+ Nothing exciting happened this week – I did get my flu shot finally and so I was dealing with feeling a bit feverish afterwards but it coincided with my PMS/hot flashes lol…so I was used to that.
+ Just did the usual cleaning, laundry, blogging, reading and dropping off the kids and picking up the kids. I feel like I’m doing less spending now that the economy is shaky and uncertain. I mean that’s good for me I guess! I did buy an ebook though – Oathbound by. Tracy Deonn. I couldn’t help myself lol.
+ This week my daughter has Market Day at school. The second graders made their own products, my daughter decided to do bookmarks – I helped her cut the cardstock and put the tassels but she’s doing all the artwork for the bookmarks. They get tickets from their teacher to buy stuff from the market also so we’ll see how that goes! I think it’s a fun idea.
Running Point (Netflix) – I love Kate Hudson and this was so funny and also heartwarming.
Mayhem – Lady Gaga – What an album! I love it – it makes me want to dance!
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!
The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
It’s March! Can you believe it? I’m working on a few books at a time right now, which isn’t the best idea but I’m determined to at least finish Thunderhead and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes this week. I’m trying to do more audiobooks but we’ll see how I do.
+ My hubby is a federal worker so let’s just say, every week since Trump has been in office has been a circus. He never knows if he will still have a job. So far he does…but he’s stressed. I’m stressed too but as long as he has his job, I try to stay positive.
+ Made some beaded bag charms/keychains for my Etsy shop because I realize I have a lot of beads in my craft boxes. I don’t know if any of you readers are crafters, but you know how you have a little bit of everything lying around? 😅. It felt good to make stuff – I kind of miss it.
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!
Title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)
Author: Suzanne Collins
Format: ebook (borrowed)
Pages: 541
Publication Date: 5/19/20
Categories: Young Adult, Dystopian, Series
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute… and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
Content Warning: death, violence, murder, hanging, death of children
I finally read this prequel to The Hunger Games and this is what I thought:
+ I liked getting to know Coriolanus Snow’s background. Yes…he is who becomes President Snow in The Hunger Games. This is his story, how he is living in Capitol poverty and ashamed of it and trying to hide it. It’s interesting to see how it shapes him.
+ This is in the early days of the first few Hunger Games so it’s interesting to see how different it is compared to when Katniss is a participant. In this book, the Hunger Games isn’t as sophisticated and high-tech yet, but it’s still very cruel – maybe moreso because all they do is throw these kids into the zoo of all places and then try to lure them out with food to kill one another. I did learn more about why the games were started, and why they felt like it was a good way to keep the peace.
+ Lucy Gray is the sunshine in this story. She is quirky, unconventional, she doesn’t seem like someone who could kill and win the Hunger Games but she surprises everyone. The romance between Lucy and Coryo is surprising and yet…not…because he didn’t seem like a psychotic, power-hungry person yet. Not when he was with Lucy and thinking of running off with her. But things change so much.
~ The story was slow moving except for the last part of the book. It took me almost two weeks to finish. I wish it moved faster. Also I didn’t feel like the Hunger Games was as focused on. This was all about who Coryo is and what shaped him.
~ The crazy thing is I didn’t even see Coryo as scary in the beginning. He was ashamed of his station and wanted the best for his family and to survive. Wanting best for your family is a good thing, right? But there was a feeling that the Capitol hated him and he didn’t know why. I was hoping he would actually turn against them instead when he met Lucy and in District 12 but nope, that experience and then some pushed him harder into his convictions about the Capitol and the Hunger Games. He believed the Capitol was right and the Hunger Games were a necessity, unfortunately. Slowly we see him try to justify all his bad actions and even kind of lose it in the end because of Lucy Gray.
Quotes from the book:
“No one would ever let him have enough.”
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by. Suzanne Collins
“His terror was a private thing, not meant for public display.”
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by. Suzanne Collins
“If the people who were supposed to protect you played so fast and loose with your life…then how did you survive?
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by. Suzanne Collins
“Who are human beings? Because who we are determine the type of governing we need.”
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by. Suzanne Collins
“I’m being erased, he thought. And to erase me, they must erase the Games.”
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by. Suzanne Collins
“It was never meant to be anything more than theoretical. And who but the vilest monsters would stage it?”
