I Read the Hunger Games in One Night, Was it Worth It?

 

The motivation for this journey spiraled from a conversation in which my lack of reading the Hunger Games was mentioned, and my mother insulted me for not reading “pivotal works of literature for gen-Z.” So, for some reason that made more sense at the time, I made myself a challenge. I would read the entirety of the Hunger Games (first book) before I saw her the next day. 

Now the first issue I encountered in this journey was getting hold of a book. I did not own a copy, it was far too late at night to go buy one, and it was crucial that I read it that night. Luckily, this issue was easily combated by the internet’s vast libraries and E-books (and I definitely didn’t just find an illegal PDF online). 

Prior to starting the novel, I could tell it was going to be a rough start as it was already almost 1:00 am, and I knew I would have to lock in if I wanted to finish it in time to get some sleep. There was also the imminent danger of wrecking my sleep schedule past repair and it was my final non-school-night pre second semester. Anyways despite my vague concerns about what the process would become, I started to read.

So to answer the question, was it worth it?

When I started the novel, I found myself actually really enjoying it right off the bat. I felt as though Katniss, the main protagonist, was a very likable character, and also a very understandable, reasonable narrator. I found the action heavy and intense nature of the book forced me to have a fast pace as I read it in order to keep up with it. This inevitably led to being able to finish it faster than I anticipated, and was honestly the reason I didn’t want to stop reading throughout it.

I really enjoyed even the more boring parts as the characters were fun enough to follow even in their more dull, still scenes. The book had a very pleasant rhythm switching from intense scenes like the Tracker Jacker scene, to calm and surprisingly pleasant scenes like Katniss’ alliance with Rue. These switches became a major pattern in the novel which made it flow easier, and be more digestible even when read quickly. I was reading with full attention the entire time, even upon hours and hours of reading my focus never really slipped. 

I felt as though reading in such a short period of time allowed me to really immerse myself in the story. Every detail about the Capitol, every cultural fact about District 12, every glimpse into a characters’ history, was entirely fascinating and I found that I really was able to take these moments and insert them in different places as I read, because they were constantly right at the top of my head.

Without too much time to really process certain things I was taken on the same emotional whirlwinds that the characters went on. I have now read the other books in the series, and for the other two I read them over the course of a few days and not in one sitting and the experience just doesn’t compare to the experience that was reading the first book. So, now I would totally claim it was worth it! And if you ever find the time you should try reading a book in one sitting. Just maybe try not to do it in the early hours of the morning.

By Miranda :)