Hey
everybody! So it has been a crazy awesome week! Yesterday was my 22nd Birthday!
I got to celebrate with family eating cake and ice cream, topping it off with a night at the
movies. Woohoo! ^^ :D I have to say, I don't feel much older, but I've heard
that doesn't start to set in until later. Lol :) So for my birthday movie, my
brother and my sister-in-law took me to see The
Hunger Games: Catching Fire for the second time (My mom took me to see it
the first time on the day it came out lol). It was really sweet too, because
the lady running the concession stand sang Happy Birthday to me. ^^
And
I have to say, it was AWESOME!!! Frances Lawrence did an excellent job! He
created a world so intricate and detailed that even though it passes by in
short little bursts, you really get a good sense of it. And the characters I
feel got a whole lot better and deeper. The costumes were so great and some
totally outrageous (lol Effie J).
The first half felt just slightly rushed, but for the time they had, they
covered a lot. There were a couple parts that made me giggle…really loudly. :]
If you’ve seen the movie or read the books, all I have to say is. Johanna. Hehe. ^^ Of course there were a
couple parts that had me tearing up. If you've read the books you know what
parts those probably were. It was pretty funny too, because at the end where
the big hurrah takes place, my brother and I were both pumping our fist saying Yeah!
You can
really tell the difference between fans of the books versus those that have
only seen the movies too because my sister-in-law kept leaning over to explain
little nuances to my brother because he hasn't read the books yet. Key word: yet. Between the two of us, I'm sure
we'll have him reading them in no time! ;D
Overall,
I would give Catching Fire 4.5 stars only because I felt like there was just a
smidge where they could've done a little bit more, but like I said: Fantastic
job. I'm so glad Frances is doing both Mockingjay part 1 & 2. And after
seeing the second one, I'm really glad they split the movie into two parts
because that will really allow them to dig into the story and honor those parts
that really need it and are huge parts of the overall arc. In my opinion,
Suzanne Collins is a genius. I also haven't read any of her other books yet, so
I might be biased, but Hunger Games is my all-time favorite book series. Ever.
Anyways,
before I go all Fangirl over you guys, today is the first Wednesday of
December, which means it’s time for another IWSG!
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a
wonderful place where writers can share their worries and failures as well as
their successes and advice. Led by our fearless leader Alex J. Cavanaugh, IWSG
meets the first Wednesday of every month and you can join on his site here.
There's also a brand new website now so be sure to check it out here.
So every
year at the
Central Oregon Writer’s Guild, we hold two annual readers showcases
where members can volunteer to read their work to the guild and on December 19
th
is our next showcase and I volunteered! I’ve never been able to read my work
out loud in public before so I’m super excited and absolutely terrified! I’m
not a great out loud reader. I tend to skip words and mix up letters within
words. I don’t want to read too quickly or slowly especially since I only have
eight minutes to read, but for those that have had the opportunity to speak
before groups and share their work publicly, what have you found works best and
helps you present better? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for
stopping by!
J
Happy Writing! ^^ :D
