Catching Up: Hunger Games, Huck Finn, Wintergirls, and Curse of the Pharoahs

I have been reading and some re-reading of past reads the past months. Between a walking 9-month-old and traveling, I haven't had much a chance to post stuff.

It took me until I was 25 to read Huck Finn, which I would attribute to a failing in my secondary education. It was a fun read and enjoyable romp through Huck and Jim's sorted adventures. Having lived in the south for a time as a kid, I appreciated the humor and local flavor. I think almost everybody except for me has read this one, so I don't think I'm going to go crazy with a review. A solid three stars from me.

Hunger Games was a great re-read after I saw the film. I'm amazed at how well the film captured the story. Four stars.

I read Wintergirls after Ellie's post about it. Even though I felt like I had been punched in the throat by the end of it, I'm glad I read it. Four stars.

For book club a couple of years ago, we read the first of the Amelia Peabody mystery series, Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters. Amelia Peabody is a delightful character and the prose is the hilariously stilted language of a turn of the 19th century British feminist. I needed a fluffy read, so I downloaded the next book in the series, Curse of the Pharaohs. Elizabeth Peters actually has a PhD in Egyptology, so she knows her Egypt stuff.

I've said elsewhere that I'm not a huge reader of mysteries series, but I could see myself reading more of the Amelia Peabody series. She's a lot of fun and though I'm a bigger fan of Mary Russell than I am Amelia, it was an enjoyable who-dun-it set in the context of an archeological dig. I was a bit of an Egypt nut as a kid, so it's fun to read about all the Egptian deities and other such. Four stars, but definitely start out with Crocodile on the Sandbank if you're interested.