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by. Suzanne Collins
Final Thoughts:
I expected this one to be fast moving and intense like the The Hunger Games series but it wasn’t so for me it was an okay read. The beginning was slow, even through the games, and it only picks up at the end. I did like getting to know Coriolanus Snow more and I like how Lucy Gray was sunshine to his dark life. I thought this book gave me good insight into the man who will become President Snow in the series but I did expect more.
The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
We are in the last week of February friends – it’s unbelievable! That means I have 3 months until my trip to South Korea with my older sister. It also means Spring Break is just around the cover but we aren’t planning anything special because my daughter wanted to do 3 days of math camp at school (I love that she wanted to sign up!) and then my hubby has to go to Washington D.C. for a work conference during that week also. As for my reading, I think I’m on a roll (don’t want to jinx it lol). I hope all of you have a good week!
+ Kids had a 4-day weekend, lucky them! So we went to see the Dog Man movie (we have all the books because my son was reading them in elementary school and then gave them to his sister, who loves the whole series). The movie was…wild lol…I was laughing because I felt like the humor was geared towards adults, but my daughter found it funny as well.
+ I had plans for this weekend, a birthday party for my cousin’s daughter at the water park, but my daughter pulled a neck muscle on Wednesday, at school. Poor thing, she had a hard time bending her head to the right, she was crying in the health room and I get it because I’ve had a stiff neck before and it takes days to loosen up. I used to be a massage therapist, so I’ve been working on it, been using a hot pack on it and trying to encourage her to do stretches. I think she may have slept on it funny or she does a lot of coloring at school and home, and sometimes her right arm gets tired, so it might have been from that. So she only went to school twice this week, but at least her school was closed on Friday.
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!
The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
Can you believe March starts next Saturday? I actually got a lot of reading done this week – yay! Maybe I’m out of my mood slump (for now). I’m determined to finish these arcs for March though so wish me luck!
What are you currently reading?
Thunderhead by. Neal Shusterman – 14% – my ebook copy expired so I have to read my hardcover now. So that might go a little more slowly.
+ The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super bowl last Sunday! WOOHOO! So I was very nervous and couldn’t even watch the first of the game LOL. I could watch it after it was 24-0 BUT…knowing Kansas City, I didn’t trust that score until the end of the game. 😅 I love the Eagles but gosh my heart can’t take watching them in a super bowl. SO happy they won though.
+ More national news – but I hate the news right now. And because I hate the news, I watched Eagles highlights ALL WEEK. Just to be nice to my mental health.
+ The vog (volcanic smoke from the eruption on the Big Island) was bad on our island this week – the haze was covering the mountains. So my Monday and Tuesday started off with a headache. It always makes my allergies act up and my sinus fill up – so that wasn’t fun. Tylenol, saline spray, Claritin and a hot towel on my face did help 😅, at least to get my sinuses draining.
+ My daughter had a Honey Bee Valentine’s Day Luncheon (their mascot is the bee) on Thursday, so I went to eat lunch with her. It’s always crazy and chaotic at these luncheon events, and always so quick. I only have 20 minutes with her out of their 30 minute lunch – she wants to play at lunch recess lol. So that was a quick event but glad I could be there with her.
Super Bowl 59 – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles – yay, the Eagles won!
Kendrick Lamar – GNX album
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!
The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
My Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl but let me tell you…I was a nervous wreck on Sunday. I couldn’t even watch the first half of the game so I missed a lot. I could only fully watch when I knew they were winning-winning LOL. My heart just can’t do Super Bowls when my team is in it. UGH. So proud of them, I love this team so much, especially this year. Like I was so stressed, I went to bed with body aches (and I did nothing physical except watch this game, maybe I paced around?!). Anyway, I didn’t read much because I was on a victory high since Monday lol…but I will get to reading this week.
+ Today is the Super Bowl and my team is in it (The Philadelphia Eagles)…so I can’t watch! 🫠 I don’t think my blood pressure can handle it so I have a plan to not watch? Or sneak in looks? Or listen to my husband yelling or not? lol…I hope they win but I already saw the lose 2 years ago to the Chiefs and I can’t watch another loss – but if they win, oh it will be the best thing ever.
+ More national news – but I hate the news right now.
+ My husband’s furniture from Okinawa came in so we have new couches downstairs, and new mattresses (he had to buy them there for when we visited him back in 2023). We had to move some stuff around so that wasn’t fun.
I hope you all have a great week!
Blog Posts:
I must be stressed out – I barely had any posts this week. 😒
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 