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I just checked out this old thread and see it is too late to add my comments. I too must have been living under a rock and missed these...I don't know how.

For anyone interested, this is a GREAT lesson about reading spoilers.

I am one of those impatient, worrying readers who skips ahead in books to make sure everything is going to turn out ok when the tension gets too much for me to bear. I read the posts on The Hunger Games right after I read the first book. I then bought the second one on my new Nook and...
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decided I didn't need to read the last one.

The books haunted me for several days and I finally gave in and bought the third one, couldn't put it down, and now wish there were more books in the series.

Has anyone read any of the other books by Suzanne Collins?

I absolutely LOVED all three of these books.

Keep On Dancing*

Yes these books are amazing!

I read the first book in a day and then I couldn't afford to buy the 2nd until a few weeks after. Once I bought the 2nd book, I had it read in a day and then bought the 3rd and stayed up all night to finish it.

The series was really great, it felt good to read a book purely for pleasure (though it would be an excellent book to analyze further if I had the time *sigh*). Now I can't wait for the movie! Apparently Collins did the work of writing the screenplay as well (not surprising considering her work in television) so I have high hopes of the film doing justice to the novel.

It's nice to see novels like this published for a young adult audience. I don't doubt there are others of the same quality, they just hardly get sensationalized like the more shallow types of books (Twilight, Gossip Girl, etc.)

The only problem I found -- which can only be appreciated by anyone who read them in hardcover -- Spoiler: Show

I loved the 2 first books but was a bit dissapointed by the third one.

I enjoyed the first one, kind of liked the second, and really did not enjoy the third one at all. I think my problem with this series was that I wasn't into any of the emotional aspects or even the rioting, I really only liked the action of the actually games. Plus, I read John Green's new book, The Fault in Our Stars, right after I finished Mockingjay, and TFiOS was so good that I couldn't really remember of why I even liked The Hunger Games (even though the two are totally different).

OMG, Slice, the cliffhangers!! My husband was just joking with me about it, because he is now reading the books, and I read them a few months ago. It's like every time you think you're coming to a stopping point (i.e. the end of a chapter), it's like, OH SNAP CLIFFHANGER MUST KEEP READING!!! I think that's probably why everyone always says they read all three books in a matter of days, because it's just one cliffhanger after another, and you just have to keep going.

But yeah. Back to the discussion at hand. Loved the books, planning on seeing the movie, hope it lives up to the hype. The second one was probably the one I enjoyed the least because Spoiler: Show
But now that I know what to expect, I could probably read it again and it wouldn't bother me as much.

I haven't read these yet, but my bf's sister bought it for her brother for christmas, and said that everyone in America loved them, so I'm keen to read them!

I loved the first, but I wasn't too into the second or third. It felt like it was turning into too much of a romance.

I like the series as whole.

First book was awesome.
Second book was good.
Third book was meh to end the trilogy.

One of my kids just finished the first book and is halfway into the second.

His comment hit the nail on the head...they should have been one book.

I just saw the trailer for the film ... I can't wait.

Keep On Dancing*

I just finished the last one on Friday (only took me a week to read the whole lot!) I loved the first couple, but the ending of the last one didn't leave much of an impact, I didn't think. I felt ever so slightly let down, but I can't really put my finger on why.

The whole idea of the Hunger Games is brilliant, and I feel like she had to keep the story going after the first book, but was a bit stuck for ideas, you know?

The third book needed another 100 pages of narration in the end. Either that, or less time describing district 13 in the beginning. There are some major events happening to major characters that are glossed over very quickly in the final portion of the book

I guess this is a good place to ask: Is this a book series I just NEED to read? If it has a sad ending, then I don't want to bother with it (I feel like I'm wasting time when I read books with sad endings). But otherwise, I would really like to know if I need to put these books on my "must read before seeing the movies" list.

Grrrr. Why do you need to read it? Because, while not best writing or prose, it speaks a lot about the human condition when put in extreme circumstances. She captures PTSD pretty darn well. It may be sad, but it is well worth your time.
That's like saying you don't want to read "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green because it is sad and it is one of the most amazing books that I have read to date.
Sad books aren't bad. They make you think. So yes, read before the movie.

Sakura, yes I recommend reading these books before watching the movie. I would say that the ending is bittersweet, and it isn't any more sad then what happens in "real life". People die in wars all the time, yet there are also happy times that come along with the sad. Families being reunited, soldiers making a difference in a childs life overseas etc.

SPOILER!!!!

I personally wish the ending was different and the reverse of "who" actually happened instead of what really happened.

Sakura_Efreet wrote:

I guess this is a good place to ask: Is this a book series I just NEED to read? If it has a sad ending, then I don't want to bother with it (I feel like I'm wasting time when I read books with sad endings). But otherwise, I would really like to know if I need to put these books on my "must read before seeing the movies" list.

I don't know if the ending is exactly straight up sad so much as... bittersweet was a good word for it. Most people usually anticipate a nice neat little ending to a novel series, especially one meant for younger readers, but let's just say it would've taken A LOT of narrative gymnastics to do that for this series. But don't let that turn you off because:
A. You haven't even started the series yet. The book pulls you in so much that you don't really start thinking about the end until you're almost there.
B. It's an awesome series.
C. It's an awesome series.

Something I really like about the trilogy is that Spoiler: Show

^Totally agree!!! (in reply to your spoiler)

I really enjoyed the first, was okay with the second, and despised the third. Mockingjay was all about war and major events gained one sentence while meaningless descriptions took up chapters. Also, I felt like the strong Katniss from the first book shriveled and became a whining person.

pasdechat101 wrote:

I really enjoyed the first, was okay with the second, and despised the third. Mockingjay was all about war and major events gained one sentence while meaningless descriptions took up chapters. Also, I felt like the strong Katniss from the first book shriveled and became a whining person.

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Thanks for the opinions. I will at least try to read the first one.

pasdechat101 wrote:

I felt like the strong Katniss from the first book shriveled and became a whining person.

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panic wrote:

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Did she shoot Snow? You mean Coin? She didn't shoot Snow, did she?

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Well, I just finished The Hunger Games (just the first, not the series). I'm... eh?

One of the best books I read in high school was Battle Royale, and I think that the bar was set WAY too high for me to love Hunger Games. I wanted so much more to it, but I feel like I was let down, and the romance crap really got boring. Battle Royale is a more intricate, complicated and gruesome. Hunger Games is just not. And that's ok.

I dunno, if I have a day to just read something easy, I might pick up the second one. And I'll probably go see the movie too. I dunno, I guess I'm just sad I didn't love it.