So many books, so little time

The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
The Mockingjay
Suzanne Collins
Scholastic

According to Dictionary.com, the word "addict" can be used to describe someone who habituates or abandons him/herself to something compulsively or obsessively.  It can also be used in the context of physiological or psychological dependence on a substance or thing.  Is this definition ringing bells with anyone else?  Apparently, I have a problem.
I came to this deep and penetrating insight late a couple of Fridays ago  when I was downloading book two of the Hunger Game trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  It was almost three o'clock in the morning and I had just whizzed through the first novel in the series.  Even though I could barely keep my head off the pillow, I had to read on.   It was that good.

Set in post-apocalyptic America, the novel opens in District 12.  We are introduced to a young woman named Katniss Everdeen.  Katniss is an aloof girl -- mostly keeping her thoughts to herself and oblivious to her impact on others.  Her world completely changes when  the government comes to town to pick two "warriors" -- one boy and one girl -- as the District's tribute to the Hunger Games.  "Required watching" for everyone in the country, the Hunger Games is a reality show where the tributes (two from each of the country's twelve districts) battle to the death.  The tributes are plucked from their regions, made over into heroes (with compelling back stories, of course) and then set in an arena with instructions to kill or be killed.  It is all quite gruesome, but happily packaged for TV.  Katniss volunteers to be the tribute from District 12 when her younger sister is picked in the lottery.  The baker's son, Peeta, is the other "winner" and the two teens head to the Capitol to take part in the games.

I loved the premise of these novels (as disturbing as it was) and can guarantee that I will be reading the entire trilogy again.  Katniss is smart, resourceful, naive, and unrelenting.   Peeta is kind, focused, loving, and equally as unrelenting.  They make a good team, but unfortunately, there can only ever be one winner, or can there?  The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay get five fiery manticores out of five.