From: maggie_bo_at_comcast.net
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:06:09 +0000 (UTC)

Several comments:

1. I thought interest in the book would peak just BEFORE the movie came out, but I was wrong. Demand has continued to increase SINCE the movie came out.

2. I think the closer to the movie teenagers read the book, the more dissatisfied they are with the movie. Many read or re-read it just days before viewing the movie, and with every detail so fresh in their minds, they really picked apart every little difference, to the point of being frustrated that their favorite quotes from the book were not repeated verbatim. Those who read the book months or even years earlier were less critical, having more just a general impression to compare the movie to. I agree that in general, adults seem less critical of the movie than teens.

3. Like Christine, and I am sure many others, I have wondered too why some books/movies gain momentum and then "suddenly" become wildly popular with, it seems, the whole planet, while others--that seem just as or perhaps more deserving--get checked out and enjoyed by those who read them, but have no waiting list at any library and never make any bestseller list. Luck? Marketing? Timing? The alignment of the stars? Or is there really something about books such as The Hunger Games that makes them stand out as truly special and more universally appealing than other books?

Maggie Bokelman Eagle View Middle School Mechanicsburg, PA
Received on Mon 23 Apr 2012 09:06:09 PM CDT