THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE TRIBUTES

Last week Lionsgate revealed all of the actors who will be playing the tributes competing in the third Quarter Quell in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, based on the book by Suzanne Collins.  

In order to punish Katniss, President Snow pulls a fast one and announces that the tributes for the 75th Annual Hunger Games will only be reaped from past victors.  Being the only female victor in District 12, that means Katniss is going back into the arena to fight to the death. Haymitch is reaped as the male victor, but Peeta volunteers in order to keep Katniss alive in the arena.  Unbeknownst to Peeta, however, to make up for keeping secrets from Peeta during the previous games, Katniss and Haymitch have agreed that Peeta should be the one to survive, and Katniss makes her peace with not leaving the arena alive this time.  

Surviving in the arena and keeping Peeta alive will not be a simple matter, as Katniss and Peeta are facing 22 former victors:

District 1:

Cashmere and Gloss; a vicious brother and sister duo, both career tributes.  

Played by Stephanie Leigh Schlund and Alan Ritchson.

District 2:

Enobaria and Brutus; career tributes.  Enobaria won the 62nd Hunger Games by ripping open her final opponent's throat with her teeth.

Played by Meta Golding and Bruno Gunn.

District 3:

Wiress and Beetee; Both a little eccentric and weird, intellectually strong. 

Played by Amanda Plummer and Jeffrey Wright.

District 4:

Finnick and Mags; career tributes.  Finnick is a young, handsome,  charming former victor, one of Panem's favourites.  Mags is an 80 year old victor, volunteering to take the place of Annie Cresta, the love of Finnick's life.

Played by Lynn Cohen and Sam Claflin.

District 5:

As Katniss never learns the names of the tributes from District 5, neither do we.  

Played by Ivette Li-Sanchez and James Logan.

District 6:

Known only as the morphlings, both being addicted to the narcotic painkiller, morphling.  

Played by Megan Hayes and Justin Hix.

District 7:

Johanna and Blight; Johanna won her Hunger Games by  having the other tributes underestimate her, by pretending to be weak and tired while she was actually strong and sly.

Played by Jena Malone and Bobby Jordan.

District 8:

Cecilia and Woof. 

Played by Elena Sanchez and John Casino.

District 9:

Never attended training - unknown to Katniss, unknown to us.

Played by Marian Greene and Daniel Bernhardt.

District 10:

Again, unknown to Katniss, unknown to us.

Played by Tiffany Waxler and Jackson Spidell.

District 11:

Seeder and Chaff; Chaff won the 45th Hunger Games.

Played by Maria Howell and E. Roger Mitchell.

District 12:

Katniss and Peeta.  The first ever duo to win the Hunger Games together.

Again played by Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson.

Filming of Catching Fire is already under way, and some on  set photos have surfaced:

Sam Claflin (Finnick), Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) and Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) on set

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will hit theatres 22 November 2013.

NOW READING: SAFE HAVEN ~ NICHOLAS SPARKS

I've been wanting to read Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks for a while now, and as filming of the film version took place over the last few months, fun set photos like this one only made the story seem that much more interesting.

Julianne Hough (Katie) and Josh Duhamel (Alex) goofing around on set 

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

Kristen, Alex & Katie

But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo’s empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

REVIEW: A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: A FEAST FOR CROWS ~ GEORGE R.R MARTIN

In his acknowledgements George R.R Martin starts off by saying “This one was a bitch”.  I wholeheartedly agree, though our reasons probably differ.  If I had started reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series back in 1996 when A Game of Thrones was first released, and had I waited for five years after A Storm of Swords (2000) for A Feast For Crows (2005) to be released, I would have been very, very disappointed.  Was this delivery worth a five year wait?  Not in my opinion.  However, keep in mind that Martin had spent a significant amount of time first writing A Dance With Dragons after A Storm of Swords.  He then realised that he needed an interim story, and only then decided to bump A Dance With Dragons to book number five, and create A Feast For Crows as book number four.  So technically this book didn’t take him five years to write, but it was still a five year wait for fans. 

Truthfully, I battled my way through this instalment.  I found it boring!  I suspected it might happen – A Storm of Swords was just so epic and mind blowing.  I had mentally prepared myself that this one would very possibly not live up to the excitement of its predecessor, but even so I was very disappointed. 

