Better Late Than Never

After having my I.Q. insulted by the Twilight saga, I was leery to read any other popular series. I mean, no offense to anyone who enjoys Twilight. I have just been shocked by the amount of attention that it has received, all of which I believe is completely undeserving as Stephanie Meyer's books are poorly written. They have terrible story lines and the characters show absolutely no development or redeeming qualities. Let's be clear on one thing: smelling good and being beyond beautiful are, in my humble opinion, not redeeming qualities. Bella is perhaps one of the dumbest characters in history. If I had a teenage girl, she is the last person I'd want her reading about. No daughter of mine needs a love-sick, self-centered teenager as a role model. I believe that a book, and especially a series that require hours and hours of investment, should be inspiring. When the last page of a book is turned, the reader should want to be better because of it.

Harry Potter is amazing. So are The Chronicles of Narnia and we all know that I love Pullmans' His Dark Materials. I'd heard of the Hunger Games time and time again. I just didn't know because so many people that were talking about them on facebook and whatnot were the same people who had raved about Edward and Bella's angst ridden love story. Were the Hunger Games going to be another waste of time? I wanted to read them because the title alone was fascinating, but I just couldn't take any more disappointment. I really hate a bad book.

 Finally, with my Christmas gift cards, I took a leap of faith (remember my 2011 theme?) and ordered all three books. They arrived. I read them. Actually, I more than read them. I gobbled them up. I devoured them. The premise of these books is so unique and the main character, Katniss Everdeen, is amazing. Katniss is a girl worth reading about. She doesn't sit in her room and mull over a boy. She is brave and strong and so different from me in so many ways. At first, I had a hard time with her because of it but by the end, I loved her and I'd be proud to have a daughter who looked up to her. I loved these books and am so glad that I read them- better late than never, right?

The problem now is that I am finished with them. I always get a little uncomfortable when I'm in between books. I'm not right unless I have two or three hundred pages awaiting me. It feels like walking around with no pants on or something. I've got some classics in my re-read pile and will work through them but right now I need something new and really great to read. Suggestions?