I’m no literary snob; from Twilight to Lolita to Ulysses, I’ll have a go at anything. And when I say ‘have a go’, I mean I’ll read one to two chapters and then I’ll decide whether to toss it or not. Kindle samples have really made this vetting process easier, although I sometimes worry that I’ve jumped the gun; that I haven’t given a book a decent chance. Not so for Fifty Shades of Grey- I went so far as to delete the taste test from my Kindle. The author had committed a cardinal writing sin on the first page and I couldn’t forgive her; the protagonist described herself by looking into a mirror. Good Lordy, I don’t have time for that. I also have the bad habit of assuming the voice and style of the authors I’m reading…just imagine what could happen…

So, I recently read The Hunger Games (I know what you’re thinking: you’re judging me. High art, low art, no art…I’m there, because I’m a curious cat). An aspiring author has to keep her finger on the pulse (okay, I know I’m a wee bit late…). I was pleasantly surprised. It was a serendipitous read- I’d just finished The Handmaid’s Tale, the ultimate in dystopian novels. I read Atwood’s early work during my teens and, as always, it was fascinating to return to the text as a woman and a mother. There are quite a few similarities between the texts but The Hunger Games is less preoccupied with a totalitarian patriarchy and feminist concerns. Suzanne Collin’s bestselling YA book reads to me as a clever allegory about the relationship between the first world and the developing world. It is a treatise on the proverbial ‘first world problem’. I’m pleased that teens are reading this stuff in droves.

This post is brought to you by my little friend, the brown fairy…

Oh coffee. How I love thee.