Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (a Hunger Games Novel) | 
pickThis was so good 💚🐍🐦⬛ I loved The Hunger Games trilogy and was worried that I wouldn't like this and it would ruin it for me, but it actually enhanced the story so much that I need to go back and read the trilogy again! Seeing Coriolanus Snow become President Snow was so clever and this book really deepened his character. I'll be thinking about this book for awhile!
pickI absolutely loved it. It was just as good as the original trilogy. It was a little darker but it was completely engaging and interesting to see how the Hunger Games developed into what they were. Also, to see how someone becomes the President Snow of the future. The movie did a decent job depicting the book, but I‘d read it first otherwise you‘ll miss some important details and it could feel rushed at the end. Read don‘t listen to the audiobook.
pickThe differences between the hunger games in this book vs the future books was fascinating. Truly, this version of the games was pretty boring. Hours of nothing followed by minutes of action. Snow‘s character is pretty despicable. Other than his own family, he has no real feelings for anyone else. He only acts if it will make him look good. His relationship with the tribute Lucy Gray is a joke. Snow only wants her as a captive, dependent on him.
pickI enjoyed this one almost as much as I enjoyed the first two books. It kind of lost me at the end as I felt it moved too quickly too suddenly
Loving my three day weekend! 🍷
One of the perks of being a teacher…getting to check out books from our library!
panNot Collin‘s best work. Lucy Grays character never truly made sense or unfolded. Provided a little more depth to Snow‘s character later in the series, but not enough to justify the addition to the series. Some things are better left as is.
bailedMy first bail of the year. I am half in and I just don't see the point. Snow is a terrible person, for no reason. There is nothing redeemable about any of these characters. I don't understand Lucy's motivation or why she is acting how she is. The way the government treats the tributes makes zero sense (even for an evil entity it just doesn't make sense to starve your entertainment??)
I can't handle being with these characters any longer.
I am about a third of the way into this books, and I am not really enjoying this, so I was curious about the reviews and here are some I am thinking are fitting 😅
pickThe captivating origin story of the tyrannical villain, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, unfolds amongst a richly vehement prose interspersed with a pernicious romance and subtle inclinations towards the original trilogy. I found myself spellbound from the very beginning, devouring the prequel in a few voracious days, loathing the morally grey, inevitable antagonist, yet finding the exploration of his background utterly fascinating. Truly phenomenal!
pickProbably my favourite book in the hunger Games series. I also loved the book way more than the movie.
pickI thoroughly enjoyed this book!!! I loved the movie series, as usual, the book is better. Looking forward to the next one.
pickEven though I do prefer the original 3 books, I will admit that I greatly enjoyed this book. Without spoiling anything, I really appreciated how this book was written. It‘s a very good “bad guy” origin story because it doesn‘t make you cheer for the villain but yet it does allow you to understand and even sympathies with him without justifying his evil. I also found it interesting that there are actually no true heroes in this book. #52challenge
so-soMy sister and I have seen all of the Hunger Games movies together. This time, I saw the movie first, then read the book. (Sis lent me her copy.) The style was different—less momentum to the story—and I felt it needed some editing. The changes for the film version worked well. I loved Lucy Gray and her music. 💖
Onto my next book - Starting the Hunger Games Series 😁
I‘ve been so late posting because my daughter is visiting- and for #hyggehour we are listening to Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes because she has been talking non stop about it and is positive i will love it. We are cozy cuddling on the couch. #midwintersolace #naturalitsy
I am having such a good time reading this book, I can't stop reading it! Reminds me of my childhood so much.
"You could start by thinking I can actually win." (153)
#hungergames #book #love #ballad #coriolanus #lucygray
pickThe prequel to The Hunger Games- disappointing or surprisingly good? For me, it's definitely the latter. This book focuses on young Coriolanus Snow who has been picked to be a mentor to one of the unfortunates selected for the 10th Hunger Games.
I thought it was an interesting addition to the HG canon, & it has made me want to re-read the whole series. As we know, there is no redemption arc for Snow, (continued)
so-soWhile I really enjoyed this book for the world development, dialogue, and especially Snow‘s inner thoughts, it was just such a slow pace. There was so much nothing happening that it just dragged with most of my motivation to finish it my desire to watch the movie. It all came together for me at the end but I‘d give it 3.5 stars overall. I will say it made me want to reread the Hunger Games trilogy now that I have more insight into Snow.
so-so#serieslove2023
I finished this last month and watched the movie over the Thanksgiving holiday and I‘m still not sure how I feel about it. The movie was enjoyable enough, I liked being back in The Hunger Games world but the book was painfully tedious and boring. Glad the movie condensed the book a bit and glad I completed the series.
pickI‘m giving this a pick because I finished the book. I tend to bail on books if I don‘t like them. I was hesitant to get a book about Snow‘s backstory because he was such an evil man in the trilogy. I went back and forth on understanding who he was as a teenager. It‘s extremely difficult to empathize with such an unlikeable character. But I definitely see how the boy he was in this book became President Snow.
