Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this series. Collins never went for the easy way out of anything. Nothing is black and white. Issues and relationships are complex. I loved seeing the evolution of Katniss' feelings towards the rebels and being the mockingjay and the evolution of the rebel movement itself.

See the full review here.

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My 2011 - Books, Movies, and Travel

For the last few years I have been reviewing my year of movies and books each January (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006). For the second year, I'm going to include a few notes on travel too.

For some reason, I saw very few movies this year and didn't do much better with my reading.

BOOKS AND MOVIES (books titles are underlined and only movies seen in the theater are included)

January
True Grit

February
Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris

March
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

April
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

May
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Colony by Jillian Weise

June
Meek's Cutoff
Inglorious by Joanna Kavenna

July
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Bridesmaids
Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers
Beginners
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson

August
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

September
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

October
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
Wine Wars: The Curse of the Blue Nun, the Miracle of Two Buck Chuck, and the Revenge of the Terroirists by Mike Veseth
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

November
The Muppets
The Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King
The Way

December
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Muppets (2nd time)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Marinara Murders by Erik Hanberg
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

At the top, I mentioned that I hadn't read much this year, but I did read some great things. It was definitely a year of Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery series. I'm at various points in King's Mary Russell series and Sayers' Wimsey series (the first includes Holmes as a character, the second is really more aware of Holmes than "inspired" by). Both series are a lot of fun (in very different ways).

I also read the first two books of the Hunger Games (and am currently reading the third) and I have loved them. Great characters, great story. But, what I love most is the avoidance of black and white story telling. Collins is really great at exploring the grey areas and complexities of the political issues and the characters' feelings. The Colony, which I read earlier in the year, was in a similar vein, and was equally great.

As far as non-fiction goes, you really must read Edmund Morris's Teddy Roosevelt trilogy. I read the final book this year and it was just as great as the first two. I also really loved The Ghost Map (a medical mystery set in Victorian London).

You can find me over at Goodreads.

Somehow, I only managed to see six movies in the theater this year. Luckily, all six were enjoyable. I loved The Muppets so much that I saw it twice.

TRAVEL
These stats are probably more for my own silly record-keeping than anyone else's potential interest.

• States Visited: 6 (nothing new here: WA, ID, CA, MN, MO, KS...also visited BC)
• National Park Properties Visited: 5 (Mount Rainier NP, North Cascades NP, Whitman Mission Historical Site, Lewis & Clark NHP, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial)
• Washington Counties Visited: 32 of 39 (I only missed Mason, Wahkiakum, Clark, Ferry, Stevens, and Asotin).
• Washington State Parks Visited: 13 (Moran and Deception Pass were favorites this year)
• BC Provincial Parks Visited: 2 (camped at Juan de Fuca and loved it)