Gathering Blue & Messenger by Lois Lowry

I finished reading Lois Lowry's companion books to The Giver.  With the impending release of Hunger Games and it's take on young people living in a dystopian society, this trilogy should be promoted by Random House/Delacorte Press.  The "perfect" world invented by bureaucrats in The Giver reveals the dehumanizing effect of  sameness vs. complexity.
          In Gathering Blue the gifts and talents of a few are captured and controlled to benefit the leaders' ability to maintain control of an impoverished population.  The "cost" of being singled-out as a star is high and might lead to a conversation about what really happens to contestants (especially winners) on shows like "American Idol".
          Messenger explores the impact on a small village when residents are able to trade their humanity for "stuff"  (not giant flat-screen TV's, or glamorous cars - but it isn't a stretch to make that comparison). There is also a bit about nature turning against the village.
          Recommending all three books.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Five academy awards finally convinced me to rent HUGO when it was released on DVD.  It is fabulous! The film based on Brian Selznick's book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" is beautifully filmed and the story is positive and self-affirming.  So much of the pleasure in viewing this film is related to the subtle color palette, sets and magical sense-of-place, I am now curious to read the book.  Yes - I've picked up on this one slowly, but I definitely ascribe to the saying "So Many Books, So Little Time!"

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles / endings

Perfect Chemistry is the first novel I've read by Simone Elkeles - looking forward to reading more.  I did have a little trouble believing Brittany and Alex would have a long-term relationship.  So I guess the epilogue didn't work for me.  Sweet, but not very real.  Do readers want "most likely"outcomes?  Do they want the "ideal, but not likely"? That Brittany and Alex would date through their first years in college works for me, but I would think they would grow apart.  Marry other people and stay friends?

Hunger Games movie coming in March

I checked out the website:  hungergamesmovie.org and think the sets are excellent.  I recognized the places - as though I'd been there myself.

To E-Read or Not to E-Read / That is the Question

To E-Read, or not to E-Read, that is the question:
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Jibes and Disdain of arrogant Techies,
or take Arms against the Techno-warriors
and by opposing them:
be called a Luddite, to be asked our opinions No more,
and by opinions, to say we end
the heart-ache, and the
thousand snickering comments
that offered Experience is heir to?

E-reader / audio books / ink-on-paper?

            I "know" there are some things I want to read in a traditional book format, others I choose to hear on an audio book and I admit to being a big fan of my Kindle.  My choice is dictated by a gut feeling that doesn't seem to have much, if any, basis in logic.  Haruki Murakami's book "1Q84" has nearly 1000 pages and the hard cover book is difficult to handle.  Perfect for my Kindle? You'd think so, but no.......  I chose to read the ink-on-paper version of "1Q84".
           The experience of reading is different if the words are on a screen or are printed on a page.  As I write and edit my own books, I can spot errors on the page that I didn't see on the screen.  The rhythm and pace of sentences is more obvious to me on paper.
          I tend to read my Kindle more quickly, so if I have chosen a book because I want to savor the author's use of words, I need the ink-on-paper version.  Audio books are my choice for enjoyed mystery books.  Somehow the spoken words are more compelling and illicit more fear and dread than listening to the reader-voice in my own head.
         
         

The Giver - Lois Lowry

            A news report this morning quoted a doctor who suggested sugar should be regulated the same way as alcohol and tobacco.  He based this on the fact that over-consumption of sugar destroys a person's health and contributes to diseases like diabetes.
           Anyone who imagines creating a better world by eliminating risks, temptations and by taking control of random occurrences, should read Lois Lowry's - The Giver.  In Lowry's world everything runs smoothly from birth to death, because they have chosen "Sameness" over individuality and personal choice.  At the beginning of the book, readers appreciate the benefits the society provides each of it's members. A wise council chooses a young person's career and training is provided; the same goes for the formation of a family unit - men and women are matched for marriage, healthy children are born of anonymous mothers and are raised in nurseries until they are distributed to couples who have applied to raise a child.  No depression or pain (medications are readily available).
           The cost of "Sameness" is slowly revealed when the protagonist begins his training as the society's  keeper of memories.  Total control has robbed the population of their experience of being human, including the development of personal responsibility.  Choose to eat less sugar?  What a concept.