In this instalment Cersei is ruling King’s Landing in Tommen’s stead, and in an attempt to ensure she alone runs the show she surrounds herself (and fills her council) with incompetent fools sure to agree with anything she says.  Cersei seems to be the only one ignorant of how unwise this approach is.  Jaime, growing more humble and noble by the day, grows cold towards his once beloved sister as he starts seeing her for what she is, and becomes more concerned with his honour than Cersei’s whims.  Arya finds herself in Braavos, and starts studying the art that made Jaqen H’ghar who he is today.  Sansa is still secluded in the Vale of Arryn, hiding her true identity from everyone (except Petyr), while Brienne of Tarth faithfully searches the Riverlands for Lady Catelyn’s daughters.  The Lannisters seem to have control of the Seven Kingdoms once more, but the Brotherhood Without Banners (now led by Lady Stoneheart) grows ever more wrathful in their vigilante justice, and a massive threat from the Iron Isles threatens to become more devastating than the war of five kings had been.

Arya in Braavos

A Storm of Swords concluded with such a slap in the face that I could not wait to read more – Martin, however, thought it would be a good idea to omit chapters from this surprise character, along with several other viewpoint characters, from A Feast For Crows (or as I like to call it, The Adventures of Cersei Lannister).  If you read my previous ASOIAF post mentioning major 8 character deaths, you might want to skip the remainder of this paragraph so as to not determine who is still alive.  This book does not include chapters from Lady Stoneheart, Jon, Tyrion, Bran or Daenerys!  To “make up for this” Martin overcompensated with way too many Cersei, Brienne and Jaime chapters; at least Jaime’s chapters were bearable.  The man I hated so very much in the beginning is turning out to become one of my favourite characters!  The only chapters I truly enjoyed were those of Arya, and they were far too few.  I battled my way through the rest, finishing this book only by sheer willpower.  There was no momentum this time around to keep me reading; I only really got into the book over the last 200 pages or so.

Lady Stoneheart

On the bright side, we see more of the Iron Isles this time around, and we are treated to two new fascinating characters; Euron (Crow’s Eye) Greyjoy, and Victarion Greyjoy – two brothers competing for the Seastone chair.  I think the history between them and the dynamics of their relationship will make for very interesting events.  Add to that the fact that each has his sights set on Daenerys to be his wife and ultimately Queen of Westeros. 

Asha, Victarion, Aeron and Euron Greyjoy

We also now know that Dorne wishes Daenerys to come into power and destroy the Lannisters, and with Quentyn Martell also on his way to bring the Khaleesi back to Westeros.  Add to that the fact that the mighty Citadel does not wish Daenerys to return; they accuse the Targaryens of sorcery, and will do anything in their power to ensure she fails.  I am positive the Daenerys chapters of A Dance With Dragons are going to be extremely gripping.

Nymeria Sand
(one of the so-called Sand snakes) 

Speaking of Dorne, we also get to visit Dorne this time around, where we also meet several new characters, of which the so-called Sand Snakes (the daughters of the Red Viper, Oberyn Martell) are my favourites – despite having very limited action. 

I look forward to reading the next instalment, A Dance With Dragons; having said that, I doubt I will read it before next year sometime.  Besides, the one after that, The Winds of Winter, does not even have a publication date yet.   In February, Martin confirmed to have written 200 pages out of approximately 1500.  Also keeping in mind this is the first draft, if Martin stays true to the time-frames of recent history, we are quite possibly looking at a release date of 2017.   

Product information:
Title: A Song of ice and Fire: A Feast For Crows
Author: George R.R Martin

Number of pages: 1104

Publisher: Bantam

Year: 2005

ISBN-10: 055358202X

ISBN-13: 978-0553582024 

* Note: The drawings featured in this post are beautiful fan art found on the web.  I am not responsible for creating these wonderful works of art.  All credit goes to their respective creators.  

THE LUCKY ONE

This weekend I finally got around to watching the film version of The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks.