I watched the movie last Friday with my sister, Serafina, and am now excited to read it! I heard a lot is different in the movie - I was so in love with the original trilogy when I was a kid!
#hungergames #book #prequel #childhood #songbirdsandsnakes
pickClearly reading big books in a giant hurry has been a theme of my week, because I raced to finish this before a 3.45pm movie time (clocked in at 3.08)🤣 my husband and daughter had read it ages before and I was lagging behind. Enjoyed the story, she definitely makes you sympathetic to Snow, which is worrying but well done for sure. As usual a great book to movie adaptation. IMO the hunger games are the most faithful new book to movie adaptations.
so-soThe YA easy reading vibe I needed, although this villain origin story didn‘t quite land for me. There are lots of elements that made the original Hunger Games trilogy great here. This prequel is a bit looser on the edit to its detriment. Ultimately I think I needed someone to root for to really immerse myself in this story. Readable but not great.
November #wrapup.
November is usually a light reading month but I really took it to new lows this year! One book, one short story and two picture books. I think I am heading into a slump.
pickThe way this book looked at the good and evil in human beings was fascinating. I had a hard time putting it down!
pickI enjoyed this, perhaps buoyed by being back in the Hunger Games world/low expectations/interest in the movie. I love Santino Fontana as a narrator but this was maybe not my favorite of his performances - his portrayal of female characters didn't always hit for me, and I (unreasonably) wanted him to sing all of the song lyrics he narrated, simply bc I knew he could. 🤣 (Granted some likely didn't have melodies yet, but still.)
Anyone see the movie? I got to go tonight was so good
@Kimberlone and I went to see The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes for her birthday! Honestly I loved it. I thought the movie was excellently executed. I LOVE the og Hunger Games books and movies, but this film was over all a much better film.
#hungergames #booktomovie
Onto my next -ology book series; the tetralogy 📚 From what I can tell The Hunger Games isn‘t called that yet. More of a trilogy plus prequel. I‘m using these books anyways since I already own them.
pickI resisted reading this for a long time. The idea of a sob story about Snow was unappealing. But Collins writes a character who is self-serving, but not wholly unlovable. I found myself rooting for him to make better choices. The pacing was slower & Lucy Gray came across 2-dimensional, but whether that's a flaw or a depiction of how Snow viewed her, I don't know. I particularly enjoyed seeing how the Games progressed into a televised spectacle.
Working through an audiobook and physical book this weekend. What about you? #WeekendReads
so-soI‘m not the audience for this novel; I listened to it for work bookclub. The dialogue & romance are YA level. Some of the action during the game itself was engaging. This leads me to my last observation, which is it felt like two separate novels bound in the same the book:
Hunger Game & Post Hunger Game. The story climaxed with the game victory and then went on to develop other (less interesting) threads. It didn‘t retain the momentum.
so-soI liked this prequel more than I thought I would but it is way more gruesome and cutthroat than the Hunger Games. Does reflect on how today with less policing society does get out of hand in some situations…😳🧐 Loved the rainbow snakes.🌈🐍
Time for a reread before the movie comes out.
pickWhile it was the least politically nuanced of the series and the romance stretches credulity, I was still hooked. Also mutt snakes.
pickAt first you think you‘ll learn about the human side of Snow, but this book ultimately reveals that he‘s a monster just as we thought! Even monsters fall in love. Glad I read it before the movie comes out. Just as entertaining as the original trilogy. Worth a read for sure.
pickOpening up the world of the Hunger Games, this story give us the early years of President Snow. Although at points it almost made me feel for the character, the early seeds of his personality are all there, along with some interesting side players
#YA #SciFi #HungerGames
pickI was resistant to this prequel because I did‘t care about Snow as a character, but I am glad to report I was wrong. As great as the rest of the hunger games books, but with a focus on the 10th games - so different at first but fascinating to see the later version (the Katniss version) evolve. Very excited for the movie this fall!
