3 hours long, but what I would give for an extended version. Catching Fire is the thickest book, I think, and is the most action packed book. In Catching Fire, we get to see more of the world that they live in, a dystopian place called Panem. It is also the most exciting book for me. That's why I'm really looking forward to Catching Fire this November. While patiently waiting for November to come along, I'm getting pieces of goodies from its promotion in Facebook. They have teaser photos there and contests. There is also a Capitol Couture Tumblr blog wherein fashion in the Capitol (which is deemed out-of-this-world) is glorified and emulated. I believe that the dresses and the whole outfits are gorgeous. Maybe I'm one of the Capitol people? I wouldn't know. However, you can know the District where you belong to from here, but it's currently undergoing maintenance. I got this though, from before:

Yes! I'm from District 5, and I'm supposedly a Plant Security Officer. Cool right? Now, let's just patiently wait for November 22 and scream when the movie's out!

A post about books.

I love books. I always buy them whenever I have enough money. Even if I don't really know whether the book would be good, I'd buy it once I declare it interesting. However, I don't really read it immediately. In fact I have so many books that are left unread in my bookshelf. The books won't even fit the bookshelf anymore. The reason why I don't read the books immediately after buying it is that I'm busy with school. As a student hailing from a liberal arts college, it is to be expected that I read a lot of things required for class. That's why my books get neglected easily. During the summer vacation however, when I just did internship and no reading required, I finished three books. Those are Catching Fire, Mocking Jay and Th1rteen R3asons Why.

I'll start with Catching Fire and Mocking Jay. I've already read Hunger Games (first book of the trilogy) way back before the movie was released. Then after being free from school works, I immediately started reading Catching Fire. All I can say about Catching Fire is that it is an action-packed book. I think it is the longest among the three because of those exciting happenings in it. At the end of Catching Fire, I was so mind-blown that I had to read Mocking Jay right after. While I was reading Mocking Jay (middle part), I had to stop. I didn't like what was happening anymore, and I feel like I'm being tortured mentally. Suzanne wrote the book in a way that you wouldn't able to predict anything because many things could possibly happen. I was like 'brain, please stop over-thinking and let me finish this book.' But my mind won't and I was getting paranoid by the minute. Then I decided to let myself breath and didn't read it for a day. When I got impatient, I read it with the decision of finishing it so that my paranoia would stop. I finished it and I will not spoil anything by commenting on the ending.

Next is Th1rteen R3asons Why. This book is by Jay Asher and my copy is published by Razor Bill. When I first saw this book at the book store (Fully Booked), it was in the section of the 'featured' books. Being put there was of course a huge thing, that's why I got interested and read the synopsis at the back. It was interesting and I already felt the excitement just by reading the synopsis. I then bought it and started reading it. It was a kind of book that I didn't have to put down just because I don't feel like reading anymore. I put it down because I needed to do something else. It was like a priority to finish this book because it keeps on growing inside me while I'm reading it. I can't help but continue to read. So the story goes like the guy lead, Clay Jensen, received tapes from an unknown sender. He listens to the tapes and he found out that the voice behind it was Hannah Baker, the girl from her school who committed suicide. By the time he had received those tapes, Hannah was already dead. Those who received the tapes were the ones involved in Hannah's decision to take her own life. The title 'Th1rteen R3asons Why' comes from the tapes. Hannah provides reasons why she took her own life and those involve people too. It's not much of a kind of book where I can relate with but it provides readers with a different insight. Sometimes I'd be mad at Hannah because of deciding to take her own life with those reasons. But the book also provided me a reason why those thoughts exist in the minds of teenagers. One more thing, I love the character of Hannah Baker and Clay Jensen. They have fresh personalities, unlike those in other books or movies that I've already seen before. I really love this book and I recommend it for those who like to read young adult novels. And for those who don't, I still recommend it because it has a unique way of narration which shows two perspectives at the same time.

Those are the books that I've finished reading this summer in the Philippines. Now school's started and I guess textbooks and journals would take the spotlight in my priority reading list. Since I am in my last term, I hope that I could read novels again (not as a school requirement) after graduation!

I also bought a Jane Austen collection of her seven novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Lady Susan. This was published by Barnes and Noble, NY. I wanted to buy Pride and Prejudice only but the cost of that book is nearly the same as this cool compilation. It has an 'old book' feel to it that's why I had decided to buy it after thinking a lot. 

I haven't started reading it yet but I will once I have time. What I'm currently reading is (and the unfortunate book which would be dumped because school has already started) John Green's Paper Towns. I couldn't say much about it but it is a mystery type of young adult novel. I've already read John Green's Looking For Alaska and it was good but not so awesome (for me), and I have his 'An Abundance of Katherines,' which is also one of those books that I haven't read yet.

One last thing, I am actually collecting books and it is one of my dreams to build a library in my house full of books that I've collected in my lifetime.