The Lucky One is the story of Marine, Logan Thibault, who finds a picture of woman, with the words “Keep Safe” written on the back, in Iraq.  Not only does the act of walking towards the picture save his life, but from the moment Logan finds this picture his luck changes and she soon becomes his lucky charm and guardian angel.  When Logan then survives several situations which should have left him dead, he decides to somehow find this woman and thank her for saving his life.  Logan locates Beth, a single mom still very much under the thumb of her ex-husband, Keith.  Logan repeatedly tries to explain to Beth why he has come to find her, but something always gets in the way, and before he can tell her the truth, Logan and Beth fall in love.  Logan also befriends Beth’s son, Ben.  Beth soon realises that Logan understands Ben much better than his own father does, and also treats him better.  A happy life beckons Logan, Beth and Ben; and the only person not happy with this situation is Keith - he is a Sheriff Deputy in town and his father is a powerful Judge running for Mayor.  Beth lives her life knowing that any misstep she makes could cause her to lose her son to the powerful Clayton family, so she numbly allows Keith to exert control over her life.  The question is, now that she has found Logan, will she allow Keith to destroy this precious chance of happiness?  And what has the greater chance of destroying their new-found happiness; Keith’s threats, or the true nature of Logan’s move to Hamden?

 

Zac Effron is the perfect Logan!  He did the character perfect justice and even added some depth to Logan.  As for Taylor Schilling, she did a good job with Beth, but as for the way the character was adapted for the film, I found Beth to be much more likable in the book.  Little Riley Thomas Stewart was also a perfect Ben, and I love Blythe Danner as Ellie - I just wish the character was as eccentric in the movie as she is in the book.  As for Keith, the movie omitted so much of just what a jerk he is!  The movie didn’t even mention the fact that he had spiked Beth’s drinks while they were together, leading to Beth sleeping with him and falling pregnant, and ultimately marrying him.  Keith is a jerk beyond compare, but for some reason the movie softened him up a little.  And then, my major complaint: Zeus.  I am so disappointed that he plays such a small role in the film.  In the book Zeus is a much more prominent character, and he hardly ever leaves Logan’s side – in the movie he’s hardly ever with Logan.  I understand it is difficult to work with animals, but he deserved a bigger role.  In the book he is, after all, the one who saves Ben from drowning – also omitted from the film.

As is always the case with an adaptation, the book obviously had more depth; but as far as adaptations go, The Lucky One was beautifully done.  Overall, the film version does the book justice.  

THE QUIRKS OF A BOOK NERD

The Women24 book club is fun to be a part of, especially receiving the monthly newsletters by fellow bookworm, Tammy.  Her newsletters eerily represent my own views and opinions, and this month's is no different.  Today I will share Tammy's quirks as a book nerd (Italics), and add a few of my own (bold). 

The Quirks of a book nerd:

The thing I love most about books and reading, is that it has resulted in me developing a lot of eccentric and bookish habits.

I've been thinking about the fact that we read so much and focus so much on the lovely interior and world within the books, that we forget how we appear on the outside. In fact, I can say with certainty that we often have no idea just how far their influence stretch to and beyond our daily lives and how it shapes our day-to-day routine.

And so, it's with this in mind I've come to realise the following about myself:

1. If I take a break, I have to stop when a new book chapter ends or starts. I hate bookmarking in between chapters because it makes me feel like I'm reading something incomplete.

Absolutely! I cannot stop reading mid-chapter.

2. If I buy a book series, they have to be in the same format and have the same covers. I recently bought The Hunger Games box set and gave away my original copy because it didn't match up with the rest.

Yes! They have to look like the unit they are. J.K. Rowling annoyed me to no end with the different looks of the Harry Potter novels - it looks silly not having the same size, some soft-cover and some hard-cover. Urgh!

3. I am a complete and utter sucker for a pretty book cover and will sometimes spend money (ill-advisedly I might add!) to splurge on a book because the cover entranced me.

Ah, yes. I have bought many a book simply because of the pretty cover.

4. I get excited about a book, buy it, and once I do, end up not reading it immediately. It's as if I first need to satisfy the need to have the book on my book shelf, let it soak in a little, and then maybe a month or so later, finally pick the book up. There are of course, exceptions to this rule.

This is so me! I have to have it, but usually end up only reading it weeks later.

