I discovered a wonderful website a week or two ago...it's called Lendle, and it is a place where Kindle users can lend each other their books for free for 14 days, almost like a library. The only difference is that you can only loan a book one time, and only certain books can be loaned, so the "library" is somewhat limited. Fortunately, I found that one series that I had been eyeing was lendable so I borrowed the first book, The Hunger Games. I was immediately entranced by the book; I read before bed, before work, during work, while eating, everywhere...and it took me 2 days to finish the whole thing. And once I did, I immediately borrowed the second and then the third. All in all I finished the trilogy in 6 days, 2 days per book, and when it was over I was hit with a serious case of book depression that I still, even a week later, can't seem to fully shake.
It is a tendency of mine to get severe cases of book depression, especially if there is a romantic element involved in the story (which this one had), but I don't remember a case that lingered for quite this long. The last time I remember feeling this way was after I finished the Twilight series, but I was depressed in that case because I was totally Team Jacob and although it ended well enough for him I still wanted to see him with Bella. The Hunger Games series actually ended the way I wanted it too, and yet the depression seems stronger. I've been trying to figure out why, I mean it seems pretty silly to not be able to shake the sadness of finishing a book, and there are several conclusions that I have come to...
1) When I read I have a tendency to place myself IN the story...I am the main character and I can see the places and people being described. Granted, my reactions to the people and characters are not always in line with the main characters, but I'm there all the same. And I fall in love with characters...in this case a boy named Peeta. He was written as such a wonderful, selfless, giving person whose only goal was to save the one he loved even though it repeatedly resulted in pain for him...and he melted my heart. Once I finished the series, I went back to re-read some of his greatest moments in all three books. And somewhere between being "in" the book and being "in love" with the characters, I had a hard time pulling myself out of that world and back into reality.
2) Although the book ended exactly the way that I hoped it would, it left something to be desired. And here's where I admit that I did not one little bit look into the deeper meaning of the book or the real point the author was trying to get across, because many people were disappointed with the final message it seemed that the author was sending about war...I'm a chick, and I was most interested in how the romance would play out. And it seemed slapped on like an afterthought. It just felt incomplete and left me feeling empty and disappointed, and I was not the only reader who felt that way. It by no means ruined the trilogy for me, I still loved it, but it did leave me imagining different endings that would resolve my feeling of incompleteness for a good week, and hence made it impossible come back to reality.
3) I may be a bit obsessed with books and have a serious mental problem...sometimes I think my husband believes this is one and only true conclusion as he only reads non-fiction and doesn't understand getting this wrapped up in a fictional story.
But I digress...good books, I definitely recommend them for an entertaining read.
In fact, I just got an email that said that I only have 3 days left with the first book...I think I may just go back and read it again...
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