5. Perversely enough, when I'm in the mood for a book, I tend not to be in the mood for one of my own, unread books on my shelf, and end up buying another one. Sometimes, I'll even read that one immediately and sometimes, I'll end up picking up a book from my shelf after adding the one that I just bought. (I know. I'm a walking contradiction).

This happens to me quite regularly. I'm in the mood for a certain type of book, and none of my unread books fall into that category, so I go out and buy a new book.

6. I've only recently learned how to abandon books that I don't like because there are simply too many books and too little time! Still working on the guilt issue though.

The one point on which we disagree. I have not yet developed the ability to abandon I book I don't enjoy.  I'll suffer my way through it because I know I'll always wonder, in the back of my mind, how it all ended; Alright yes, secretly I'm hoping the book will improve significantly within the next few pages.    

7. I know books are subjective and I know that I've written a column about how I don't need to love the books that you do, but secretly, it still annoys me when people don't recognise my favourite book for the awesomeness that it is (feel free to throw rocks at me if you want).

Yes! I take it really personally when someone doesn't agree with me on the literary brilliance of a book; And if I recommend a book and you won't consider reading it, we have a serious friendship issue.  

8. You are instantly my new best friend if you end up loving a book that I recommended to you. If you hated it, I don't want you to tell me (oh alright, you can tell me). 

Yes! If we can agree on books, we can agree on just about anything :)

9. I am the ultimate book hoarder. I hate letting go of books. Also, how can I let go of books when I'm planning to build a library bigger than the one that the Beast gave Beauty? Tsk.

I don't let go of books.  I just don't.  The other day my sister-in-law wanted to borrow Rapture (she's one of the few people I will lend a book to), and my brother helps me    move my book storage boxes (plastic ones, so my books will be perfectly protected until I finally find the absolute perfect book shelf) to locate the right one (luckily I know my boxes very well), and looking at all my books he goes "Why don't you sell some of these?"  What?! I am sure I looked as mortified as I felt.  Sell my friends?! Why would I possibly want to do that?! 

10. If I lend you books, I'm secretly hoping you'll read the book in a day so that I can get it back immediately. I have book separation anxiety issues, ok? They're my babies.

Book separation anxiety! Only a certified book nerd will truly understand this one.  When a book is so brilliant that I want you to read it, I would rather buy it for you as a present than lend you my copy! My condition is that serious.

11. If my book comes back to me in a bad condition, I make a mental note to never pass another book the offending person's way, and then ask them to buy me a new copy.

No doubt.  If you can't handle my books with the respect they deserve, you do not get a second chance.  My heart is still sore over my copy of A Walk To Remember that I came home with dog-eared pages, water damage and dirty finger marks.  Oh my heart.  The horror. I will never forget who ruined one of my favourite books.  I have considered replacing it, but it was a gift from my brother and I am a total sentimental nut.  Besides, it's not the book's fault!

And finally...

12. If I love an e-book, I absolutely have to buy the physical book as well.

Agreed.  Though I only read e-books when I have to review them for Tyndale.  Which brings me to a few of my own quirks:

13. I hate e-books.  I understand it fulfils a need for some people in this technological era we live in, but it's not the real thing.  I need a real, solid book in my hands.  I love the feel and smell of books, and I love marking my progress by literally seeing how many pages I have left.  That way I can also mentally prepare myself for the conclusion.  It's hard to say goodbye to a brilliant book. (And besides, you can't fill a book shelf with e-books.)

14. If I have decided to read a book, I want it now!  On Friday my best friend, Erika, gave me recommendations for two books she got hooked on, Hunting Lila and Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson.  This weekend I went looking for them.  To my utter frustration I found Losing Lila (book 2), and not Hunting Lila (book 1).  Exclusive Books has to order me copy.  I now have to wait days to get a copy.  It doesn't matter that I'm busy reading A Feast For Crows and won't be able to start reading it right away, I want it now! (See point 4)

15.  I assume the book in my hands is my own personal Do-Not-Disturb-Sign.  If you start talking to me while I'm reading, I might glare at you. Asking an essential question is acceptable, staring a very serious discussion is not.  Luckily, Erika gave me this less subtle sign:

When you really start thinking about it, being a bookworm brings with it many eccentricities and odd habits; but life sure is more interesting that way.